The movie Paper Towns hit theaters earlier this week. Although, I’m not particularly interested in this flick, the title caught my eye. Paper Towns–could a more perfect title for a crafter exist? If you want to learn how to make this Paper Town Three-Drawer Night Light Unit, featuring rows of paper houses, please check out the free tutorial.

This three-drawer night light unit had simple beginnings as a leftover gift box and some foam core.

There’s an interesting side note about this project. Although he never said so directly, it was clear my Dad was not a fan of my art. Endless layers, textures, ephemera and more are the exact opposite of his style. A purist architect, who had once worked for the famed Eero Saarinen, my dad believed that “more did not make better”.

Due to both my journalism and graphic design backgrounds, I appreciated, understood and applied this approach in my professional work. However, crafting is my escape from rigid rules and precise measurements. As a result, most of my art has lots of “more”.

He suggested more than once that I design sympathy cards because there were none simple enough for his liking. I gave him a couple of samples containing a line art flower surrounded by lots of white space, yet those were still too ornate. At some point I gave up. Honestly though, I think the only card that would have pleased him would have been one teeny, terse phrase written in Helvetica All Caps:

It is safe to say he was a no nonsense man.

My dad passed away in June. As I was working on Paper Towns, my sister noticed it and chuckled, “You are channeling your inner father.” She was right. I finally made some art he would have liked.

So, Dad, this one’s for you. Thank you for being my night light and unwavering beacon of safety.