Friday, December 18, 2009

{tutorial} mini bulb stars

so this is my first tutorial and i really hope it's not a huge disaster. so a few weeks ago i was putting up my christmas lights and like every other year i end up with burned out string lights so this year it was these crystalish sting lights. well i was about to trash them when it hit me to do something with them...anything!!.  so i was totally inspired by these glass stars from {pottery barn}. So here it goes.....






{material needed}
low temperature glue gun
wire cutters
14 burned out bulbs {removed from string} for each star

1. grab bulb {omg can you tell it's my first tutorial ...ok let's focus}
2. remove and dispose of plastic green cap and with wire cutters cut bulb wires
3. now repeat steps 1 & 2 until you have 14 bulbs cut and ready to be glued


glue 4 bulbs in a shape of a cross {use tiny dots of glue on each end....there is no need for glue overload}




keep gluing bulbs in the openings


drum roll please...here are the complete stars ... aren't there precious?


so i'm sooo happy with my little craft that I decided to make star ornaments.


{material needed}
8 in. ribbon
{mini bulb star}
toothpick


tie a knot on the ribbon. dab a small dot of glue in a opening of the {mini star} and using the tooth press the ribbon and hold for a few seconds. voilà a mini bulb star ornament.



{other uses for these mini bulb stars}
hang them on white branches for a simple centerpiece
scatter them
photo holder
napkin rings
gift embellishments
garland
suncatchers

can you think of any other uses for these mini bulb stars?


16 comments :

  1. What a good idea, VERY cute! And you did a great job on the tutorial - I don't have these exact bulbs, but I definitely have plenty of burned out ones in other styles to use. Thanks for sharing!

    xox,
    Susan

    confessionsofasineater.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Those are simply lovely! I love the use of that beautiful glass - would be a shame to just throw them away. I loved your photos with arrows and instructions! Made it very easy to follow.

    ReplyDelete
  3. thank you very much... i appreciate your feedback

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am writing to request permission to reprint this adorable project on Craftown.com. We would of course give you full credit and will happily link back to your blog. Please let me know if this is acceptable. Thanks!

    Amanda Formaro
    Chief Editor - Craftown.com
    http://craftown.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. I loved your idea so much so that I posted it on Facebook. (I gave you full credit and even added a link so they could come here to get the tutorial.) I have over the past few years gone through all my old Christmas light strings and replaced them with the new LED light strings, trying to be more GREEN. (Good Tip: Buy them after Christmas when they are on sale for half price.) Anyway, I didn't want to send all the old ones to the landfill but didn't know what to do with them until I came across this at: http://www.allfreeholidaycrafts.com/Crafts-With-Recycled-Materials/Beautiful-Upcycled-Bulb-Stars/ct/1
    I have tons of old bulbs of various sizes and colors and I can see this working so well for all of them. Thank You so much for your creativity and this wonderful Tutorial that explains how simply you did it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I really love your idea and your tutorial. I am prepared to have fun with this project. i see you actually did this in Dec 2009. Isn't it fascinating to see how long people keep finding it and enjoying it.
    Thank you so much. pat

    ReplyDelete
  7. I really love your idea and your tutorial. I am prepared to have fun with this project. i see you actually did this in Dec 2009. Isn't it fascinating to see how long people keep finding it and enjoying it.
    Thank you so much. pat

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks so much for the easy directions. Everybody probably has some burnt out bulbs with their Christmas lights. Great idea.. ella

    ReplyDelete
  9. I wonder if the glue would melt if these were made 'on the string' using the center bulb that is still on the light string. That would be beautiful if it worked!

    ReplyDelete
  10. YAY! I love Christmas decorations!!! It's my favorite holiday for DIY decorations. This is a good tutorial!

    ReplyDelete
  11. love the instructions very easy to follow during summer vacation I have little kids over all the time and I tryto teach them crafts this is so easy they will love using all my old lights up they really like to recycle thanks for the craft

    ReplyDelete
  12. This is a great idea, never thought of something like this. There is still so much that a person could make with the lights. It's great to have ideas like you have started. Hope to see more from you.

    ReplyDelete
  13. This is a great idea! I was just thinking of throwing out the burned out lights, I'm glad I didn't! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Excellent idea, and great job on the tutorial.

    ReplyDelete
  15. It may have been your first tutorial but it sure was a great one. Great instruction and the finished product is gorgeous. Thanks for Sharing your idea.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thank you for sharing your great idea! How many of those burned out bulbs have we all thrown away? I' thinking of using some colored bulbs too! Thanks again for sharing you idea!

    ReplyDelete

Blog Widget by LinkWithin

Blog Design by Get Polished