Recycling Project: Light bulb ornaments

Happy holidays everyone! Today I am writing to you from the beautiful Caribbean island of St. Maarten, where I am spending my Christmas with my grandparents.

Picture courtesy of: Me

Today I wanted to show you an awesome recycling project for Christmas. The next time your light bulb goes out, don’t throw it away! You can make it into a lovely ornament for the tree or for the garlands.

Picture courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/36420053@N07/5156276597/?rb=1

Materials needed:

Lightbulb

Acrylic paints

Paint brush

Wire

Wire cutters and pliers

Hot glue

Marker (optional)

Steps:

1.     If your light bulb was recently in use, make sure it’s cooled off so you don’t burn yourself.

2.     Decide on a design and play around with it on paper first. You might want to use a marker to draw on the bulb to test out your design and make sure you like it. Remember, you’ll be hanging the bulb from the end that is used to screw it into fixtures, so the top of your design will be at the stem of the bulb.

3.     Apply the paint and allow to dry. If you don’t have something to stand the bulb in, you’ll want to paint one side first, let it dry, and then turn it over to paint the other side.

4.     Using the wire cutters and pliers, shape a strip of wire into a loop to hang your bulb from. You can make it straight or put a little extra time in to spiral the loop.

5.     Using the hot glue, glue each end of the wire onto the stem of the bulb and hold until dry. You can also skip the glue and wrap the wire around the base instead.

6.     Hang up your new, recycled ornament and be proud! Merry Christmas

Picture courtesy of: Dorthy Shepard on http://www.betterbudgeting.com/christmasornaments10/penguinandsnowman.htm

Recycled light bulb ornaments can be great for other holidays and occasions too!

Picture courtesy of: Beth Watson at http://bwdesignstudio.blogspot.com/2011/10/recycled-light-bulb-jack-o-lanterns.html

When your old light bulbs blow out, take the opportunity to invest in fluorescent bulbs and save energy and money! 

Want to know what else you can do to have a greener Christmas? Check out Viridorari's most recent green challenge here. 

If you have any ideas for the blog, or if you have questions or want to know more about the Climate March, email me at viridorari@yahoo.com.

Have a safe and wonderful holiday, wherever you are!