DIY nightlights: Easy ways to brighten up a room

Sometimes creative projects are born of necessity. Sure, you could find a generic, off-the-shelf nightlight to guide the way to the baby’s crib or light the path to your midnight snack. But why, when DIY nightlights could be so much cuter? Our artists crafted designs out of clay to match nurseries and brighten powder rooms and pretty-up other overlooked corners in their homes. 

Sculpting clay for a DIY Nightlight

Making DIY nightlights

What you’ll need for DIY nightlights

  • Original Sculpey® oven bake clay (we used white)
  • Clay tools to sculpt with
  • Paper (or something to cover your workspace)
  • Oven (toaster or normal kitchen sized)
  • White spray primer
  • Water-based acrylic paints
  • Paint brushes
  • DIY night light (we used these)
  • Super glue

Creating a DIY nightlight with polymer clay

Creating a DIY nightlight with polymer clay

Creating a DIY nightlight with polymer clay

Creating your DIY nightlights

First, prep your clay: This basically means smacking and kneading and rolling it around until it’s smooth and pliable.

Then it’s creativity time: Roll out the clay and create your sculpture.

Pro tips

  • Roll it thin enough to be lightweight—you don’t want it so heavy it pulls the nightlight off the wall—but not so thin it cracks and breaks.
  • Sculpey isn’t super-translucent, so you’ll get more light if you incorporate pinholes or openings in your design.

Baking a clay polymer sculpture for a DIY nightlight

A baked clay polymer sculpture for a DIY nightlight

Follow instructions on the package to bake your sculpture, then let it cool and do any sanding you need to.

Priming a clay polymer sculpture for a DIY nightlight

We hit our DIY nightlights white spray primer to even out the color.

Painting clay polymer night lights with water-based acrylic paint.

Painting clay polymer night lights with water-based acrylic paint.

Painting clay polymer night lights with water-based acrylic paint.

Painting clay polymer night lights with water-based acrylic paint.

The minimalists among us left their nightlights white. The rest painted them with water-based acrylics.

Painted clay polymer night lights ready to mount.

Gluing nightlights to polymer clay designs.

Gluing nightlights to polymer clay designs.

Gluing nightlights to polymer clay designs.

To finish up, use super glue to affix the clay design to the nightlight. Done! Just plug ’em in and light ’em up.

DIY nightlights: Follow your bliss design

DIY nightlights: White owl with gold accents

DIY nightlights: abstract design

DIY nightlights: Blue and gray owl design

DIY nightlights: night sky design

DIY nightlights: Rocket design

DIY nightlights: butterfly design

DIY nightlights: cat design

DIY nightlights: House design

DIY nightlights: White owl design

So many owls, y’all. Who knew? (See what we did there?)

Do you need a new nightlight? Make one! We’d love to see it. Tag us on Instagram @think.make.share or on our Facebook page. Find more home decor inspiration in the archives.

Photography by Pat Bush

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