Making Christmas Ornaments with Light Bulbs

I've used this project to make inexpensive Christmas presents for co-workers and family for years. For this project, you'll need light-gauge wire (20 to 26 gauge), jewelry pliers or wire cutters, dead light bulbs, white glue, a disposable plastic container, a flat paint brush, a small jar, water, patterned tissue paper, decorative ribbon, and spray polyurethane.

First, cut a length of wire to about arm's length. Double the wire, leaving one side an inch or two longer than the other. Wrap the wire around the screw end of the light bulb and thread the longer end of the wire through the loop.

Bend this strand back around the neck of the bulb in the opposite direction of the other strand until they meet on the side opposite the loop. Twist the two strands together with jewelry pliers until you have a twisted length about two or three inches long.

Then bend the twisted length into a loop over the top of the bulb, forming a hanger for your ornament. Thread each end of the loose wire back through the two loops that are now formed on the neck of the bulb and twist the loose wire ends together two or three times tightly. Leave the loose lengths of wire for attaching ribbon.

Tear the tissue paper into irregularly shaped pieces roughly one to two inches square. Smaller patterns are the easiest to work with. If you want to use tissue paper with space between larger images (like polka dots), start with a layer of tissue paper the same color as the background. Then you can place the images any way you wish without needing to cover the bulb fully. Add a small amount of water to white glue in a flat plastic container or on a paint palette. Keep a small jar of water nearby to control the dilution of glue and rinse your brush between coats.

Brush a little glue onto a portion of the bulb about the size of the tissue paper you want to glue and place the tissue paper onto the glue. Paint the tissue paper lightly with a coat of diluted glue to secure all the edges and eliminate air bubbles. Don't worry if the tissue paper folds in places.

Cover the bulb completely, allowing the tissue paper to dry between applications. You can choose to cover the screw end of the bulb with paper or leave it bare. Don't worry if there is some overlap.

When you have completely covered the bulb, spray with two to four coats of spray polyurethane. Hang so that they aren't touching any surface until completely dry.

Wrap a length of ribbon around the neck of the bulb and tie or secure in place with the loose ends of the wire, depending on the size and type of ribbon. With wire ribbon, you can use the wire to form a bow. Combine different sizes of ribbon for different effects.

After twisting the wire securely enough to hold the ribbon, you can either cut the end and tuck it under the ribbon, or form curlicues with the wire by wrapping around a pencil or small stick.

When you are finished, you'll be amazed at how little your ornaments look like light bulbs, especially if you've used globe bulbs made for bathroom vanities and covered the bulb screw. You will get different effects from using white versus clear bulbs, as well as from varying the thickness of the tissue paper layers. Add more layers to create a more opaque finish.