Upcycled Panda: Turning a Toy Nail Dryer Into a Cute Night Light

Sometimes the best projects start with something that is about to be thrown away.

I found an old gadget that was no longer being used: a cute little panda that used to blow air when you pressed its paw, allowing you to dry your nails after applying nail polish.

It was basically ready for the trash, but instead of throwing it away, I decided to give it a completely new purpose: a little night light for my 5-year-old daughter.

The panda already had the perfect shape for it, so I only needed to give it a new electronic heart.

The main goal of this project was to reuse as much as possible, either from old electronic devices or from things you can easily find around the house.

Materials and tools:

1. 1 nail-drying panda gadget (if you have anything similar lying around, that could work just as well!)
2. 1 MT3608 DC-DC step-up converter
3. 1 kΩ potentiometer, used as a variable resistor — alternatively, a 200 Ω resistor can be used for a fixed brightness
4. 1 white LED
5. Small pieces of electrical wire
6. Soldering iron
7. Scissors
8. Glue
9. 2 AAA rechargable batteries

Reused materials

1. 1 small black rubber gasket
2. 1 small toggle switch, salvaged from an old electronic device
3. 1 wooden skewer
4. Small piece of green cardboard

I started by completely disassembling the gadget.

The original electronics were extremely simple: two AAA batteries, a small 3V DC motor, and a simple mechanical "button" that closed the circuit by bringing two metal tabs into contact.

There wasn't much to save, but the batteries compartment, the enclosure and especially the panda itself were perfect for the new project.

Since the motor was no longer needed, I removed it together with the original switch mechanism.

The original gadget was powered by two AAA batteries, providing approximately 3V. I wanted to use a small white LED for the night light, so I added an MT3608 step-up converter to increase the battery voltage to the level required by my LED, i.e. 3.7 Volts.

I also wanted a proper on/off switch. Luckily, I already had a small toggle switch in my parts box. It had been salvaged from some old electronic device a long time ago.

Even better, the original panda had a small cavity where the air outlet for the nail dryer used to be. It was the perfect place to install the new switch.

The wiring is very simple. I connected the positive and negative wires from the battery compartment to the + and - inputs of the MT3608 step-up converter.

To control the brightness, I used a small 1 kΩ potentiometer as a variable resistor. I connected the center pin (wiper) to one of the outer pins. This allows the resistance to be adjusted by turning the knob, which in turn changes the current flowing through the LED and therefore its brightness.

The connections are:

1. Battery compartment + → MT3608 IN+
2. Battery compartment - → MT3608 IN-
3. MT3608 OUT+ → toggle switch
4. Toggle switch → 1 kΩ potentiometer
5. Potentiometer → LED anode (+)
6. LED cathode (-) → MT3608 OUT-

I then adjusted the MT3608 output voltage and the potentiometer until I found a comfortable brightness for a night light. The potentiometer is particularly useful here because the light doesn't need to be very bright: a low setting gives a soft glow that is much more suitable for a child's bedroom.

The original panda had a plastic piece forming its nose, which was no longer useful; I removed it and made a small hole through which the LED could shine.

At first, I also tried drilling through the black part of the nose using my Dremel but that didn't work very well: the plastic started melting instead of being cleanly removed, and the black plastic also blocked too much of the light.

So I tried a much simpler solution: I found a small black flexible rubber gasket and fitted it inside the existing opening, and it worked surprisingly well!

But my panda needed one last detail.

Since it was going to become a night light for my daughter, I wanted to emphasize the concept, and what's there better than bamboo for a panda?

I made fake bamboo branches using nothing more than:

1. a wooden skewer;
2. some green cardboard.

I cut and shaped the cardboard to create the bamboo leaves and hot glued the branches to the base of the panda.

And that's it! An old nail dryer that was heading for the trash has become a cute little panda night light.

The original batteries and enclosure were reused, the old motor and switch were replaced with a simple LED circuit, and even the new switch and bamboo decorations were made from parts and materials I already had around.

Most importantly, my daughter now has a little panda to keep her company at night. And I think even the panda is much happier now!