Light Masterpiece – One to Keep & One to Give

Light Masterpiece – One to Keep & One to Give

About

Is it wall art? A trophy? A bookend? The best part of this project is it can become whatever you want it to be. All you really need to know is that it’s a masterpiece made for tugging at someone’s heart strings. Of course, paired with a few other thoughtful touches like balloons and a hug that won’t let go, said masterpiece becomes the perfect present for their BFFs, troop leaders, science teachers, and anyone they’ve grown super-fond of.

It’s like awarding people with their own personalized plaque: you can arrange the nails to create any shape or letter you want.. We went with a heart shape, since its foolproof, but your daughter’s teammates will surely love seeing their jersey numbers up in lights.

Directions

1 Sand down the edges of the wood. Paint it any color you choose or leave it bare for a rustic look.


2 Cut out a paper stencil in the shape you desire. Gently hammer your nails into the board around the edge of the stencil, then tear the stencil away so the nails remain.


3 Use the drill to create holes where you’d like your LED lights to live, then turn the board over and duct tape the LED battery pack to the back and pop the tiny lights through the drilled holes.


4 Weave colored yarn from nail to nail, like a spider weaving a web, tying it in place at the ends when you’re finished so it doesn’t unravel.

The Sci Behind the DIY

In cartoons, brilliant ideas are synonymous with the sudden appearance of – poof – light bulbs hovering overhead. As you know, we love coming up with creative capers that utilize light bulbs in real life. They make everything more special, happy, magical, festive, and enchanting. Plus, they just make it look like you tried harder without a ton of effort.

The thing is, most light emits heat, which makes it potentially flammable, but battery-operated LEDs (translation: light-emitting diodes) shine cool because they don’t use a filament that burns. That means they won’t set things like fabric, yarn, and wood on fire. Consider this a safety lesson as much as a STEM lesson!

You'll need

  • A wooden board
  • Paint (optional)
  • Panel nails
  • Colored yarn
  • LED lights
  • A drill
  • Paintbrush
  • Paper shape
  • Sandpaper
  • Batteries

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