Let’s face it – decorating the nursery is more for us than the baby (is he/she really going to notice anyway?) but it’s just so fun AND it is said that it helps us prepare for our new bundle of joy’s arrival. So, put on your nesting face because we’re going to create some super fun clouds for a soft glow in your next nursery or kid’s room!

First, I will say this really isn’t that difficult, however it does take a little finesse and some kid-free space for an hour or so. Trust, me… every kid on the planet just can’t WAIT to rip open that bag of fluff and spread it everywhere, eat it, put it on their pets, etc. So, keeping it out of reach is probably your best bet. Your welcome.

SUPPLIES

Okay. To start, you’re going to need some supplies. Most can be found at your local craft store, but who has the time (or patience)? So, here are some links to get everything you need from Amazon and it is EXACTLY what I used (and if you have Prime = free shipping, most are cheaper than at JoAnns anyway).

1. Paper Lanterns (I would get 2 of these so you can mix and match sizes – you may have some leftover but they’re great by themselves for party decorations, too!)
2. Poly-fil Stuffing or Fluff (I would get 2 or 3 for the amount of clouds that I did)
3. Hot glue gun and LOTS of hot glue sticks (I mean it, like… a LOT)
4. LED “fairy” lights (they don’t emit heat so they’re safer than regular clear Christmas lights)

– Click here for battery operated and work via remote control (if you don’t want wires from lamp to lamp and/or from lamp to a power source). It’s also a 3 pack (or you can purchase singles or a 6 pack) so you can make at least 3 clouds.

– Click here if you’d rather plug them in (say, you have a bookcase that will hide the cord and you want to just be able to turn them on with a switch)- then these are your best best. They’re super long, so you’ll get lots of light and/or lots of clouds:

5. Command Strips and/or Fishing Line

To put the clouds up in your nursery, you can either attach them to the wall (like I did) or hang them from the ceiling.

• Command strips are a great way to attach to a wall without creating holes or other damage (and it’s easier to move them around while you’re trying to figure out the best configuration).

I used these two versions:

Small Hooks

Large Hooks

• The fishing line will also need something to attach to (again, command strips could work, but these are probably better for the job) OR you could screw in a hook like this one. **NOTE – your paper lanterns will come with some fishing line included, but it may not be strong enough to hold a bigger cloud and/or may not be long enough to hang them as low as you’d like. You can always see how much they provide first though and then decide!**

READY?

Step 1: PREP

– Assemble your paper lanterns with the supplies provided

– Heat up your hot glue gun and have plenty of extra sticks nearby. I found that the hottest setting worked the best/easiest, but BE CAREFUL – it is HOT and not entirely pleasant to accidentally get on your fingers. I would also suggest having a paper plate or piece of cardboard to place it on when not in use as the glue tends to drip.

– Open up your bag(s) of fluff and have it easily accessible

– Open your fairy lights and put any batteries that you need in them. Make sure they work!

Step 2: FORM CLOUD SHAPES

– Decide how many clouds you would like and how big or what shape you’d like them to be. I used:

• Largest cloud = 1 – 9.5″ lantern, 1 – 8″ lantern, and 1 – 6″ lantern with the largest lantern in the middle
• Medium cloud = 1 – 8″ lantern and 1 – 6″ lantern
• Small cloud = 1 – 8″ lantern

– Glue the lamps together, making sure that the top/bottom openings are lined up in the same direction. Use PLENTY of glue and hold them together for a good amount of time (BE CAREFUL if reaching inside to try and push them together better – the glue is VERY hot in the beginning). Make sure the glue has set before moving to the next step (usually about 5 minutes or so).

Step 3: GLUE ON & FLUFF

– Now, the “fun” part. You’re just going to put a crap-ton of glue on a small-ish section of the lanterns, to cover as much area as you can without the glue drying, and then grab a handful of fluff and stick it on (again, be CAREFUL that you don’t push down too far because that glue is HOT). There’s really no rhyme or reason to this part, you just don’t want to make it TOO thick, otherwise it may be too heavy and droop down or fall off. You’ll figure it out, and you can always rip it off and re-glue as needed. Keep going until your entire cloud is covered.

– For the bottom hole = use a big/long enough piece to cover over the hole and glue to the other side. Only completely cover one hole so you can put your lights in and attach with the other hole.

– Check your work. After you initially glue all the fluff on, you’re going to find “holes” or places where the fluff isn’t sticking as well as you’d like. Totally normal. Just gently lift the edges that aren’t gluing down, and, you guessed it, put a bunch more glue in there and stick it back down. Just try to lift it enough so you don’t see your glue disaster from the outside.

– Once it all seems pretty secure, cooled, and set, you’re just going to fluff your fluff by moving it around gently until it looks pretty uniform and/or cloud-like and there aren’t any major holes or super thick spots.

Step 4: LIGHT ‘EM UP

– Using your LED fairy lights, unravel or stretch them out slightly so you can somewhat evenly distribute them into each lantern. Put the lights into the top hole (the one that you didn’t completely cover up) and then string a small section to the next lantern to put lights into it, too (try to hide this connection by pushing it down into the fluff a bit), until you have lights in all the lanterns for that cloud. The battery pack (for the non-plug in version) will remain on the outside and either hook to the lantern’s wire or hang by it’s own command strip. If you chose to plug them in, make sure you either have enough room to reach your outlet or a secured extension cord that isn’t anywhere it can become a choking hazard.

Step 5: HANG ‘EM UP

– Using command strips, I simply started with the biggest part of the cloud, or the center, and hooked into the wire part of the lantern with my command strip ready and sticky, and then just pushed and held wherever I thought it should go. Then, I did the same for any other sections so that each lantern had it’s own command strip holding it up (I didn’t 100% trust that the glue would hold ALL the sections up with just one section connected to the wall). I also used a separate command strip hook somewhere behind the cloud and hung the battery pack onto it separately, just to ensure it wouldn’t fall through, or something. **The remote should work through the cloud to turn it on and off, but make sure to test it so you can place it in the optimum spot**

– As mentioned before, if you’d rather have clouds floating throughout your room vs. on the wall… you can either use a command hook like these or a ceiling hook like these and then attach with fishing line!

DONE!

Admire your beautiful work. You’re so crafty. I knew you could do it. 😉

**Additional Notes**

– If you want to be really fancy, you could hang ribbons, crystals, or string some of the lights through the bottom for a sort of “rain” effect coming out of your clouds.

– Each light set will come with it’s own remote (if you purchase the ones from the link) but one remote will work for all 3 – you may just have to point it at each cloud directly as they might not all come on at the same time, especially if they’re spaced far apart. My advise, keep the extra remotes. Kids LOVE remotes and you’re bound to lose one… or two.

– WORDS OF CAUTION

1. Again, I advise only using LED lights for these clouds as other lights may produce heat and could cause a fire hazard.
2. PLACE OUT OF REACH. NEVER place anything with cords somewhere that a child could reach them or pull them into their crib. They could get tangled and strangle to death.

**DISCLAIMER – This DIY is for novice instructional purposes only and should only be used as information by capable adults. The end result may vary and the end user assumes all responsibility for any fire, fall, trip, choke, or other hazards**