Visiting Tuscon’s 2022 Gem and Mineral Show, a cozy patio and a lovely pinot noir was the perfect way to end the day. Spring is a perfect time to visit Arizona and enjoy views like this. Materials Vintage-style Edison Bulbs, E26 bases Black commercial cord, E26 sockets Commercial 15-amp plug(s) The light cords were cut…
5-Minute Project: 4th of July Glass Block
Glass blocks aren’t just for 80’s decor. Available at local hobby and craft shops, they are now made with one side open so drilling is no longer required. If you have a glass block in your crafting stash, add a set of craft lights and patriotic gel clings for a project that looks great on…
Get This Look: Magical Backyard Pergola
Revive a pergola by lighting it up! In mid-May, our pergola was a sad sight. So faded and needing cleaning, we didn’t enjoy our backyard nearly as much as we should. We saved money by restoring our tired pergola and outdoor furniture with power washing and staining. Installing string and curtain lights made what was…
Lights for a backyard party
We love to see how folks use lights for parties and events. Karen decided to accent her outdoor spaces with LED curtains and personalized light strings. Here are the products or “build sheet” for this project. 2 sets of 8-foot LED Curtain Lights Warm White on White Wire 1 package of 100 C7 or C9…
Quick and easy backyard fence lighting project
Planning a party? Enjoying summer evenings in the backyard? This project doesn’t require a ladder or special materials. With about 40 minutes of time and under $125 for bulbs and a cord, a backyard can go from “You have a lovely backyard” to “Wow, what’s the special occasion?” or better yet, “Whoo whoo, this looks…
4th of July Hula Hoop Chandelier
Always on the lookout for different ways to use Christmas lights, we couldn’t resist trying a hula hoop chandelier. Since so many of our celebrations with lights involve patriotic holidays, we chose to make this project red, white, and blue. Materials red, white, and, blue icicle lights clear packing tape twine or jute any color…
lights for the 4th of july
The 4th of July, our Independence Day, is the perfect time to celebrate our country’s freedom with a fun and festive party. Outdoor barbecues are popular this time of year. What better way to dress up your outdoor spaces for the holiday than with red, white (clear), and blue lights? Here are a few ideas…
DIY: Lighting a Patio for Family Friday Nights with Round Bulbs and Magnetic Clips
Every season is a great time to hang out with family on the back patio. In Texas, we love bundling up during the winter months as much as we love relaxing with a margarita in the summer heat. The biggest benefit of winter is that there are no mosquitos! In summer we bring out the…
5-minute Project: Easy Shamrock Lantern
We love simple projects that use materials that are probably already on hand plus a seasonal item or two from a local hobby shop, dollar store, or dollar spot. For this project, we used an Ikea lantern, a string of battery lights, and a sheet of Shamrock stick on gels from a local dollar store….
5-minute project: Valentines Accent Jar
Now that Christmas is stored away, we are turning our attention to red, pink, and white for February. This is the first of our 5-minute series of projects as we focus on providing inspiration to repurpose lights for fun all year. Materials Pink storage jar Battery lights Double-sided tape Equipment Scissors (Don’t mind a rough…
Christmas Lights Recycling and The Weather Channel!
Last Saturday, December 4th, a producer from the Weather Channel called to ask me to talk about recycling Christmas lights – so exciting. It was a wonderful opportunity to reach out to let people know that lights don’t have to end up in a landfill. Unexpected Circumstances! It just so happens that I was 5…
Get this Look: Beautiful Blue Christmas Lights
With so many choices, folks regularly ask us how LED strings compare to separate bulbs and cords. This customer photo does a lovely job of showing the look of our plug-and-play blue light strings. Materials List 15 sets of blue C9 LED light strings 400 All Application Clips (or your favorite clip that works with…
Can I use a gilbert plug on a set of mini lights?
Hi, great question. Unfortunately, the answer is no for a couple of reasons. Mini lights should really not be cut because they are wired in series and their bulbs are rated for a specific current draw. The better choice is to find a string of lights whose length most closely matches your project requirements, or…
Will your C7 or C9 bulbs work in my cords?
Short answer: Maybe. Longer answer: We used to be able to answer this question with a resounding yes when the question was about the style of bulbs that come as threaded bulbs and threaded sockets of the style that folks have been using to install lights around their rooflines for decades. Now, there are a…
Can a C7 25-foot cord be cut?
Short and Long answer: If your 25-foot cord is made from a stranded heavier duty “lamp cord” that is wired in parallel, then yes, you can cut the cord to fit your project. This type of cord is shown in the image below. Parallel means that if one bulb is unscrewed from its socket the…
Can you mix C7 and C9 bulbs together (in the same cord)?
Short answer: No, they won’t fit into the same cord because they have different-sized bases. Longer answer: This is a great question, especially since we’ve had a larger number of first-time Christmas lights customers this season. We have heard this question in this form several times over the last couple of months along with the…
How many light strings do I need to wrap my tree?
We’ve all seen tree trunks wrapped for Christmas, for weddings, and events. They are truly glorious. LED light strings with specifications allowing 100’s of feet of light to be run on a single outlet has revolutionized the density and number of lights that can be installed. But how many light strings will I really need?…
Get This Look: Lighting wreaths without an outlet
A customer recently left a review about how 12-volt lights plus an alligator to accessory socket adapter was used to light an outdoor subdivision sign. We hear from quite a few folks looking for a solution to this type of installation problem, so we thought we’d share it. Great for Solar Powered Wreaths We have…
Get this Look: Lighting trees and rooflines on the Texas Coast
We were so impressed by the way the Austin-based company, Let’s Retreat Outdoors, used warm white LED Christmas light strings in a recent retail installation that we thought you’d be inspired as well. These photos are from projects installed on the Texas coastline. We love the look of close-wound light strings accenting trees to welcome…
