October 16, 2010

Hand Made Jellyfish Lights Using Recycled Christmas Lights and Repurposed Electrical Conduit

repurposed and recycled jellyfish look lights
A pair of funky lamps I made that remind me of jellyfish
so that's what I'm calling them

pendant light recycled art makeover
I started with this pair of pendant lights from IKEA. 
I had thought I would hang silverware around the edges so I stopped by 
the thrift store looking for mismatched silverware.

clear christmas ball lights
Then I spotted two bags of clear bubble Christmas garland lights
and it made me think of jellyfish.

clear garland light covers
They were sold "as is" so I didn't know if they worked but it didn't matter
since all I was after were the clear, opalescent-y plastic globe pieces
that were going to become part of the jellyfish tentacles.

Christmas garland light repurpose
I started by cutting the light strands and removing all the wires.

clear plastic Christmas light garland covers
I was left with two sizes. 
At this point I didn't really have a definite plan for how I was going to assemble
them, but I did have a vision of how I wanted them to look.

repurposed conduit wire
I had a pile of salvaged conduit wire. 
It is metal tubing with electrical wires inside.  
I've used it for other projects before and it's fun to work with
and it just looks cool and swirly when you unravel it.

working with conduit wire in mixed media project
To use just the swirly metal part you start by unraveling one end to expose the wires...

recycled conduit wire lamps
Once the wires are exposed, you can just pull them out. 
They are wrapped in plastic and easily slide out. 

 If you really want to recycle, you can save the green, white 
and black wire and use for other recycled projects.  

creating art with conduit wire
After the wires are out, you pull it apart and it will start to separate and uncoil.
  You may want to wear gloves for this part.
It's not really sharp until you start cutting it but it will rough up your hands.

You can also use it as is without uncoiling and incorporate into different projects. 

I got all involved and forgot to take more "during" pics but I had
unraveled the conduit and added the clear balls in random patterns 
to make eight strands per light.

diy jellyfish lights
To attach my conduit/clear ball strands to the lights, I drilled eight holes around the edges
of the metal pendants. I threaded lengths of thin wire through the holes, using
a clear bead on top to secure it and attached the conduit strands to this wire.

jellyfish lights
You can see the clear beads here on the outside of the pendant.

making spiral wire
I added more of this thin wire as well and made it spiral-y by winding
the wire around the end of a paintbrush...or pencil, whatever you have.

diy jellyfish lights
Here they are unlit. They aren't going in my house, 
I'll be taking them to my booth where I sell my pieces, 
so I hung them off of my chandelier in the kitchen to photograph.

jellyfish lights
I think they look pretty cool, they are definitely one of a kind.

recycled wire and pendant lights into jellyfish lights
They are all swirly and "other worldy"...

jellyfish lights
They really do look very pretty all lit up!
These lights are sold, thanks so much for reading about
 my DIY Jellyfish lights.

Please stop by my Etsy shop or 
Find me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest too

22 comments:

  1. Lucy these are really cool. I love them
    Heather H

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  2. Holy freakin' cow, these are the most clever and gorgeous lights! Your creativity boggles my mind. Somebody's space is going to have major style points with these, no lie!

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  3. What!?! These are amazing. What in the world do you do with all these things you build? You are incredibly talented and creative!

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  4. Lucy, those are absolutely amazing!!! I love them, wish I had a spot for them in my house. Kept looking for the right words to express my thoughts and Ann @ makethebestofthings said it perfectly ~ your creativity and imagination is "MIND BOGGLING"!!! I had no idea you could do all of that with electrical conduit...

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  5. What an amazing idea, I love how they look. I never, ever would have put that together -- you are crazy creative!

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  6. I love Love LOVE these lights! I envy your vision ... you are such an inspiration.
    Fabulous!!!

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  7. I don't even know what to say...Those are just AMAZING!

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  8. Those are so cool! How creative! I love them!

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  9. wow! you have a great imagination and these turned out super cool!

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  10. These are very cool - how clever!

    Susan,
    http://entertainexchange.blogspot.com/
    Party and Entertaining Inspiration

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  11. These are completely funky and cool and I love them! What great vision you have to see the potential in all these materials.

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  12. Thank you everybody! and thanks again Becky for featuring me!
    Lucy

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  13. Lucy, you know by now I am always late with my comments.LOL but those lights are amazing. I love them and love you. Mom

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  14. WOW!! I LOVE THESE!! I might come snatch them from you if I could. Ha! Im your newest follower :0)

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  15. Thanks so much Michelle- glad you stopped by!!

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  16. This is so creative. You're so talented! They'd fit right in a whimsical underwater themed bedroom. I'd love for you to link this over at my 'Sweets This Week' Link Party

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  17. These would be PERFECT in my daughter's ocean/aquarium room. Sa-WEET! You are amazing--the things you think of putting together for this.

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  18. Hello Lucy! I just found your blog and store and wondering if these sold. I can't imagine they didn't but if not, please let me know if one or both are still for sale. Love them!

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  19. Hi Bonnie, these have been sold. I'll post if I ever make more :)

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I've moved to Lucydesignsart.com to focus on my mosaic art. I'm no longer creating dragonflies or mermaids.

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