Olivia's Easy Peasy Decorative, Mood Lighting || Mini Tutorial

 I'm really excited to share this fun lighting idea with you.   I'm a big fan of white Christmas lights.  All.Year.Long.  I love the twinkles, and I really love the mood it creates in a space.   I use them in my kitchen (no photo . . . yet),
occasionally hang them in my living room,

You can see my wreath here.

 and when I was in my mid-twenties, I hung them in my bedroom.

 I just can't get enough of the lights.  So it only seemed fitting to stuff them into a clear decorative piece and call it good.  Right?

The original plan : Buy a large, clear vase, drill a hole in the back, stuff the lights inside, run the cord through the hole I drilled, and place in Owen's room for a night light.

source

What really happened :  Browsing through T.J.Maxx, saw awesome pear, looked at pear, what would I do with a huge glass pear???, bought pear, placed it in Owen's room, oh duh, christmas lights,  loved it too much,  moved it to the living area. 


The Quick How To

If you can't find a clear vase with a hole at the bottom, you will need to drill one.  You can drill into glass, but you need the right tools.  Your hole only needs to be big enough to fit the cord through, so you can plug in the lights, UNLESS your vase is closed off.  You will need some way to get the lights into your object.  Here's a great glass drilling tutorial by Mandi, from Vintage Revivals.

I was fortunate that my pear already had a large hole in the back (like fist size hole).  What in the world would you do with a pear that has a huge hole in the back???  Seriously, if I weren't stuffing lights into it, I wouldn't know what to do with it.

I simply placed two strands of Christmas lights into the pear (approximately 66 feet).  I tried to move the lights around, so there wouldn't be a huge glob of just strands.  


ENJOY!

This is what it looks like with the lights off.

This is what it looks like AT NIGHT.  It's even prettier in person.  It has a nice twinkle to it.

 Any Issues with Overheating?

Only if you put too many lights in.  You need adequate air flow.  My pear was large enough to fit 96 feet of Christmas lights (3 separate strands total), but I could only use two strands.  I tried three to get a fuller effect and left the room for a little while.  When I came back, I smelled a slight electrical scent.  No good.  I reduced it to two, and it was perfect.  No smells.  No burns.  You will need to test your object to find out how many lights you can place in it.

Does the Glass Get Hot?

My pear gets warm, but not hot.  My 2 year old can touch the pear after it has been plugged in for the day.  You will need to test your object to find out how many lights you can place in it.


I told you it was easy.  So, do you think you are going to give this a try? 

I'm sharing my stuff anything into a clear vase with:
I Should Be Mopping the Floor,Making the World Cuter, CRAFT,  Mad in Crafts, Keeping it Simple,Gingersnap Crafts,