How to Use Christmas Lights in Everyday Decorating

Create an alluring decor in your home using a string of lights.

Stringing lights around a Christmas tree is an early winter highlight for many families. Before tossing that string of lights out with the tree or packing the lights up in the closet until next December, consider an alternative. Discover new ways to use that string of lights elsewhere in your home to brighten up a room or make a piece of original artwork. Festive lights can offer a lively touch to commonplace items year-round.

Things You'll Need

• String of Christmas lights
• Glass bowl
• Heavy-duty double-stick mounting tape
• White canvas board
• Pencil
• Awl or some other pointed tool
• Craft glue

Instructions

Make a bowl of light.

1. Place the string of lights inside a glass bowl.

2. Place the bowl atop a side table near an outlet.

3. Plug the lights into a nearby outlet to create a bowl of ambient light.

Create an extra light source in the kitchen.

1. Place the heavy-duty double-stick mounting tape at intervals of six inches underneath the backside of the kitchen cabinets, just at the point where the cabinets meet the back wall.

2. Run the lights along the underside of the cabinets and attach the string to the mounting tape.

3. Plug the lights into the nearest wall outlet.

Create an extra light source in the bathroom.

1. Place mounting tape in six-inch intervals around the edges of the bathroom mirror.

2. Run the lights around the mirror and attach the string to the tape at even intervals.

3. Wrap and mount the string around the mirror at least twice before plugging the string into a wall outlet.

Make a piece of art.

1. Plot a design on the back of a canvas with a pencil by placing dots a half-inch apart in a circular pattern until there are as many dots as there are bulbs on the string of lights.

2. Press an awl through each dot to make a hole slightly smaller than each light bulb.

3. Press a bulb through each of the holes in the canvas.

4. Apply craft glue to the back of each bulb where the string meets the canvas to secure the lights in place.

5. Set the canvas on top of a dresser and plug the lights into a nearby outlet for an instant piece of glowing art.

References

• Apartment Therapy: Alternative uses for Christmas lights

Resources

• Apartment Therapy