• About
  • Contact
  • Shop
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • Crafts
    • Disney
    • Kids
    • Sewing
  • Holidays
    • New Year
    • Valentine’s
    • St Patrick’s
    • Easter
    • Mother’s and Father’s Day
    • July 4th
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
  • Cricut
  • DIY
    • Cleaning
    • Organization
    • Projects
    • Scroll Saw
  • Downloads
    • Printables
    • SVGs
  • Recipes
  • Life
    • Family
    • Fashion & Beauty

Crafting in the Rain

Edge-Lit LED Nativity

Uncategorized

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link.

13 Sep 2015
  • Share
  • Tweet

We were sent an X-Carve machine from Inventables to review. All thoughts and opinions are ours alone.


We’ve got another X-Carve tutorial for you today. This is one that Steve dreamed up, and it turned out even better than we imagined! It’s a nativity carved into a piece of acrylic, then set in a wooden stand that includes a strip of LED lights.

Here’s the supply list:

  • 4×6  3/8 inch thick acrylic
  • 1 inch thick 1.5 inch wide, 7.5 inches long wood for the base (we used Koa–a beautiful wood from Hawaii)
  • LED Strip Lights Kit
  • 1/16 inch carbide two-flute downcut endmill (available on ebay) to carve the acrylic
  • wood glue
  • sandpaper
  • spray lacquer 
Steve set up the cut in Easel and carved the nativity image, regularly blowing the cut bits of acrylic away with the air compressor.


We did a few test carves on scrap wood because we wanted to make sure the acrylic piece and lights would fit perfectly.

The base was cut into two pieces which are each carved. The top piece is carved all the way through, but with a 1/4 inch ledge on each side for the acrylic to rest on. The lights then go under and be able to shine up into the acrylic without the acrylic actually touching the lights. We can buy new parts to continue to use the leftover LED strip.


The bottom piece has a groove cut for the light strip to rest in as well as a slot for the wire to come out so the lights can be plugged in. 

We installed the light strand (cut to fit) into the bottom of the base and secured the wire with a bit a hot glue. Then use dwood glue and clamps to attach the top piece. When it was all dry, it was sanded and got a few coats of spray lacquer.


 Here’s how the piece looks with the lights off. 

And here’s the end results with the lights on. Isn’t it so pretty! We’d love to hear what you think!


Watch the video from Steve’s YouTube channel–it’s so cool to watch the X-Carve in action! And be sure to check out Inventables for more information. Project write up here.

 e 

Image Map

2 Comments

« How to Build Craft Room Shelves
Classic Fudge Recipe »

Comments

  1. Holy Craft says

    September 14, 2015 at 11:06 am

    I am super impressed! That is so awesome! It's got my wheels turning for Christmas crafting!

    Reply
  2. Valerie Earnest says

    September 14, 2015 at 8:55 pm

    That is so gorgeous! How creative you two are- and such a cool machine!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Hi, I'm Stephanie - Welcome to Crafting in the Rain where I've been blogging about the crafty life since 2011. Read More…

Archives

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Disclosure
  • Index
  • Privacy Policy

Stephanie Paxman is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Copyright © 2011-2023 Crafting in the Rain