With June already half way over and the sticky heat season setting in, we’re patiently awaiting the arrival of the highlight of summer {in our eyes}. We’re talking about the Fourth of July, OF COURSE! We can’t wait for the day filled with an endless supply of burgers, beer and fireworks. Whether you’re having a backyard barbeque or a neighborhood block party, you’re gonna need some cute red, white and blue décor to spice up your picnic table spread. You could easily pick up whatever’s on sale at Party City, but why not craft up some patriotic DIY decorations, and get double the compliments?! This red, white and blue floral light strand is a perfectly easy crowd pleaser that you can hang anywhere from the patio cover to the food table. Check it out & enjoy!
Materials
-Glass lightbulbs {we used 6}—not real bulbs, we found crafting ones at Michaels for $2 each! {make sure they unscrew}
-Fake flowers—we used red, white & blue for 4th of July, but you can use whatever colors you like
-Twine {1 roll}
-Acrylic paint—we decided to use paint on a few of our bulbs, but they are equally as cute without!
Step 1: Snip the fake flowers as close to the buds as you can—but be careful not to just rip them off the stem, sometimes they fall apart if you do. Depending on how many bulbs you use, separate and organize the flowers into small piles with the colors/kind of buds you want in each lightbulb.
Step 2: Pop the flowers into the bulbs, if some are larger, you might need to use something like a pen or pencil to push them through the opening. We alternated flower color while pushing them in, to create some variation inside the bulb. Shake the lightbulbs around once all the flowers are in to mix them up.
Step 3: Make sure the lids are screwed on tightly to the bulbs. We dipped three of our bulbs in red, white & blue paint to add some color to the glass. Pour your paint in a few small Dixie cups, and fill them about 3/4 the of the way—if your paint is super thick you might want to fill it less and mix in some water. Dip the skinny end of the light bulb in one paint cup as far as you want the paint to go, and lightly twist it around to be sure you get an even coat. Slowly pull the light bulb out of the cup, and let any excess paint drip off the glass. Allow the bulbs to dry for at least a few hours before stringing them together.
Step 4: Once the painted bulbs are completely dry, unravel the twine rope and begin tying the bulbs together. Space them about 5 or 6 inches apart so they don’t clink together when hung.
We double knotted ours to be sure they didn’t fall off once we picked up the string. Hang your light bulb strand anywhere—across an entrance, over the food table; you can even string it up in your room for decoration!
Enjoy!
xoxo
