Lighting Pumpkins with Craft Lights

Instead of making the same old Jack-O-Lantern for your fall decorations this year why not try a celestial pumpkin.  This will add a little twinkle to your fall nights and it is sure to delight all the ghosts and ghouls that will be visiting this Halloween.

This is a super simple project that will require just a few tools. Pumpkins (of varying sizes), white craft light strings (bulb count will depend on the size of pumpkin and the choice of pattern), drill with a 1/4” bit, knife, fleshing tool (or some other tools to scrap out the inside of your pumpkin) and black tape.

First you will need to cut the bottom out of your pumpkin. Use your knife to carve out a circular opening, make sure it is large enough so your hand can fit comfortably inside. Use your fleshing tool or spoon to clean out all the flesh and seeds. Be sure to scrap down the inside of the pumpkin until it is only about 1/4” thick. Turn your pumpkin back up right.

Use your black tape to make a uniform pattern of your choice on the pumpkin. Some might like to make a random design; in this case you will not need to use the black tape. Now, drill holes along the tape line or randomly until you get your desired pattern.

Finally, insert that craft light string into the bottom of the pumpkin. Place one bulb in each hole that you drilled; be sure to push the bulb through so that it will protrude slightly. Tuck all the remaining lights on your craft light string up inside your pumpkin. Turn your pumpkin right side up with the plug running out of the bottom.

All you have left is to plug up your lighted pumpkin and enjoy. This is a fun new way to decorate for Halloween and fall. Plus, it’s an all new way to use your craft lights. 

Check out our selection of craft lights for this cool pumpkin project.

Light Clips

There is a plethora of ways to affix your Christmas lights to your home these days. Generally in a residential situation you want to use a clip that is not permanent and will not leave evidence that you had Christmas lights up.

To the left, you can see an All in One clip in use; it slides right under the shingle on your roof. IT can also be used on gutters or wherever else you can securely clip it. It can hold C7, C9, mini lights and even some LED lights. The brother to the All in One is the All in One Plus; it’s similar in appearance but has a couple more features that gives it that Plus status. The clip that goes around a gutter or on top of a shingle has an extra hook for hanging wire. For example, if you were using the All in One Plus on your gutters for C7 bulbs and wanted to hang icicle lights as well, you could do that with this one clip.

There are several multi-use clips, such as an omni clip, and are very popular because of the large number of uses. Although clips with just a single use are great if you don’t need all the extra bells and whistles. Shingle tabs, bi-axle clips, icicle clips and s few others are all single use clips. They generally only hold one or maybe two type(s) of bulb.

Most clips don’t require any sort of permanent installation. The c-clip, the parapet clip (which works with the shingle tab clip), the mini light adhesive clip, the quick clip and some others do require some sort of installation that can be permanent. Some clips use a double sided adhesive pad and/or nailing down. This might pose a problem for those of you not wanting to put holes in your siding or roof line. In most cases the clips that require a permanent installation are more for commercial uses or year round lighting.

Check out our selection of lights clips.

Hannah
All American Christmas Co.
www.aachristmas.com
www.allamericanchristmas.com

All American Christmas Co. on Facebook

We have been on facebook for a while now and this year we hope to really expand it and use it as an outlet for news and to help showcase items. Not only that but we hope to do facebook only sales! Currently we are trying to bump our likes to 200 by thanksgiving 2012. If we get 200 likes by then we will have a very special sale coupon for only our facebook fans!

So please visit the facebook, like it, share it, and help up reach our goal! www.facebook.com/AllAmericanChristmasCo

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Zach
All American Christmas Co.
www.aachristmas.com
www.allamericanchristmas.com

Globe Lights

Globe lights come in such a large variety of sizes and the names they use, G30, G40 and G50, do not give you any idea of what size the bulbs actually are.A rule of thumb for remembering the sizes is, the larger the number the larger the bulb diameter. G50 is the size bulb that most people think of when they hear, traditional globe lights. All globe lights come in either C7 (candelabra) base or C9 (intermediate) base. This way they will fit in any socket that you have around the house from old light strings.

The sizes are as follows: G50 - 2 Inch Diameter

                                           G40 - 1 1/2 Inch Diameter

                                     G30 - 1 Inch Diameter

Globe bulbs are also available in LED's! These bulbs come in G50 size with a C9 base. LED globe lights are gaining popularity due to the low power usage and long life. LED globe bulbs are rated for around 50,000 hours and use around one watt of power.

Globe lights are used for a variety of projects. One of the most popular uses is for outdoor lighting around decks and patios. G50 bulbs as wedding and party lighting is a inexpensive way to get a very dramatic lighting effect. These globe bulbs used along with a Christmas light controller is a great way to achieve a chasing window display lighting. These bulbs are even a great prom or theater productions.

More than just the varying size of globe bulbs, the wattage varies also. G30 and G40 with a C7 base bulbs are 5 watts, whereas G50 with a C7 base bulbs are 7 watts. You will have to take wattage into consideration when doing your lighting projects so that you do not overload your wire.

Hopefully this has given you a little insight on globe lights sizes and various applications. Check out our selection of globe lights.

New Wide Angle LED Battery Sets Price

We've dropped the prices on our 5mm Wide Angle battery light sets! Now they are $6.39 a string! Our Battery Christmas lights are a major upgrade over the old style of battery powered mini lights, LED battery sets last over 25 hours with fresh Alkaline "AA" batteries!

LED sets are great for weddings, center pieces, parties, and other places where you need light without a easy to reach power source. I use them to light my jack o lanterns during the halloween season, using these keeps your pumpkin from drying out from using a candle!

We offer our battery powered LED light strings in a variety of colors in the wide angle bulb style, we are going to be updating our M5 and Short M5 Battery powered LED sets. On the right you can see the bulb next to a US Dime and a ballpoint pen. They are very small and last a long time on a few batteries they are great for small projects and even work in halloween costumes! They come in a variety of colors just like other battery sets.

Visit our Battery Powered LED Christmas Lights Page to see all of our battery sets

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Zach
All American Christmas Co.
www.aachristmas.com
www.allamericanchristmas.com