How to Hollow a G40 Lightbulb (photograph tutorial)

Greetings, ladies and gentlemen.  Today we explore the mechanics of hollowing out a G40 lightbulb.  First you get your tools.  My favorite three are a small screwdriver, pliers, and a pocket knife. You will need sandpaper or steel wool for the last steps.
It is also advised you use gloves.  I forgot to use them for most of the pictures.  Don't follow my bad example.

 Since I do this all the time, I have used a plastic bin for all the lightbulb guts and broken glass.  The towel is to help decrease the spread of glass, should it spill onto the floor.

The first thing you do is peel that copper plating off with the pliers.  Simple enough.

I forgot to take a picture of the black glass underneath the plating being broken, but it's quite all right.  This is what the lightbulb looks like minus the copper plating and black glass (it is actually kind of purple...)

I use my pliers to bend the metal edge on the inside back against the inside of the base so it will not cut anyone (especially if this is to be used for a fish!)

This is the part where I break the glass tube you saw two pictures ago with the wire.  It releases the pressure and argon gas (harmless, no worries) and makes the lightbulb a lot less likely to break from here on out.  After the tube is broken, I disconnect the two wires on the inside and poke the glass where the tube was.  Eventually I have broken most of the glass and it looks something like this:

Looks pretty rough, eh?

 Poke it some more, then start smoothing it with the knife.  Can't have any sharp edges!

 Maybe you shouldn't do this part... But I have to be positive that the inside is not going to cut a fish or you, so I feel around the inside where I just smoothed the glass to make sure it's all good.

Looks pretty good!

Introducing... lightbulb guts!  These are shaken out of the lightbulb into my plastic bin.

 See that?  That's solder.  Someone did a terrible looking job, too.  Well, this has the chance of having lead in it, so it's gotta go.

I remembered my gloves at this point.. 
Basically, pry the solder off.  Be careful with that knife, though.  If it slips, you might not have a finger anymore.  USE GLOVES.

 Time for the steel wool!  It looks nasty where the solder was if you don't use it.  Kind of a burnt look.

 This has got to go too.  Use the steel wool, but gently.  Don't be scared of a few hardly visible scratches.  It looks better than this stamp, I think.

 You should be done now!  Congratulations!  A hollow lightbulb.  Great for a number of uses.

 Yeah, sometimes they break.  It's all right.  It happens.  (this was the second lightbulb I hollowed that day)

I often turn these into fishbowls.  They're a perfect size for a female betta (a small male betta works too!)  If it becomes one of my fish's homes, I usually will stick a bit of bamboo or rooted plant in there as well.  The fishes like to swim about in the root systems, and it keeps the lightbulb clean so I don't have to change the water as often.  Plants love ammonia, interestingly, and will thrive on the waste of the fish, including any uneaten food.  Works out great!  Kind of like a mini ecosystem...

If you are interested in seeing this fishbowl actually being used as such, I have some for sale here.

Never buy a replacement cell phone charger again!

Photo: batteriesinaflash

Always worried you'll lose your cell phone charger while traveling?
Or worried that overuse will break it?
Never fear!

Simply go to any hotel and say, "I lost my cell phone charger.  Did you guys find one?"
They will come out with a bin full of cell phone chargers and there's bound to be a few that will fit your phone.

This is actually a form of recycling.  The hotel will throw them away after a while because they get so many.  You are saving a charger from being thrown in a land fill.  Congratulations!  You're making the world a better place!

Blog Feature 3!

Say, this nice lady named Liz featured my lightbulb vase on her blog as well! I really like her post about it. :)
Here's the link:

http://agirlcallede.blogspot.com/2010/03/light-bulb-moment.html

I guess I'll start calling these posts "blog features"

Say! Another blog feature!! It's so exciting when people do this. :)

This one was by a woman in Brazil named Renata. She also featured my lightbulb vase along with two other nifty recycling ideas.

Here's the link:
http://dicasgreen.blogspot.com/2010/03/reutilize-e-decore.html

And here's a screenshot! :D

WARNING: It is written in Portuguese. I was able to more or less understand it from my knowledge of Spanish, but for anyone who can't, the description sentence reads (more or less)
"Some creative ideas for reusing that can give your house renewed decor."

The Process of Creating: Grapevine Bracelets

Ah, grapevine bracelets. You know, these don't really take much effort to make. The hardest part is sizing and smoothing the vines, I think.

I first came up with this idea while walking around outside around our grapevines and thinking about wreaths. I was looking for materials to make jewelry out of at the time and cut myself a length of grapevine to play with. With little thought at all, I fashioned it into a mini-wreath and put it on my wrist. I liked the look.. Very earthy and organic.
So I made a second one (slightly larger (for a fellow I never saw again)) and took my creations inside.


It didn't take much wearing before I noticed that the bracelet was indeed a little scratchy... I took out my pocket knife to smooth vine (there are all manner of bumps and protrusions and the like on grapevines). After smoothing and trying it on several times, I had a bracelet that was comfortable as well as groovy! I did the same to the second bracelet and set it aside (it stayed on my dresser for quite a while before it dried out in the wrong shape from not being worn and I eventually just threw it away).


So here I am, almost three years later, still wearing a bracelet (and two others) that I made not long after those first two. They're extremely durable bracelets; I've certainly been rough with them.
I've found that the more you wear them, the better they look. The oils from your skin sort of finish and polish the wood. After a few months, they really look nice. I still get compliments on my bracelets. :)


Also, after a bit of experimentation, I figured a sizing scale that works with most people (double jointed people are an exception as they can fit almost anything on or off their wrists).
So basically, the inside diameter of the bracelet should be a centimeter smaller than the measure of your palm from forefinger to pinky (at the base). This picture might help:





So my palm is about 7 centimeters. So I'd choose the 6 centimeter diameter bracelet.
Now, this sizing has an exception. If you plan to take it off often (if you play sports or something where you can't wear any type of jewelry), this bracelet sizing should work fine for you.
However, if you plan wearing yours ALL the time, 24/7, 365, then you may as well choose a bracelet that's 1 1/2 centimeters smaller than your wrist. It may take a few seconds to get on, but it won't be coming off unless you want it to. The bracelets I wear are that size because that's exactly what I do. I wear them ALLLLL the time.

And hey, these are easily unisex, too. My best friend has 2 (three at one time) that I made for him that he wears all the time. If he were around right now, I'd photograph his wrist so you can see how manly they look.


Anyhow, there's my story on the Intertwined Grapevine Bracelets. You can find them on my Etsy if you want to see more pictures.




Have you made anything different than wreaths with grapevines? And if you haven't, got any awesome ideas?

The Process of Creating: Lightbulb Vases

My favorite redesigning idea is my Lightbulb Vase from the Clear Thinking series I've started which is comprised of ideas for recycling lightbulbs.

I started with a burnt out lightbulb. It was the soft white type. I had found an article online that showed a detailed process of how to hollow and clean an incandescent lightbulb and used it to help me with my first lightbulb.

I carefully hollowed it out with my pliers and a small screwdriver, then cleaned it by swishing some sand around the inside of the bulb. After rinsing it thoroughly, I let it dry as I brain hurricaned a way to make it stand upside down freely. I did not really ever like the wire idea (though some look pretty neat-o), so I was thinking more along the lines of something glued on the bottom..
I used a nickel the first time. Hot glued it to the center of the top (now bottom) of the lightbulb.
After a little thought, I realized if I planned to make several of these, a nickel may not be the best idea...
So I went to my Dad's toolbox and found a washer when I made my second vase. It worked marvelously! When I showed him my creation, he said he had some larger washers at the shop that I could use, and those worked even more wonderfully!

So after critiquing my design, I made a listing on my Etsy and have sold three since January! My vase also has over 300 views and has been hearted over 20 times! It excites me that it has received so much attention.

I will experiment with different lightbulb sizes for different uses. I have a smaller lightbulb I made into an ink well of sorts (well, it's more of a pen rest, or pen home). I really like it and hope it becomes equally popular as the vase.
I recently chanced upon two burnt out frosted glass lightbulbs that are the same size as my standard lightbulb vases... I'll have to put up a listing for them.

Have any ideas, tips, or tricks for recycling or redesigning lightbulbs?

And incidentally... If you attempt to hollow out a lightbulb yourself, please, PLEASE wear eye protection and wrap the lightbulb in a towel while you're working with it to make sure you don't cut your hands (or make a huge mess) if the lightbulb breaks.

A beginning:

Well, I'm starting this blog to share my process of redesigning and creating items that I either use to my own advantage, or share with the world via Etsy.
I also may share bits of diet-related ramble or just life philosophies.
It's a journey and an adventure; we'll see how it goes!
Feel free to share your own experiences and ideas along the way. I love hearing from people!

Here's to the adventure,
Star