Big J is at the point where he prefers a night light in his room. We have one in the bathroom and one in the hallway on the way from his room to the bathroom. Just in case there are any middle of the night trips. When we have a nursing baby, we have a night light in our room. Just enough light for momma to see, but not enough light to wake Daddy or baby. Our babies have both weaned themselves of nursing before they give up all their night feedings, so we have a night light in the kitchen as well to prepare bottles. Basically, you turn the lights off and our house lights up like a Christmas tree. Night lights aren’t exactly pretty decorations, but who says they can’t be fun?! With this DIY Halloween Night Light Baby Food Jar Upcycle you can make your night light whatever you want. Change this up to fit any holiday or go with a simple monogram. Etching the glass is another fun option I’m looking forward to experimenting with…
. You just need a light base with decent wall clearance (an inch or two).
– Baby food jar or other jar (use plastic if you’re worried about it breaking)
– Drill with spade bit
– Paint and/or vinyl
Directions:
– Wash and dry the jar. Remove glue and labels.
– Take the shield off the night light so you just have the base. This photo is of the actual night light I used. That clear plastic just slides off the front.
– Measure the LED stand – mine was 3/4″. Use the drill and spade bit to drill a hole in the lid of the jar to fit around the LED stand. Or have your awesome husband do it, because you may or may not have totally created a mess when you tried it.
– Paint the jar or use your vinyl to decorate. I painted the inside of the jar with watered down acrylic paint. You’ll have to play with the water to paint ratio in order to get it thin enough to let enough light through. Different colors needed different amounts of water. Darker paint = more water. Another idea would be mod podge colored with food coloring. Google a tutorial for that, but be aware it creates a pretty opaque finish. I painted the insides of the jar and vinyl-ed on the outside. I also used Washi tape on one for a super quick and easy “fancy-it-up” job.
– Screw the lid back on and place the LED stand in the hole in the lid. Plug in your night light and wait for dark (or high-tail it to a dark room and try it out in broad daylight, you rebel!).
You can use the same lid (provided you use the same kind of jar) and make lots of different night light covers. Just switch them out whenever the mood strikes. It’s also nice because you can adjust how much light comes though with what you decorate your jar with. Darker paint will give a more muted light, while light paint will still shine bright.
