Thankfully, it’s a Leap Year! I luckily gained one extra day to post my February craft – DIY Light Bulb Flower Vases! Happy Leap Year, everybody!
Inspiration:
The source to this photo is unknown. (If you made this: Please email me so I can officially credit you for your great idea!)
Nathan and I did this project on Valentine’s Day. Instead of spending money and going out, we decided to stick to our budget and enjoy a night in. To have something to do, we agreed that it would be the perfect time to work on this project!
Everything needed for this craft is free, if you have the items laying around the house, or a friend you can borrow things from. (Nathan had most of the tools we needed to work with.)
What you’ll need:
Light bulbs (any size) – I waited for the ones in my house to go out before starting this project. That way, it’s free! Side note – DON’T use florescent ones! These have chemicals inside of them that you shouldn’t be exposed to!
Flat head pliers, screw driver, and if you’re still having a hard time, grab a nail. (Or just something that is thin and won’t break under a lot of pressure – just one needed!)
Glasses or goggles to work in – don’t hurt your precious eyes! You’ll want to see the ending result. 
Work gloves – protect your hands in case a bulb shatters!
One towel – to cover the bulb as you’re working. This will hold the shattered pieces of glass in case it breaks.
A work space (table or ground) with a cover for an easy throw away. (We unfolded and tore up paper bags we get from the store.)
Thin wire to hang the vases with – I had some from a jewelry crafting faze, so for me this was free!
My total cost of this project = $FREE!
Step One: To get started, lay out towels or cut paper bags for your work space. (Small metal and plastic pieces may fly everywhere – so be careful!) Make sure you have working goggles, (or glasses, like we used) as well as work gloves and an extra towel to wrap the bulb in as you’re working. (The first blub that we worked on shattered. I was glad I had the towel as the “just in case!”)
Step Two: Using the pliers, pick at the flat silver piece of the light bulb’s end. After you pull it off there will be a black piece of plastic. You need to break that in order to get inside the bulb. This is where the nail comes in. We used the nail as leverage to snap a piece of the black part off. After that, you can use the pliers again to chip away at what is left.
Step Three: When you get the plastic out, there is the glass and metal piece that makes up the actual working section of the bulb. We used the screwdriver to break that. (Be gentle! I got frustrated at one point, jammed it in a little too hard, and it broke the entire bulb. Oops!)
Step Four: After you break it, you can shake all of the pieces out, wash out the bulb to clean, and get started on the next section!
* For the bulbs that are not clear: The white part is actually powder. You can push a napkin through the bulb to clean out most of it (it’s very easy!) and then pour water into it to get the rest.
Step Five: Adding the wire to each bulb is pretty easy. Make sure you figure out how long you want each wire. I underestimated mine originally, then added a new section of wire to it, but I don’t love how you can see the original mistake. I will go back in at one point and re-cut new wire for each one, but I can do that at a later date. Don’t make my mistake – measure it before you cut!
Step Six: Loop the wire around the metal part of the bulb. Make sure you twist and go back a few times to make it strong! Then, loop the wire around itself as you go up. Then, create a circle at the very top as your “hanger.” Repeat this process for each bulb.
Don’t mind the fancy shirt – it was Valentine’s Day! I still had to look cute.
Step Seven: When you’re done, you’ll be able to take each light bulb and string them together to make one large cluster. I twisted all of my wires together to make one large wire, instead of keeping them as separate strings.
The Finished Product:
I’m debating whether I want to add more light blubs to my cluster or not. I’m giving it some time before I decide and re-cut more wire. But I love the look! I haven’t bought flowers for it, although the trees we have in front of our house has blossoms that bloomed around the same time as making these. Those are the flowers you see inside of the vases.
This project was time consuming, but worth it. It took us about 3 hours to do 12 light bulbs. (Minus the one we broke!) Once we understood the technique in how to break each section, we were on a roll! It definitely gets easier the more times you do it. Just remember to be patient – the ending result is great!
Do you like this craft? Pin it on Pinterest! View my pin here:
Have you tried this craft? Share your experience/photos below in the comments!
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