Up, Up, And Away: Up House Night Light

This little hanging night light is a colorful favorite Art Room addition. Inspired by the cartoon “Up” with the little old grouchy man that ends up making a friend and going on a great adventure with a young Boy Scout. Being a romantic at heart I loved the touching story that unfolds, explaining that part of the reason he is grouchy is because he misses his late wife. The idea for this little night light came to me when I found the little brown papier-mâché houses at Hobby Lobby as I was (per usual) perusing the aisles for art supplies.  They instantly reminded me of the cute cartoon and I brainstormed what could be used to fashion the balloons. I came across a package of Christmas lights that had large plastic bulbs over each light and voilà! I had found my balloons.

By folding the cords just right I could get the lights to look like a cloud of balloons. I fastened the cords with fishing line to the hole in the chimney to give the illusion that they were making the house float. I cut a square in the back of the house and took the plastic cover off of the rest of the lights and put them inside the papier-mâché house. Then I cut the opening just a bit larger so that the battery pack powering the lights could fit snugly, allowing easy access to the power switch.

I covered the window and door openings with opaque Shrinky-Dink® plastic and painted the house with acrylic Apple Barrel® paint to resemble the house from the cartoon. Lastly I attached a piece of fishing line to create a nearly invisible method of hanging the night light, giving the impression that it is floating.

 This little “Up” house would make a great colorful addition to a child or baby’s room and it is very easy to make. You could upgrade this simple design by using an electric set of lights which removes the need to worry about turning the switch on and off or batteries. If needed, an extension cord could be used to hang the lamp similar to a swag lamp.