DIY colorful painted bulbs

December 11, 2012

Have you ever had your heart set on something and couldn’t shake it? Well, when I saw these colorful bulbs from Land of Nod, I knew I wanted them to adorn my Christmas tree. Others must have seen their adorableness as well, because they were all sold out when I went to order them. As I sat down to pout, a light bulb went off. I would paint my own! I grabbed my ipad to search for a tutorial. I found one. Just pour paint in a glass bulb? I have tons of empty glass bulbs and tons of paint. It was meant to be.

Here’s what I did:
(instructions adapted from e-how tutorial)

Supplies:
1. glass bulbs
2. acrylic paint
3. little paper cups (Dixie or styrofoam cups)
4. rubbing alcohol

Instructions:
1. Remove caps from bulbs.
2. Rinse the inside of the bulbs with water. I also poured a little rubbing alcohol to remove excess dust and particles.
2. Allow to dry. I used a blow dryer to speed this process up.
3. Pour a small amount of paint in bulb. Swirl or rotate the bulb around. Add more paint until the bulb is completely covered.
4. Poke holes in a paper cup to help with air circulation.
5. Place bulbs upside down in cup to allow excess paint to drip out.
6. Allow paint to dry overnight or until dry. I gave the bulbs a couple of days to completely dry.
7. Place caps back on bulbs and hang on tree.

A couple of notes:
– You may need to add paint to some bulbs the next day, as some may have patches or streaks.
– The following day I also removed excess paint that had collected at the opening on the bulb, blocking some of the paint to drip out.
– Make sure you allow the bulbs to completely dry. I hung one too early and found the bulb had streaks in it the next day.
– Make sure the cups aren’t too big. Otherwise, the bulbs will get stuck and difficult to take out.

 

 

(photos by Kelle)

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