(20 crafty days of christmas) a christmas carol nightlight

My blog buddy, Hollie of Little Miss Marmalade, is here today for 20 Crafty Days of Christmas to show us how to make A Christmas Carol inspired nightlight. I just love this, so creative!

Hey there See Vanessa Crafters! I’m Hollie from Little Miss Marmalade! I’m so pleased that Vanessa invited me back to share a craft with you inspired by Charles Dickens’ holiday classic, A Christmas Carol. Let me tell you, if you love getting lots of “oohs” and “ahhs” AND HUGS from your kids, this Christmas Carol Nightlight is the craft for you. I gave one each to my son and daughter, and they just love them. And the nightlight is simple enough to make that kids can do it too (with a little adult supervision).

I’m a huge fan of BabyLit‘s board book series of classic literature for kids, so I wanted to use the fun and modern art taken from Little Master Dickens: A Christmas Carol. The bright colors and clean lines are perfect for a nightlight!

Supplies

• Printouts of art from BabyLit board book: A Christmas Carol, reduced in size to fit nightlight
• Scissors
• ModPodge
• Sponge applicator
• Nightlight with a flat front, LED (slightly rounded is okay)

Step 1: Make printouts of art from the board book. The nightlights I used are pretty generic and can be found almost anywhere. They have faces that are around 3 inches long and 2-1/2 inches wide. I reduced my printouts by 50%. Next, I made several copies of the illustrations and then chose the two that I thought had the best coloring and would fit the best on the face of the light. I chose two characters from Scrooge’s past, Fezziwig and Belle.

Step 2: Use scissors to cut down the size of the page you like, and then place it over the face of the nightlight. I used my fingernail to score the paper around the edges of the light face. Then I followed the outline and cut out the illustration so it was more tailored to the face of the light.

Step 3: Next, you’re ready to apply the ModPodge with a sponge applicator. Quickly apply ModPodge directly on the light face, being VERY CAREFUL not to let it bleed to the frame around the light face. Once this is done, place the illustration over the light face and press down in the center, using fingers to smooth out the paper all the way to the edge. Spread ModPodge over the top of the illustration. If you have an inkjet printer, you’ll need to work fast to spread the glue before the ink starts to loosen from the paper. You don’t want a muddy picuture! Hang in there, we’re almost done!

Step 4: Use a wet wipe or damp paper towel to clean up any glue spots that ended up on the frame. “Tuck” the edges of the paper all the way around the edge of the light face by using your fingernail. This will help to hide any uneven areas.

All done! Check out the nightlights in action below (pretty cool, huh!). The brightness and detail actually turned out better than I thought they would. Yay! I love it when that happens. I want to give Vanessa a big THANK YOU for the opportunity to be a guest blogger for you. She is one of the most creative people I know, so I’m humbled by the invitation (thanks, V!).

For more classic lit-inspired crafts, or to see my “Just for Fun” crafts, please come and say hi at Little Miss Marmalade. I love making new friends!

Hi, crafters! My name is Hollie Keith and I’m the editor for Little Miss Marmalade, a new blog dedicated to fun and stylish crafts and creations inspired by classic lit. Originally from Kansas City, Missouri, I now call Salt Lake City, Utah, home, where I enjoy hiking with my family, getting to know people in my community, and working as an editor for an awesome book publisher.