I need a new light in my dining room. I’m on the hunt for an old fasioned chandelier (to pair against Mrs. Snow), so in the meantime, I’m gettin’ funky.
When I gave up Diet Coke earlier this summer, the gradual phase out included a few weeks lemon-lime soda consumption. It’s not much better for you than Diet Coke, but it was as close to Diet Coke methadone as I could get. For a couple of weeks it was straight soda, then I started buying it in mini-bottles so I could just pour some into a glass of water to hot my sweet-n-fizzy spot at the same time. Eventually that phased out and I moved on to non-sweetened seltzer, then mostly water, which is where I am now. Aren’t you fascinated by this? I know I am.
I discovered two things in the lemon-lime soda phase. 1. You can replace 7-Up for lemonade in an Arnold Palmer and it will knock your socks off (add extra lemons for a kick). And 2. 7-Up bottles are really pretty when they are empty, clean, and cut to bits. Like this!
- 10 clean plastic bottles (free)
- 1 plastic light bulb cage ($2.19, found in the electrical supply section at the hardware store, popular at construction sites the world over).
- 10 zip ties ($1.00)
Cutting the bottles is the hard part. get yourself a sturdy pair of kitchen shearsand turn on the movie, it could take a little while.
Binding the bottles to the outside of the bulb cage is easier if you spread them out a bit. I nearly gave up half-way through to swap it out for wires, but the sip-ties work just fine. Before you trim off the tails, make sure you arrange them in a way that the cage can close around your light bulb (I learned that one the hard way).
Shazam!
LOVE IT…one of the many reasons I love to visit your site. You take ordinary to sublime and FUN. Thank you Aunt Peaches.
Chihuly on the cheap! Ha! 🙂
love it! and so, so, inspired by your making the move from DC to water!
Delightful light fixture, omg that is cute! Congratulations on the water drinkin’!
You’re just awesome!! Reading your blog is the high point of my day!! I still can’t give up DC tho, inspiring tho you are. Thanks for everything you do!!
You’re just awesome!! Reading your blog is the high point of my day!! I still can’t give up DC tho, inspiring tho you are. Thanks for everything you do!!
I love this girl!!!
I LOVE this idea!! What type and wattage of light bulb did you use? Did you have any problem with heat buildup and the plastic?
Thanks,
Dee in FL
This is a great idea! Also If you still want soda every now and then, there’s a brand called zevia you could try. It’s sugar free and much less “chemichaly” than regular soda. plus it tastes pretty good!Thanks for sharing your ideas.
Gee’ this gets me thinking about seeing what colors plastic bottles come in. Talk about Chihuly on the cheap! what if you used mixed colors? Your ideas are so cool. I’m adding your site to my favorites.
I’m going to do this, but i’m going to hang it in my back yard with solar lights.
Great idea, Rita!
Beautiful ideas
great idea….they can even be used in the backyard for cookouts
Shazam, indeed!
Hi Peaches! Just found your site and adore it! This DIY is awesome — and I second Dee from FL’s question: “I LOVE this idea!! What type and wattage of light bulb did you use? Did you have any problem with heat buildup and the plastic?”
Can you let us know what wattage bulb to use? Thanks so much! 🙂
I used a 20 watt -low heat and it has plenty of space around it. Not a problem at all. But if you want a higher watt, just use an LED – no heat at all.