LIGHT BULB REPURPOSED AS DIY VASE

  

     I completed another DIY project today. I took a burned out light bulb and turned it into a vase. I have an ivy plant that I think is so beautiful that I wanted to take some snippings and start another ivy plant. I think most people know that if you want to start another houseplant from one you currently have, all you have to do is snip some of it off and then put it in a cup of plain old water. After awhile, it will grow roots and then you can transfer it into some potting soil and viola! You now have a new houseplant. The problem with "starters" is that they are usually just sitting in the window in an ugly coffee mug or something while we wait for the roots to develop. Why not pretty it up? If you can create a gorgeous vase out of a burned out light bulb, then why not?
     Here's the how-to:
  --I took a regular old lightbulb    
 and used pliers and a screw-
driver to take out its end piece 
and insides. Make sure the light
bulb you use for this is one that 
is either already clear glass, or 
you can use one that has the 
white powder inside of it. That's
the kind I used because we can 
remove the powder very easily. 

   --I use a screwdriver          
to lightly tap through 
the center to break 
loose the inside parts. 
Gently shake the bulb 
upside down or pull little wire that's inside the bulb.




--The next step is to get the white powder out of the inside of the bulb. Dump some salt inside the light bulb. Only salt, no water or anything else is needed. Swirl the salt around inside the bulb until all of the white powder has come off the glass. After you have removed all the white powder, you can dump out and throw away the salt.

**(If the white powder doesn't seem to be coming off then you most likely have used the wrong frosted glass type of bulb and you will need to start over again with the right kind of bulb. It's important that the bulb is clear glass for it to be safe for your plant.)


  --Next, I looked around for wire to use to wrap around the bulb for decorating it and to use as the stand. The only thing that I could find was some soldering wire. It bends easy and is really simple to make a nice round shape.

 --At first I tried to make the stand so it would suspend the bulb up a few inches above the base. Unfortunately the bulb was too heavy when it was full of water and kept slowly sagging downwards.


  --Since I didn't have any sturdier wire, I went ahead and changed my original design so the bulb would rest on the table.  and only steadied it to keep it from falling over. I took apart an old butterfly keychain and twisted it  into place with more of the soldering wire.

--I didn't have to use any adhesive at all in this project. The soldering wire cups the bottom of the bulb and the concentric rings I made at the bottom steadies it. I love the butterfly because my son gave the keychain to me as a gift a few years ago, and it's like having it brand new all over again. I think it would also look amazing if the wire was strung through some colorful beads. There's so many ways that you could decorate this little vase, it just takes a little creativity! 

 --It's easy to keep an eye on the stems of the starters through the clear bulb. This should help to remind me to watch for the roots to develop so I can transplant the starter into potting soil.

 --If you have a friend that's been eye balling one of your house plants, this would a very sweet way to give her a starter off of it. It's so much better looking than giving her a starter in a plastic cup!  

     I'm always working on fun DIY projects. I especially love projects that reuse or recycle something old and give it a brand new life! If you've enjoyed this post please subscribe to my blog and I promise I will keep delivering the goods! Thanks so much for reading!