Remember light bulbs? Those globes of glass you had to replace every three months, but they only cost about fifty cents each? The old-fashioned incandescent light bulb is being phased out at the federal level, but there are still plenty of spare light bulbs with nowhere to go.
Unlike the "pigtail" compact fluorescent bulbs which contain mercury, old fashioned incandescent lights do not contain any hazardous materials. Just glass and metal. This makes them safe for use as a crafting material, although the thinness of the glass and the shape (which makes it difficult to keep a good grip) means that you should probably wear work gloves to keep from cutting yourself from any potential broken glass.
In its favor as a crafting material, light bulbs have that element of being a humble and (formerly) ubiquitous item, instantly recognizable yet overlooked by all. This means that just about anything you do with a light bulb will have that wonderful element of surprise and discovery. I love crafts that get people to see your object from a completely new perspective.
Incandescent bulbs are also cheap and readily available. You probably have a box of them sitting in a cupboard in your house right now.
Once you start looking, there are a ton of crafts involving old light bulbs:
- I love the way this concrete wall hook plays with textures and the conceptual nature of a light bulb as fragile and filled with light, versus being solid and filled with concrete. Also: useful!
- Terrariums are hot this year (I keep meaning to write about them as a craft). You can make a mini-terrarium in a light bulb.
- Light bulb vase I like this tutorial because it includes stands. I don't understand how so many other light bulb vases stand up!
- For the ultimate in ironic décor, use an old light bulb as an oil lamp
Image courtesy Flickr/scrambldmeggs
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