Been thinking about making fun bed light for my son, and came up with this one after I saw a similar bookshelf. But it turn out there's quite a few of these already, I discovered. But here's my version.

You'll need:

MDF wood board
LED strip
Wire
12V Connectors
Adaptor
Paint
Switch

Jigsaw
Drill
Router (optional)
Printer

Step 1: Find Some Wood

I used a thick piece of MDF I had lying around.

I printed this batman logo and used for masking. (Using photoshop theres a nice feature called "find edges" so you don't waste your ink)

I've attached the photoshop template I used, the outline and the image is in two separate layers.

batman lamp.psd
Download

Step 2: Cut Out the Figure

Use a jigsaw to cut the wood, take care with the edges MDF is quite soft.

Step 3: Sand the Sides

Even out the sides by hand using sandpaper. Take care not to round the edges.

Step 4: Cut and Place the LED Stips

Cut the led strip, place it about the same distance from all edges. Mark the placement with a pen.

Step 5: Optional: Mill the LED Path

Mill the path where the LED will sit.

I did this since i don't want direct light from the LEDs when looking at it from the side. You could get the same result by masking the side of the LED strips I guess.

Step 6: Solder the LED Strips Together

Tin all the pads first, then solder on the wire. Cut the wire only after the first end is soldered on, that makes it easy to get the perfect length to the wire.

Step 7: All Wired Up

Connect the end wires to a 12v standard connector. (I ended up extending the wire with a nicer white cord)

Step 8: Paint the Edges

If you use MDF, you will need to paint the sides with wood paint or primer before spray painting. Otherwise it's likely that the spray paint wont stick.