Transform Dollar Tree Christmas light bulb necklaces into charming DIY ornaments with this easy, budget-friendly tutorial. Perfect for vintage-inspired holiday decor!
How to make jumbo light bulb ornaments.
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Why I love this craft
This is such an easy and satisfying DIY and budget-friendly, too! I love how they turned out, and they’ll definitely add a sweet handmade touch to my holiday decor this year.
Craft Tips for this Project
- These ornaments are small, so they work great on mini trees or as accents on garlands or wreaths.
- Feel free to experiment with other colors — think blush pink, muted green, or classic red.
- Want more shine? Add a coat of clear gloss or a dusting of glitter spray for extra sparkle.
The inspiration for this craft:
I’ve made several bulb-related crafts like these Gold Leaf Ornaments and the Pine Snow Globe Ornaments, both of which shows a variety of ways you can use materials found at Dollar Tree.
Video Tutorial: Dollar Store Jumbo Lightbulb Ornaments
Watch this quick video to see how this craft came together:
Dollar Store Jumbo Lightbulb Ornaments
Transform those bold holiday necklaces into charming Dollar Store Jumbo Lightbulb Ornaments with this easy vintage-inspired upcycle craft.
Materials
- Christmas lightbulb necklaces, Dollar Tree
- bamboo skewers
- hot glue
- Rustoleum chalk paint (color: white linen)
- Antique gold rub n' buff
- Folkart matte paint (color: greenscape)
- Folkart home decor chalk paint (color: sage)
- twine (cream-colored)
- painter's tape
Tools
- cut sponge piece
- 1" flat paint brush
- Hot glue gun
Instructions
- Watch the video. Follow along with the tutorial for a step by step walkthrough on making jumbo lightbulb ornaments.
- Disassemble with care. The first step is to take the necklace apart. You will only need the bulb and bulb base parts for this craft project.
- Prep for painting. To make painting easier (and less messy), I used bamboo skewers — also from Dollar Tree. Just add a tiny dab of hot glue to the skewer tip, pop it into the bulb, and let it dry. For the green plastic tops, I used tacky putty — the kind for hanging posters — to attach them to skewers. Just press a bit into the base, insert your skewer, and they’re ready for painting, too.
- Prime and paint. I started with a coat of Rust-Oleum Linen White Chalk Paint as a base. Once dry, I painted the bulbs in soft, wintry tones — two shades of blue-green. Each bulb got two coats of color on top of the base coat, allowing time to dry in between.
- Add a metallic touch. To give the green plastic tops a more realistic, vintage look, I used Antique Gold Rub 'n Buff. I applied it using a tiny scrap of a clean dish sponge, dabbing and buffing the gold finish onto the plastic tops until they looked like little brass fittings.
- Distress. Once the colored bulbs were fully dry, I used another tiny sponge piece and just the faintest amount of Rub 'n Buff to add light distressing.
- Create the hangers. I used a cream-colored twine with a subtle gold thread running through it — a lovely complement to the gold tops. Watch the video to see the process of cutting, tying, and attaching the bulb.
The Finished Craft
Don’t forget to PIN this craft for later:
More Crafts Using Dollar Store Supplies:
Christmas Ornament Gifts & DIYs
This craft was part of a compilation video over on my YouTube Channel, along with DIY Upcycled Spice Jar Snow Globe Ornaments, Mini Busted Canvas Christmas Ornaments, DIY Yarn-Wrapped Star Ornaments (Using Scrap Cardboard!), Acrylic Christmas Ornaments, Dollar Store Jumbo Lightbulb Ornaments, Jar Lid Christmas Ornaments, DIY Upcycled Spice Jar Snow Globe Ornaments, Dollar Tree tumbling tower Christmas ornaments, Names of Jesus Christmas Ornaments, Berry and Holly Globe Ornaments, and Red Tin Tile Ornaments – Easy Dollar Tree Craft.