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fun with lightbulbs

One of the first things I noticed when I moved into my house was that none of the ceiling lights in the rooms had any kind of shade. The fixtures, though decorative didn't have anything to attach one to either. The bare bulbs sort of bothered me, so I embarked on two projects to spiff them up.

painted lightbulbs

Back home I saw big painted lightbulbs in a gift shop for an exhorbitant price. I thought... I could do that! I bought extra big clear lightbulbs at Home Depot and some glass paint at Michaels.

First I would outline my designs with the black paint from a bottle with pointy tip.

When that dried I would paint in the shapes with color.

A light fixture I got to replace a broken one in the basement worked well for holding the bulbs while I worked.

The first one I painted was ladybugs.

Here you can see a flower bulb and a polkadot bulb in my bedroom.

When they are on they shine color across the ceiling... an unforseen benefit.

beaded lightbulb covers

A reader saw my post about my lightbulb dilemna and sent me these pictures of lightbulb covers that were in her house when she moved in.

I got some glass beads... and this was my attempt at making a lightbulb cover. I couldn't find beads of gradated size, so I had to change the design a bit. Basically the beads are strung on wire with an opening on side to slip it onto the bulb. It looks ok... better than the bare bulb.