Make a Glow Bug Night Light

My little grandson is really struggling with his Daddy being gone.  Going to sleep is the last thing he wants to do.  I came across this idea on Pintrest (of course) and you can see their version here:  http://matsutakeblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/reminder-dont-throw-out-those-plastic.html#!/2012/04/reminder-dont-throw-out-those-plastic.html. No tutorial, just a picture.  So I decided to give them a try, for he is a BOY and loves BUGS.  Hopefully I can convince him that he should go to bed when Glow Bugs go to bed.  Well it’s worth a shot.

Step 1:

Supplies:
Translucent plastic egg, (left over from last Easter, never throw away left over plastic eggs)
LED tea lights (craft stores, price range from 2 for $3 to $2 each, mine were left over from a wedding a couple of years ago)
½ inch slice from a Pool noodle ($1 each at the Dollar store)
E-6000 or 9001 glue ($4 a tube)
Scissors
Marker
Pipe cleaners (your choice of color, I used2 black and 1 yellow)
7 mm googly eyes ($1 for a couple dozen)
Drill with small drill bit (not shown)
Masking tape

Tape measure or ruler

Plastic page protector

Step 2:

I cut off the piece of a pool noodle. 

Step 3:

I took the short/fat part of the plastic egg and centered it over the hole in the noodle slice and pushed down while twisting.

Step 4:

Thus I was able to cut a piece of the pool noodle from the center of the ring.  (Save the left over outer ring, it will come in handy later.)

Step 5:

Lay the tea light over the center of the cut out ring. 

Step 6:

Use a marker to trace around it.  (What I am after is something to buffer the tea light while it is inside the egg.  This will help it stay in place.)

Step 7:

Use the scissors to cut along the inside of the mark made by the marker. 

Step 8:

Now fit the new ring over the tea light. 

Step 9:

Then fit the tea light (with the ring around it) into the long pointed part of the plastic egg, plastic flame pointing toward the pointed end of the egg. 

Step 10:

Attach the second half of the egg, it fits!  Now open it again, flip on the LED light and put the two pieces together again.  The end of the egg glows.  Turn if off again so that you don’t waste your battery.

Step 11:

How cut 3 – 5½ inch (14 cm) pieces of pipe cleaner. 

Step 12:

Bend one into a u shape.  

Step 13:

Add two more bends into each side to create knees and feet.  Repeat with the other two pieces.  How you have 3 sets of legs. 

Step 14:

Put the egg into the large left over pool noodle ring.  This will hold the egg steady while you glue on the legs, antennae and wings, etc.

Step 15:

Tear off a 3 (8 cm) piece of masking tape. 

Step 16:

Put three strips of glue long the body of the egg (soon to be glow bug). 

Step 17:

Place a set of legs along each glue strip.  Push down hard and put the tape over the center of the legs so that it will hold them in place while the glue dries. (Sorry, nor picture of this specifically, you will see it in pictures after I have turned the bug over.)  The glue will take 1 hour to dry, 24 hours to cure.

Step 18:

Turn the bug over. 

Step 19:

Cut a 4 inch piece of pipe cleaner. 

Step 20:

Fold it in half.  Make little curls in each end for the ends of the antennae. 

Step 21:

Use the drill to drill a small hole at the top of the head. 

Step 22:

Place a dot of glue over the hole, and where you want the two eyes to be located. 

Step 23:

and place the eyes in the glue that is ready for them.

Step 24:

One last small project, wings.  Use a piece of paper or card stock to create a 2 inch (5 cm) long heart.  Use this pattern to cut out a heart (soon to be wings) of the plastic sheet protector.  (You may use anything you have to create your wings, I have sheet protectors.) 

Step 25:

Fold the heart in half, length wise and flatten it out again.  Put a dot of glue on the back half of the body just behind the antennae and put the point of the heart in the glue. 

Step 26:

Use a little piece of tape over the end to hold it in place until the glue dries.

Step 27:

Remove the tape and you are done. 

Step 28:

Open the two halves turn on the tea light and put the two halves back together. Ooooooooh, pretty! (Hope Eddie likes them, hope, hope, hope.)  Enjoy!