Transform Your Book Nook Dioramas with Easy LED Lights

[@DonChera-tq8wh]

Just discovered you, and will work my way through your videos. Love the light ideas, and I have dreamt of building a dollhouse, but it always felt to overwhelming, but maybe I can make a room at a time (modular book nook style????). I will definitely look at your patreon on payday. Really appreciate the clear instructions regarding the why and how you do things. ❤

[@RandomMakingEncounters]

I have a project I'm working on that is exactly that idea. It's a project that is one room at a time. I guess brilliant minds work alike!! To play some small part in inspiring others is one of the most rewarding things to hear. I wish you the very best on your dream project!

[@cerisekappes580]

Really beautiful 😊😊😊

[@RandomMakingEncounters]

Thanks! LEDs make everything better! Cheers!

[@basfinnis]

Lovely effects. Think it looks really effective with the lighting.

[@RandomMakingEncounters]

Thank you! I appreciate it! I focus quite a bit on lighting and electronics on the channel because I think it can seem intimidating to people without a lot of experience with soldering and electronics. Adding lighting can take an amazing nook/diorama and make it really, really amazing. Best of all... it's pretty easy. Thanks again and all the best!

[@G_Threepwood]

This turned out great, really beautiful

[@RandomMakingEncounters]

Thanks! I appreciate that. There were a couple of things I might have done differently but there were some fun challenges that worked out too!! Cheers!

[@KimiPetri]

Cool!

[@RandomMakingEncounters]

Thanks! Hope there's some little bit of information that will help out. All the best!

[@mothman411]

Looks great !!

[@RandomMakingEncounters]

Thanks! There were some rough patches but it all turned out in the end… I think 😂.

[@diyfireking]

Perfect work 😍😍

[@RandomMakingEncounters]

Thanks! I'm still not sure about the paint on the case but I'm my own worst critic LOL! Just took a look at your channel. Those are some crazy builds! I thought gluing lots of little foam rocks felt time consuming but YIKES!

[@danbrit9848]

love the work..i dont reed so have no book shelf but i have a pc ,,,so im building a book nook kit of amazon and adding light up parts for pc stuff so in the end i can change the lighting with my pc

[@RandomMakingEncounters]

That's a fantastic idea! Anything you can do to make lighting dynamic adds a lot to the overall project. All the best with your build! Cheers!

[@jackieduckworth1007]

I love the lighting. I’ve only tried using those little strings of LED lights and they are hard to control! How would you go about lighting a booknook depicting an outdoor scene, ie with a sky? (I fixed the string of lights in place usimg massive amounts of araldite, and then shielded the glare and hid the wires and araldite with a piece of frosted acrylic, which wasn’t too bad).

[@RandomMakingEncounters]

Funny that you should ask! I'm about to drop a new diorama video where I need to have a really diffused area of light! It's not a nook but the challenge is the same... how to diffuse light over a large area without ending up with LED hot spots. Spoiler/sneak peek... edge lighting was the answer for me. You're on the right track. Lots of light and a diffusion material. I was tempted to use an LED grid and diffuse that but found it just kinda looked like a raging dumpster fire. What worked for me was to run a couple of loops of LEDs around the edge, cover the base (or ceiling in your case) with some tinfoil to reflect the light, and diffuse the light with a ripple acrylic panel. In your case I would use something like frosted acrylic or even a sheet of thin paper. I ended up with pretty even lighting and only needed to hide the edges a bit so the LEDs didn't show. I've really been wanting to do an outdoor nook with lighting that changes by time of day. I have two big projects in the queue, including a nook for Halloween, but will add this to the must do queue. Hope that helped a bit. You're on the right track. Getting diffused light turned out to be much harder than I anticipated! All the best!

[@gusy629]

Is it easy to replace the batteries?

[@RandomMakingEncounters]

There are a few types of battery holders. Some are open and easy to pop batteries in and out but don’t have a switch. This one has a switch but ya need to be careful about mounting it so you can slide the case on and off to get to the batteries. I also keep the back of the nook open to access the battery compartment. If you’re using a few LEDs, batteries will last a reasonable amount of time. Hope that helps!! All the best.