An Illuminating Idea: Craft Boxes as Address Numbers
Published July 19, 2012
This is a great idea for an outdoor party
If you are planning a party in the summer it’s always a good idea to make sure guests can locate your home in the dark. It can be very frustrating to look for a house number once daylight has disappeared so here’s an easy and cost-effective way to solve this problem.
You probably have some white, mini lights tucked away with your Holiday decorations. These are great for this idea. Be sure to black out the other lights with black electrician tape so as to only see the lights in the boxes.
Materials
- White, craft boxes in square shapes (available at Michaels Crafts)
- Glue gun and glue
- 1 string of white, clear mini-lights
- Sharp scissors
- Exacto Knife
- Pencil
- Black Electrician Tape
To get started choose a size of box that you are happy with to display your address. These are located in the wrapping section of Michaels. It’s easier to draw and cut out the numbers before you assemble the boxes. One idea for creative and pretty numbers is to download some designs from the web. Or if you have a Word Processing Program you may download some number designs from this program and expand them to the size you desire.
Once you have chosen the number design you must then cut the numbers out very carefully with your exacto knife. When the numbers are cut out, place them on the flat boxes with a little glue from your glue gun. You are now ready to cut the numbers out of the boxes. Place a hard, cutting surface inside the box with the good side facing out. This side has the numbers glued to it. Carefully cut around the numbers until the design is free and comes out easily. You should be left with a clearly visible number. The numbers 4, 6, 8 and 10 are a bit tricky because of the wholes in the middle. In order to see these numbers clearly you may want to draw a small side, dash so as to keep the middles intact.
On the opposite side of the cut out numbers, take your scissors and make a hole large enough for the mini light to be inserted inside.
Stack your boxes in the order of your address and secure each one with your glue gun. Starting on one end of the mini light cord, insert the bulb (or two) inside the box and continue until all boxes are lit up. Wrap black, electrician tape around the remaining bulbs to black them out.
Display your box in an area that is clear for your guests to see. You will also need to be near an electrical outlet unless you opt to use battery operated mini lights.
These boxes may also be used to announce a Birthday, Anniversary or other special occasion if you wish. Just replace the numbers with letters and write a celebratory message in sequence.
