One of the many pros of being a father is that you can hide that you're a kid too, just a little bigger. When having kids, you can shamelessly enjoy playing with whatever you want and fulfill dreams you had as a child because, at last, you have the money. Another advantage is the fact that everyone else thinks you're doing it for the kids :)

Today, in my modest DIY post, I’ll show you how to make a Death Star. Also the expense will be modest, as the most important component - a spherical, paper lamp - costs just a few bucks. The simplest is a paper one. I also found a textile one but it costs 5 times more.

So, we need a paper lamp, white and black paint and a brush. The number of brushes grows with the number of kids. It's also a good idea to have a string on which you can hang the lamp for the duration of painting.

The execution is ridiculously simple

First, we paint the whole sphere gray - light gray. After the paint dries ( it's important that it does, otherwise you'll make holes in the paper), we mix a darker gray paint and sketch the elements. The infamous circle is the most important and the rest is up to you. It is vital that the "equator" is left unpainted. Of course, you can try to copy the Death Star in more detail, but you have to cut your coat to suit your cloth and figure if you want to do it yourself or with children.

In our case, the kids laid the base - I just fixed it. Later, I drew the contours, and they filled them in. Think about putting a large sheet of paper or film under the Star. I have a theory, however, that regardless of the size of the protective paper, someone will always step into the paint, knock the cup of water down, and in general - make a mess. But well, this is just part of the fun, isn’t it?

The finished Death Star can be used as a normal lamp or simply hung as a room decoration. After long negotiations with my wife, we settled that in our case it will be a decoration in the kids' room.

I recommend this for a winter afternoon. It's very easy to do and gives a nice effect. And of course there is this priceless moment when your wife asks "What is dad doing?" and the kids answer "He’s building the Death Star!"

Best wishes,
Zuch

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