It's really embarrassing.............

.....how long it's been!  Really!  I have neglected my blog.....my bad.  After the hullabaloo of the holidays, I came down on the 26th with a really nasty cold.  Then hubs got it as I finished mine.  Then dear son got it and gave it back to me.  Still coughing but sleeping and feeling better.

I passed my 70,000 mark on my blog plus almost another 200 and still no posting!  For shame.........I'm here to make it up to you.

What you see below is my Happy New Year Please Forgive Me project.  Ta da!  The Sizzix Tim Holtz 3D luminary.  Now, a caveat first......not for the faint of heart.  However I learned a lot on this first one and am trying another today.  Some advice:  no heavy chipboard (it wont crease and there are LOTS of creases in this die), no thin paper (won't hold up), not even sure cereal weight chipboard will work.  A nice heavy double sided paper is your best bet.  It's stiffer and will still handle those creases.  My sample is just a run of the mill double sided paper from my stash.  I used vellum in the windows but you don't have to use anything. If you are going to use a window, tape or glue it in before assembly, much easier.  I used some ric rac and braided trim around the bottom to cover some gaps where the sides joined.  I found this die hard to get nice tight join where those folds are.  This is just IMHO inexperience with the die and how it goes together.  On your second or fifth go round, you'll get it.  I always say the first one is a learning experience and you improve on each one.  I'm so convinced this is the case with this die that I can't wait to try another.  I went with some die cut greenery and flowers from my stash.  Michaels right now has this card pack of 12 flowers in the $1.50 bin in various color families and they are the NICEST flowers.  For a buck fifty, they're the quality of Prima without the big price.  Going back for some more!

The luminary sits OVER not ON a base on which you can sit a tea light.  Just lift off the top to turn the light on.  If you don't use a tea light, you don't need to make the base.  I went with a spring theme since I'm totally done with cold and winter weather (and illness) so I hope you enjoy it.  Any questions, please email.  Be happy to help you with this one.  Remember to double click for a closer look.  Have a great crafting day!

This project has been entered in the Delicious Doodles challenge http://deliciousdoodleschallenge.blogspot.com/ and the http://fussyandfancychallenge.blogspot.ca/.