Birthday Luminary for Mom

Getting presents for Mom's and those in our older generation can be problematic for many of us.  We never know what they have, what they need or what they would like that is in our budget for a gift.  I don't know about you, but I'm not the typical "go shopping in the mall for a gift" type of person. I'd rather make it more personal and make it if I can. Sometimes, this can be hard because you don't know what to make.  As my elders get older, I've been trying to think of things I can make they will enjoy, but are not the status quo like a bathrobe, new blouse, tie, tools, appliances, etc.....  Let's face it, they usually have all they need because they are in a set routine and use what they already have. 

Because I like to craft and sew, for my mother-in-law this year, I decided to make a papercraft luminary.  I have made her many sewing projects in the past, so I thought this would be something different she would enjoy. 

So here goes.  My go-to site for papercrafts is Dreaming Tree.  Their instructions are easy to follow and prices are well within my budget. My MIL is partial to red so I picked this rose-themed paper with gold as an accent. 

Here are some of the pieces of the project cut out with my Cricut Maker.

Glued together it looks like this. 

Add a battery operated flameless candle (I purchased at Michael's)  and you get the nice gift shown below.  My MIL doesn't have to worry about regular flame candles (what a disaster) and can simply move a button to on and then to off.

Picture this: Mom reading her favorite novel with this luminary on a side table on a peaceful evening?

I made a card out of similar paper to give with the gift.

Thank you, Dreaming Tree, for a gift that my MIL enjoyed immensely. 

Lessons Learned: 

1. Select paper according to your elder's likes. 

2. If you haven't tried this project before, do a test project. My test project was in shambles. Ugh. 

3. TAKE YOUR TIME.  Because so many of us are rushing through our day for whatever reason, take your time with creating projects, not matter what kind. You'll be happier in the end. 

I hope to have more of these paper crafts posted soon.