Christmas lights that do not work anymore are a dilemma
that most people face nearly every year in some capacity, especially if those lights
are older incandescent lights. Newer LED
bulbs last much longer while simultaneously saving tremendous amounts of
energy. If you still have problem
lights, we found some great ideas for you.
Hopefully at least one of them will suit your tastes.
If your non-functioning bulbs are mini bulbs, you can
remove them from the strand and stuff inside one (or more) clear Christmas
ornaments. This will create a
conversation piece as well as new ornaments!
If your bulbs are larger, you can paint them or cover
with glitter. Clothes pins will come in
handy for this project! Stand the bulb
in the clothes pin, paint or cover in mod podge & roll in glitter. If you choose the glitter option, you may
want to add a coat of clear spray paint to hold as much of it to the bulb and
eliminate as much glitter mess as possible.
Once the bulbs have dried (overnight is probably best), we found a few
options to display them.
If you only have a few painted/glitter coated bulbs,
turn them into ornaments. Chose a ribbon
that compliments the new bulb color, cut it long enough to tie a bow around two
bulbs (one on each end of the ribbon).
Tie bows to each of the two bulbs, and hang from your tree. You could do several different color/ribbon
combinations to make your tree more interesting.
Another option would be to place all of your bulbs in a
glass container of some kind. A clean,
dry wine bottle would work wonderfully for smaller bulbs, or a vase or bowl for
the larger bulbs. Toss all of your
repurposed bulbs into the glass container and you’ve got a fabulous centerpiece
for your holiday table!
Another simple ornament option uses the bulbs (either
painted, glittered, or without altering), some ribbon, and a Styrofoam
ball. If you have a vast array of bulbs,
you could use Styrofoam balls of different sizes. Simply poke the base of several different
light bulbs into the Styrofoam ball, glue ribbon to hang, and add to your
tree. These would create abstract, very
interesting ornaments, and the kids could help make these as well.
Another option is to simply recycle those old
bulbs. The
Home Depot provides a
recycling option for several products, including Christmas lights!
We hope that one or more of our upcycle projects
interests you. If not, at least you have
a responsible, environmentally friendly recycle option. If you have other ideas, please share them
with us. Need help with another
project? Give us a call or shoot us an
email. We are always here to help in any
way we can.
