10 Things Tuesday: Light Bulbs

Now that we've switched to those energy saving/flourescent bulbs, we have a few old incandescent bulbs lying around that I don't know what to do with.  So looking around for ideas was really fun!  Some of it was even jaw-dropping.  I may have to go buy MORE old bulbs so I can make a few of these.  :)

*NOTE* You should clean/strip out the bulb for almost all of these projects.  Look it up.  Be safe!  :)

10. Ornaments--these could be lots of fun for kids to do...and you don't have to clean them out at all!  You can paint, modpodge tissue paper, or just glue glitter on old bulbs and wrap wire around them to hang them on the tree! 

9. Light Bulb Birds--another craft for the kiddos...just paint and add feathers, and hang with fishing wire!

8. Storage--store old embroidery floss or pretty tinsel in bulbs without tops (you can use a fine-tooth metal blade to cut off the tip, and then sand it down).

7. Pretty Teapot Decor--I like tea sets, so I love this idea!  I think there's some clay or papier-mache involved, but I'm sure you could adapt it to what you have around. 

6. Mini Terrariums or (gasp!) aquariums--please don't lock a tiny fish in a tiny bulb!  I'm pretty sure these are old, large bulbs.  The terrarium, though, I could maybe see being smaller.  NOTE: for these or anything involving living organisms, or anything you may ingest, do NOT use the energy-saving bulbs...they have mercury and will kill or poison the fish/plants/YOU!

5. Beautiful clear(ish) vases!  Saw off the metal tip of the bulb, and add in some water and flowers!  I love how these look hanging in the sunlight!

4. Ship-in-a-bottle.  Pretty self-explanatory...and crazy!

3. Oil Lamp/Candle.  An artist sells these for HUNDREDS of dollars...but I'm thinking with a tray, some glue, and some clear parrafin wax you could make these for much cheaper!  :)

2. Salt and Pepper shakers!  It turns out that most caps for 16-oz bottles screw on perfectly to a lightbulb bottom.  So saw off the tip of the bulb, poke some holes in the cap, and fill 'er up...you're ready to go! 

1. Twine Pears!  SO chic and I love them lots!  I think they're pretty self-explanatory, too.  But how gorgeous are they?

BONUS IDEA: Maracas!  Not really for young hands, at least not without supervision, but still...you can paper mache around them and a cardboard tube, then smash the glass just hard enough for IT to break but not the maracas, as shown below...or you could paint the outside, saw off the tip, add a few small beads or something inside, and add a thick rod handle with some glue and paint it.  Fun, either way!

Well, hopefully this inspired you to reuse those old lightbulbs for something crazy and inventive and very YOU!

10 Things Tuesday: Picture Frames

I don't know about you, but we are ALWAYS getting new frames.  After a while, I get sick of them, or whatever picture is inside them, but I don't really know how to jazz those frames up or use them in a more creative way.  Well, if you're like me, here are some ideas to get you going!

FIRST OF ALL, don't forget that a new paint color, or distressing it with sandpaper, or turning it into a mosaic, or covering the frame with crayons/mod-podge paper/fabric/shells/rocks/flowers/WHATEVER can really transform the frame into one you want to use again!  But if that doesn't quite inspire you enough, take a look at these top 10 ideas!

10. TUTU frames!  I'm kinda proud of this because it's an original idea and I have made almost a dozen of them for gifts.  Just paint the frame, add some flowers around it, glue a tulle tutu on the bottom, and add some ribbon straps to hang it on...and you have the perfect little dance frame for your ballerina!

9. Open Frames!  For a more casual look, paint and distress the frame and put some eyelets on the insides and hang a wire, then use mini clothespins to hang on your pictures--so fun!

8. Frame gallery...okay, this isn't really my style, but some houses--especially those with a vintage or country feel--may pull this off really well.  Just paint a bunch of different frames (they can be different colors or the same) and layer them on the wall (some of the cutest ones I've seen have frames inside frames inside frames).  Voila!  Instant focal point, and a great use for all those frames.  If you really WANT to fill those frames in, do a few pictures and a few other things--words/vinyl, trinkets, etc., like Craft-o-Maniac girl...still very cute and gallery-like.  :)

7. Save larger (or smaller) frames for a photo booth prop!  It's kinda big in the photography world, so why shouldn't you have a few fun, bright frames to play around with, too? 

6. Open frame still life!  Think outside the frame!  I have loved this idea since I first saw it, and if I ever have a yard and a garden I will be doing this!  But you could frame just about anything in your yard or house you're proud of, even something 3D, and it adds a little whimsy.  If you're keeping it outdoors, paint with outdoor paint and distress with sandpaper for a shabby chic look.  :)  (Side note: you can frame YOURSELF, too, as a great Halloween costume idea: a self-portrait!)

The picture I saw in FamilyFun that just makes me smile.  :)

Inspiring Creations' blogger Lindsey did this adorable birdhouse!

I love this star/shell themed frame from the V Spot Blog!

5. Countdown/Advent/Birthday Calendar!  There are lots of ways to do this, and I like them all!  For the countdown, JJReynoldsFamily put some pretty paper in there and used a clothespin to hold numbered flashcards (you could make your own)...and whatever you're counting down to goes in the silver label holder at the bottom.  For the advent/birthday calendars, Jan Nolson and NotSoIdleHands, respectively, cut sheet metal or metal shingles, then made all their add-ons magnetic so they could stick...pretty genius, right?!

4. Frame Chalkboards or Mirrors!  I had thought of this, but I haven't done it yet...and I was thinking more like THIS

but I'm totally loving THIS idea, too! 

You just slap some chalkboard paint wherever you want it, and away you go!  And as for mirrors, of course you can modge podge or paint the frames and then just add a mirror, but I'm thinking a smaller version of THIS

would be awesome, with small mirror tiles glued onto a black (or whatever color goes with your room)-painted glass.

3. Frame Wire Memo Boards, like these from LemonadeMakinMama and The Gunny Sack!  Also very big right now!  Different chicken wires or wire mesh has been added to these frames, and then you just use clothespins (or magnets, I think) to attach your memos and pictures.  Funky and fun!

2. Frame Clocks!  Paul and I want to make a clock out of just about EVERYTHING now that we know we can...so keep that picture (modpodge it onto your cardboard or a THIN piece of wood), spruce up the frame, and get rid of the glass, then use a clock kit to turn it into a clock!  We're going to be doing this with my awesome Beauty and the Beast picture/frame since I don't know where to put it otherwise!

LOVE this idea, though I don't remember where I saw it...but how fun is that?!  You could change the actual pictures in them to go with holidays, or family members, or whatever floats your boat!

1. Frame Tea Trays!  I *LOVE* this idea, and the prettiest ones I've seen are by far these lovelies from MyWonderfullyMade.  Look at the details, from using old bent silverware as the handles to the pretty embellishments she made with old jewelry...perfect recycling craft for grown-ups, and a great gift for the lady in your life!

BONUS IDEAS:

11. Specimen Art!  Put something random in those frames--Simple Simon and Co. has this GREAT idea to make a "specimen chart" with just about anything around the house, from pasta to favorite cereals to nuts and bolts and everything in between.  Love it!

12. Jewelry Hangers!  You can add a bit of lace, or wire, or hooks, to the frame and hang up your jewelry oh-so-prettily!

NotSoIdleHands's version...

Can't remember where I saw this...sorry!

13. Fabricize it!  Wrap (tightly) some fabric around it, and add ribbons and a flower like TwoTinyTowHeads did below...soooo cute!

*WHEW!*  I'm sure that SOMETHING here caught your eye--so go create!

10 Things Tuesday: Toilet Paper/Paper Towel Tubes

Okay, EVERYONE uses toilet paper.  And chances are good that at least occasionally you have paper towels, too--especially with our dog, we keep a roll around all the time, even if we don't have to use it much.  So what can you do with those cardboard tubes left over?  Here are a few ideas to spark your imagination!


10. Binoculars!  I know, it's cliche, but what kid didn't love having a pair of "binoculars" when they were little?  These would be great for a jungle or birdwatching party or themed room.  When I was little, we also made just monoculars, with colored saran wrap at the ends...it was fun to see the world in different hues.  :)

 9. Cardboard Tube Castles!  Kind of like when you built houses or cities with old boxes, except this looks much grander.  :)  You could turn your box cities into a kingdom, with this palace at the head!

 8. Pretty tube vases!  I love the details she did here...pretty paper taped on the back, twine and a bit of glue holding it together, and lots of little trinkets, like old jewelry or the butterfly, make old tubes beautiful and spruce up a dull corner.

 7. Cardboard tube racers!  With some felt or foam, pushpins, and a cardboard tube, your little guy (or girl!) could make a whole set of racers to play with on a rainy day!

 6. Mini pinatas!  This is a FamilyFun spinoff of a Christmas cracker--you fill a tube with small trinkets, candy, stickers, etc, and then wrap it with some tissue paper.  Sitting in a circle around the table (and everyone holding one), you each take one end of it...then pull!  These can be adapted to just about any holiday!

 5. Christmas Decor.  Whether it's something beautiful, like these candles (you use glue, allowing it to dry, for the dripping wax effect), or something fun, like the Christmas choir below (old socks as the hats), you can make almost-free decor or crafts for the holidays!

 4. Speaking of holidays, who doesn't love Valentine's Day?  You could make a string of hearts by cross-sectioning the tubes, after painting them red, like the one below.  This could be a fun countdown calendar or a simple garland, and how cheap is that?!  You could also decorate patriotic-ly and use them as confetti launchers!

 3. Napkin Rings.  Your kiddos could make napkin rings for any dinner, any color scheme, ever, by just painting the cut tubes or adding embellishments. 

 2. Marble Mazes!  I *LOVE* this idea, because how expensive are those things sometimes?  All you need here are the tubes, paint or colored tape, scissors, and glue.  Get creative, pair two or three tubes together, decorate, and away you go!

 1. Probably my favorite is something I've seen around the blogosphere a lot lately, where you make flower petals or leaves or ivy out of the tubes!  You paint them however you want, then fold the tube in half and cut cross-sections...how you adhere them to your surface will determine the shape you have.  Check out how deceivingly beautiful these can be!

Perhaps my favorite idea ever--a family tree, with tube branches and tube leaves!

Here's more of an ivy look, although they painted the outsides several colors...

And here are the flowers!  I've seen many variations of this, but this is probably the prettiest!

BONUS IDEA: Storage!  FamilyFun made these honeycomb-inspired storage containers with cardstock, but I think you could easily adapt it to cardboard tubes and store jewelry or gumball machine toys in.  :)

So, what are you waiting for?  Don't you just want to save all those tubes and go make something awesome with your kids? (Or hubbies? :)  Enjoy!