DIY RECYCLED CHRISTMAS LIGHT BULBS into SNOWMEN ORNAMENTS

A few years ago I won a long strand of these old type Christmas lights in an auction box.  The bigger bulbs that would get hot to the touch.

I used them for one season and figured I'd just take them apart for a craft.
And finally, just yesterday, I got around to painting them in a design similar to some I'd seen on Etsy for $6.75 each. I just love all the snowmen items that the shop, FlatHillGoods, makes.

So here's how I made my version of

RECYCLED CHRISTMAS LIGHT BULBS into SNOWMEN ORNAMENTS
in case you want to give them a try.

Here they are again before, after I had unscrewed them from the light strand.

First off, I just got out some of my craft paints and a variety of paint brushes and began painting on white circles for faces.

Letting them all dry, I was ready to add some eyes and mouths in a charcoal gray.
I use the end of my brush, the plastic tip for this process.

And then comes the cinnamon orange noses.

And a few more with noses....

And then after they dry, I go back with the antique white and add a little dab of snow to their noses and white dots to their eyes.

I love the finer little details like this.

Then I take a toothbrush, dip it in a mixture of half water and half off white paint, and do the speckle effect.

I love how it makes them all snowy looking.

And then after they dry, they are ready for their wire hangers.
I just used the craft, thin gauge wire. It is at the Dollar Mart, 3 rolls in a pack for $1.00.

And then after the hangers are on, I was ready to add some decorations.
I cut up pieces of the green garland and wove them into the wire hanger.

And I also cut some strips of jute twine and tied them on to a few.

Then I found some small, metal, rusty stars in my craft supplies and I slid a few of them onto the wire hanger also.

On the rusty star, I plan to write "FROSTY" in off white if I have time later.

And here they are, all coming together.

 I gave the ends of the wire hangers a twirl with the tip of a paintbrush also.

I priced these with sticky, print out tags, for $2.49 each.

And here they are all ready for the Christmas shoppers in my local co-op craft booth.

Remember, keep those ole glass Christmas bulbs. You may just want to give this a try one day!

Speaking of Christmas, I've started listing some of my hand made, custom necklaces/charms on Etsy.
Here's the latest: GOD Gave Me U if you're interested in custom gifts.

GOD GAVE ME YOU

See ya'll next time,
~Lisa

SNOWMEN LIGHT UP ORNAMENTS with Names

Here's some cute blinking snowmen ornaments I've made.

I know most people won't have these orange, clip on, safety blinkers on hand for this craft. 

Original before photo

But in case you ever run across them at the Dollar Mart keep this in mind. They are meant to be clipped on to children's backpacks or for runners or walkers for a safety precaution.  But I've made them into blinking snowmen ornaments.

First I strung up a line with twine, as seen above using thumbtacks between my porch posts.

And then I just clipped them on and got ready to spray paint one coat.

I like the Rustoleum brand of spray paint.

I was also spray painting more clothespins for my Snowmen Clothespin magnets also.

And after one coat, (that's why I like the Rustoleum brand,) they were ready to go to the next step.

I took them all in and laid them out on wax paper to protect my table.

And then I Googled "snowmen faces," and looked at the various ones that came up.

I then just sort of mimicked the ones I liked best. I love the ones with the big eyes the best.

Here's how I do it in lots at one time. Don't worry, just go step by step like below and it's not hard at all.

Just dot on some eyes and dots for a beginning. 

Here's a tip. 

I usually dip my end of the brush without bristles into the paint and use that as a great circle for these parts!

And then continue onto more and more.

I had to move into another room, so I moved them onto my big piece of pine work board for easy hauling.

See the one with the mouth open, you can just draw on about anything you want to change up their faces a bit. It gives them their own personality.

And then to the rest of the faces and my favorite parts, the snowmen noses!

I just dip a very long haired brush into the cinnamon orange and let the nose draw out long and taper off. And go back and sometimes make it thicker with another stroke.

Then, you'll just want to remember to add eyeballs and some snow on the noses.

Here's an up close.

Sometimes I add a bit of pink to their cheeks and sometimes I don't. Just if I remember.

I even tried to "grungy up" some of them by adding a layer of Elmers glue over their faces and then sprinkling on cinnamon.  But I didn't like it too much, so I didn't do too many.

Here's a few more shots of a bunch of them.

These are my favorite eyes. I saw them on Pinterest on a lid that was painted and I loved it!

As you see, some of them have names at the top. I had an order for a few so I did them while I was at it.

And here's a few more pics.

And here's what they look like with their light button pushed on. 

They have 3 light settings too. Constant blinking, pulse and a slow glow which is my favorite. 

I tied on some homespun to the top clips after the pics. Just various colors.

I think these will look awesome with the whole families names on a tree all lit up Christmas morning! 

What do you think? 

See ya'll next time,

-Lisa