Designing My Haunted House & Nativity Lanterns: A Creative Journey
When I first sat down to design my nightlights and ornaments, I didn’t know just how much time, testing, and tweaking it would take. I only knew that I wanted something special: lantern nightlights and ornaments that could glow with warmth, carry a story, and work across seasons.
✏️ Two Ideas at Once
It all began in June with two very different themes floating around in my head: a spooky Haunted House and a heartfelt Nativity Scene. Instead of choosing just one, I started working on both at the same time.
Why both? Because I wanted to create not just a single product, but a foundation — a lantern structure I could build on again and again, with different artwork for different seasons. The Haunted House and Nativity became the first two designs that tested that idea.
🛠️ The Messy Middle
Like most creative projects, the middle was messy. I spent weeks building prototypes, adjusting for different material thicknesses, and experimenting with smooth-sided versions that would be easier to assemble with adhesive.
Some pieces didn’t fit right. Some cuts didn’t glow the way I imagined. But every round of testing brought me closer to what I envisioned — lanterns that would be sturdy, beautiful, and versatile. Along the way, I also created fun suncatcher designs and more basic nativity ornaments for versatility.
🏚️ Haunted House Magic
By late June, the Haunted House design really started to come alive. I loved the way the windows glowed and the silhouette took on a spooky charm once lit. I developed it into both an ornament and a nightlight version, giving it flexibility to decorate mantels, shelves, or Halloween trees.
✨ A Nativity That Glows
At the same time, I refined the Nativity design. This one was softer and more reverent, with engraved silhouettes that glowed warmly when lit. Creating both designs together showed me how powerful the -style base could be — spooky or sacred, playful or timeless, it could hold any story.
📦 Ready for Makers
By early August, both collections were finished. The Haunted House and Nativity each became complete sets: nightlight versions, ornament versions, and options to adapt into tealight lanterns.
From first AI sketch to final file package, it took about eight weeks since I was working at night and weekends around my full time oncology nurse case manager job. Two months of brainstorming, testing, adjusting, and finally polishing everything so makers could cut and build them with ease.
🌟 Looking Ahead
The Haunted House and Nativity lanterns were just the beginning. Because I designed the base structure to be flexible, I can roll out new seasonal and themed lanterns — for Christmas, winter, spring, and beyond.
Designing these lanterns taught me patience, persistence, and the joy of seeing an idea become something real and glowing. My hope is that when someone lights one of these lanterns in their home, they see more than just wood and light — they see the heart and creativity that went into every detail.