Disney’s ‘Rivers Of Light’ DIY Luminaries – #DisneyKids

It’s no surprise that we are a very Disney family, so we were thrilled to be chosen to host a #DisneyKids Preschool Playdate. My creativity started kicking into over-drive thinking of what the theme of our Playdate Party would be and how to incorporate the box of goodies Disney and MomSelect provided us to help create an #unforgettable experience.

I follow the Disney Parks Blog pretty regularly and remembered recently reading a post regarding the Animal Spirit Guide Floats for Disney’s Animal Kingdom’s first nighttime show, ‘Rivers of Light,’ debuting April 22. The entire show looks beautiful, colorful and absolutely enchanting–the perfect theme for our #DisneyKids Preschool Playdate. I love doing crafts with the kiddos, so it was great to find Tulip’s Puffy Paint in glitter animal prints and Aleene’s Tacky Glue included in our box of stuff. Immediately I started thinking about creating fun luminaries reminiscent of the Animal Spirit Guide floats for the new show. My kiddos and I made a few samples to make sure they worked out okay and were easy enough for preschoolers to do with a little help. They turned out better than we expected and I really like how sparkly the Tulip’s Puffy Paint looks. Our Disney ‘Rivers Of Light’ DIY luminaries are beautiful in the light and the dark.

You will need:

A Glass Jar — Any shape and size will work. You can use mason jars or old glasses, we used leftover candle jars.

Tissue Paper — Cut or torn into small pieces

Aleene’s Tacky Glue or other craft glue

Tulip Puffy Paint – We really liked the Animal Glitter Paint

A Paint Brush

1. Using the paintbrush, brush an even coat of glue onto a small area of the glass jar.
2. Press a piece of the tissue paper onto the glue. Push out to the edges to remove air bubbles. Then, use your paintbrush and glue again to coat the top of the tissue paper. My kids loved this step because you don’t need to be too careful. The more glue they slather on, the better. 
3. Add more glue to another part of the glass (overlapping with the previous piece of tissue paper) and add another piece of tissue paper. Repeat previous step adding more glue over the top of the paper. 
4. Continue these steps until the glass is covered in tissue paper. If there are gaps you can leave them or cut out a smaller piece of tissue to cover them. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just have fun with it. 
5. Once the glass is completely covered and you have let it dry fully, it’s time to add the Puffy Paint. 
6. Choose a color and carefully go along the edges of your overlapping tissue paper. This is the step where younger kids are going to need the most help. My kids were happy being done after the gluing part, so I just added the puffy paint after it had dried and they had lost interest. Again, there is no right or wrong. You choose how much to outline and where to put the Puffy Paint.
7. Let dry again and voila! You have completed your Disney’s ‘Rivers of Light’ DIY luminary. Trim any extra tissue paper from the top edge and “light it up.” For safety, I like using LED candles.

I hope you enjoy making these as much as we did. If you do, please share a photo with me and comment below. Stay tuned, I can’t wait to share more about our Disney’s ‘Rivers of Light’ #DisneyKids Preschool Playdate.