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In Advent, you see them in the windows everywhere: candle arches. A genuine German tradition that is now getting a slight northern German twist.

In my design, I want to visually connect Wismar University and the Christmas season. That's why I chose a Christmas tree and a reindeer next to the fisherman from the university's logo. I get inspiration for this from the internet.

The motif has to be a line graphic. The lines mark the places where the laser will later make the cuts. You can imagine the whole thing like the pattern of a tailor. The only difference is that here you are working with thin plywood. All the individual parts are cut on a plywood board and arranged in the graphic file in advance.

I create my graphics in Adobe Illustrator and build up all the elements piece by piece from geometric shapes. Since I work with vectors, the cuts later become quite accurate.  My idea is to place tea lights on the candle arch, so I use a plug-in mechanism that makes it easy to place the tea light holders on the arch. To prevent the lights from slipping, I create stopper rings that are glued onto the holders. Two cross braces provide the necessary stability at the bottom edge of the arch.

You can easily adapt my template by arranging your own shapes inside the arch.