Christmas Ornaments- Reindeer Bulb



Made by Amanda Formaro



What you'll need:

• Burnt out lightbulb
• White vinegar
• Paintbrush
• Acrylic craft paint: brown, white, black and red
• 1 small jingle bell
• 6" thin gold ribbon
• 3 brown chenille stems
• 1 black chenille stem
• Black thin tip marker
• Red or silver glitter glue
• Hot glue gun
• Scissors
• Sealer spray

How to make it:

1. Rinse the lightbulb with white vinegar and let dry.
2. Paint lightbulb brown and let dry overnight.
3. Paint lightbulb with a second coat and let dry for 2-3 hours.
4. Put a dot of hot glue on the screw cap where it meets the glass of the lightbulb. Place the end of a brown chenille stem on the glue (see image). Wrap the chenille stem around the screw cap, gluing as you go.
5. Before continuing with the second chenille stem (it will take two full chenille stems to cover the screw cap of a standard light bulb), bend the black chenille stem in half. Glue the open ends of the black chenille stem onto the brown twists you just added (to create the ornament hanger). Now continue with the second brown chenille, wrapping around the ends of the black chenille, covering them up (see image).
6. Bend the third brown chenille stem into the shape of antlers (see image). Squeeze the bends so that the bends are touching each other (see image). Glue the antlers to the back of the chenille covered screw cap (see image).
7. Dip thumb in red paint and gently press onto the large end of the bulb for the nose.
8. Dip your pointing finger into white paint and dot on the eyes. Let the nose and eyes dry before continuing (see image).
9. Meanwhile, thread the jingle bell onto the gold ribbon. When the bulb is dry, turn it over and glue the ribbon to the back of the bulb, you want the jingle bell to hang down just below the bottom of the bulb so that it appears your reindeer has on a collar (see image).
10. Use the handle end of a paintbrush dipped in black paint to dot on the blacks of the eyes.
11. Put a little silver glitter glue on your finger and smear it over the top of the red nose.
12. When dry, spray the entire lightbulb with sealer spray and let dry by hanging somewhere safe.

Tips:

1. Jingle bells are available at discount department stores and craft supply stores.
2. Watch for sales on ribbon after every holiday.
3. Save burnt out lightbulbs for these types of projects. If you save the packages they came in when new, mark the outside of the box "burnt out" and store them in there so they won't break.