Using Mini Lights to Light Your Christmas Tree

Who doesn't enjoy finding DIY tips and tricks, especially around the holidays? Well, why not try a few new tricks for lighting your Christmas tree. I know around here that is the least fun part of the holidays. We love the finished product, but not the process getting there. Hopefully these little tips will help make lighting your family Christmas tree a lot more fun and much quicker.

For those of you that buy a fresh Christmas tree every year, try using three 100 count mini light strings per one foot section of your tree. The rest of you that have an artificial tree, such as myself, use three 50 count mini light strings per one foot section of the tree. These shorter strings will be easier to work with when wrapping around the branches so that you can pack your tree up after the holidays with your mini lights still attached.

So many people nowadays choose to do a “theme Christmas tree”, fun and festive. If you like to do this, it is nice to pick mini lights in the color that matches your key ornaments. Say you've picked a gold and white theme for your tree. You could try using yellow mini lights. This will enhance the gold theme on your tree.  (In this case you might want to use less mini lights per section. That way your ornaments and decorations stand out and the Christmas lights are just there to enhance.)

We've all gotten our Christmas tree lit and stepped back to admire our work and thought, “Did I miss a spot?” All you have to do to be sure, step back from your tree and cross your eyes as you look at it. Wherever you see black holes, rearrange the mini lights to fill in the voids and have a perfectly lit Christmas tree.

Illuminating your Christmas tree can really make a big impact. All you have to do is, start from the base of the tree trunk with your chosen Christmas mini lights. Wrap your way up the trunk and around each branch all the way out to the tip. It will glow from the inside all the way out.

Untangling your Christmas mini lights, an every year occurrence. The best way to handle this situation; start by wrapping the strands around your arm, being careful not to pull on any bulbs.  While you are in the process of untangling your holiday lights, check which bulbs work and the ones that need to be replaced. Don’t wait until they are on your tree to start replacing bulbs. 

Stop by All American Christmas Company and check out the huge selection of mini lights.

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Hannah

All American Christmas Co.

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.