Remember when you were a little kid and you were afraid of the dark? Perhaps your older brother tormented you or you watched a scary movie. What you needed then was a nightlight; something to keep the demons away as you slept. Nightlights can be boring for older kids and adults, but if you made it fun and intriguing to look at, then you’d have a stylish way to keep the ghosts away. It’ll brighten your room, and make it look intriguing. This tutorial will show you how to create a glow in the dark ecosystem as a night light for your room.

Step 1: Choosing a Theme

Choosing a theme

The first thing you need to do, is get a glass block. If you can not get a glass block, try getting a square vase. Next, you’ll have to create an ecosystem by deciding on which theme you’d like to do. For my example, I did an under the sea theme, a dragon theme, and a batman theme. When you decide your theme, you should paint a small figure to represent your theme on the outside of the glass. Tape your stencil onto the front in the desired position and paint your silhouette then let it dry. You could purchase or make a vinyl silhouette sticker if you’d prefer. On the inside, you should put small amounts of paint on the wall to demonstrate a background. Do not put too much paint, or you won’t be able to see the inside. If your paint doesn’t flow well, then mix it with floetrol to give it an easy flow.

Step 2: Stuffing It

Stuffing it

Next you will decorate the inside. If you’re a glitter person, you may want to try making it shiny with whichever color glitter best fits your ecosystem. If you choose to do this, then you’ll need to pour in about one teaspoon of glitter and carefully move to coat the glass surface. Keep the block opening upward so you don’t end up finding glitter between your toes later. When you’re done, you’ll need to put larger more recognizable items in your ecosystem. For my dragon ecosystem, I took rocks, painted them the color of fire and treasure, as well as putting glitter on them. Once dry, I put then inside the dragon's cave. For the fish, I got moss from home Michaels, and tore them up and placed them in their representing the sea underneath. I also put sand and other plants inside.

Step 3: Lights Camera ACTION

Lights Camera Action

When my ecosystems looked exactly as I wanted them to look, I got lights and I placed them inside the glass blocks, turning them on with a battery. I you should get water proof lights because they won’t heat up and burn the way other lights would. For the fish ecosystem, I painted the lights blue so they would give off a blue water vibe. Crafting glass blocks usually come with a removable plastic stopper that you can thread the cord through with the help of a scissor cut. Seal the hole in the stopper with some tape and turn on the fairy lights. Also, I covered a fern with lights to hang it above the fish ecosystem making it look more tropical.