A stylish centerpiece, necklace, and artichokes?! Don't throw your old lightbulbs away. Repurpose them.
Turns out lightbulbs are worth keeping around long after they lose power. Check out these three inspired ways to put them to use.
First up, Julee from Warm Hot Chocolate crafts a lightbulb centerpiece.
Step 1: gather your supplies. Consider options that will hide the bottom section while allowing the upper portion to remain exposed. Small vases, flower pots, candle holders, and even tin cans are great options. Then decide how many lights you will use. This will drive the number of light bulbs, batteries, and flashlight bulbs you will need to create your centerpiece. The version shown uses a vintage wooden sugar mold.
Step 2: prepare the lightbulbs. First, remove the existing lights from the light bulbs. This is a little messy and is best done outside or over a drop cloth in order to catch the broken glass. This tutorial walks you through the steps to remove the base and inside light using needle nose pliers.
Step 3: make the battery-powered lights. Next, you can begin assembling your lights. You will need one AAA battery and one flashlight replacement bulb for each light bulb in your centerpiece. You'll also need electrical wire and tape. Make sure the voltage of the flashlight bulbs are matched to the voltage output of the batteries (1.5V).
Step 4: cut two pieces of wire approximately 8 inches each. Attach one end of each piece to opposite sides of the battery and secure with tape. Attach the other ends of each piece of wire to the wires of the flashlight bulb. At this point, the light should illuminate. If it does not, you may need to secure the wire to the battery and/or to the light more tightly.
Step 5: once the light and battery is secured, you can insert the light into the lightbulb.
Once all of your light bulbs are assembled, insert them into your containers.
And you're done — that's some truly elegant upcycling.
Source: warmhotchocolate.com
Next up, Stephanie from Stuff Steph Does creates a lightbulb necklace.
Source: stuffstephdoes.com
