Monday, March 17, 2014

Darice Decolights vs Christmas string lights


The major issue with using the standard string of Christmas lights  in your wine bottle is the high heat that the lights generate. If you use a string of thirty five lights the bottle will be too hot to touch.  Maybe not so hot that it will burn your fingers, but quit warm. The longer you leave the lights on the warmer your wine bottle will be. It could be a safety issue if you sell your lighted wine bottles  and someone picked it up and was startled and dropped it. You may want to check to see just how hot a wine bottle can get depending on how many strings lights you inserted. It may surprise you. What about using LED string lights? LED string lights are brighter and burn much, much cooler. They will last longer and will not cause your lighted wine bottle to get too hot. I prefer using LED lights in my wine bottles that I sell or make as gifts. They have one major problem. A string of twenty LED colored or clear lights cost about three or four times as much as a string of standard Christmas Lights. The extra cost makes selling your lighted wine bottles a little more difficult due to the higher price you will need to charge. Have to tried teeny or rice lights?

Rice or teeny lights are very bright and also burn very cool. They are much smaller but give off plenty of bright light for your bottle. They often come in a count of 20 and can be found in most hobby or crafts stores. You can use Google search to find your local craft store as well as to check price. Your comments are always welcome.
http://stores.shop.ebay.com.winebottlelampmaking

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Drillin wine bottles


 

 

Drilling Pressure

 

Increasing the  pressure on diamond bits makes the bit cut faster. Not a good ideal with diamond bits. With a diamond drill bit, it’s very important that you:

 

Use very light downward pressure with a touch n” go technique. Let the “drill cut at its own speed.

 

Use plenty of water as a lubricant. A squirt bottle will often work.

 

Increasing the drill pressure will only increase the friction and heat. This not only burns up your diamond drill bit, but could also fracture or crack the material you are working with.

 

When drilling a hole completely through any material,it is important to :Lighten up the pressure even more when you sense the drill bit is about to break through the backside. This reduces chip out on the backside.
http:stores.shop.ebay.com/winebottlemaking

Monday, March 3, 2014

A Visit To Michaels





I often visit Michaels craft store just to see what is new. I am
especially interested in what may be the hot craft for the coming Craft Season. I was surprised to see on display several decorated lighted glass blocks. Can you believe the price? The sales price was $49.99. This was for the 8x8 inch glass block. The double glass block with a 6x6 inch on top was selling for $79.99. They were beautifully done and yet very simple. What made them eye catching was that the lights and ribbon complemented each other. Another special feature was that the block was filled with glass marbles that also blended in with the color of the ribbon and lights. They all were very pretty and attractive.
You may have noticed that glass blocks available at craft stores all have a large opening in the bottom of the block. This larger opening makes it much easier to insert your lights and add colored glass marbles which surrounds the string of mini-lights. This has a very nice effect. These manufactured glass blocks at Michael’s cost a lot more than they would at a builder supply store. An 8x8 inch block at Michaels will cost you about $16.00 dollars.
An alternative would be to drill a 1 inch hole in bottom of your block. This size hole should allow you to insert your string of lights along with any decorative glass beads or stone. You can find a plastic hole plug that will fit that size hole at most hardware stores. Drill a small hole in the center than slit it and slid it around the wire. Lighted glass blocks have been very popular for a number of years now. Lighted glass blocks usually follow a theme. Holiday Christmas decorations are very popular. Sports themes and baby themes are also very popular. You will have to visit some of the internet sites such as
www.etsy.com, www.artfire.com and www.e-bay.com to get a good idea of what lighted glass blocks artist are designing.  Spend some time using Google search to find interesting sites and information.

 
www.lightedwinebottlemaking.com

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Make a lighted wine bottle


A quick summary for making your lighted wine bottle

Drill a 3/8 inch hole in the back of your wine bottle about 1 inch from the bottom.  

Use “Silly Putty” as suggested in Instruction booklet (Your diamond drill bit will drill quite a few bottle if used as directed)

 

Thread Deco bulbs through plastic grommet. Insert bulbs into bottle (see Tips for inserting Deco Teeny lights in Your Bottle) Push snap-in grommet into hole.

 

     This lighted wine bottle kit is designed for Deco teeny,teeny bulbs requiring a 3/8 inch hole. Deco Teeny,teeny bulbs are available in the following:

      20 count clear bulbs white wire

      20 count multi color green wire

      20 count clear Brown wire

      20 count multi color green wire 

 

I also have available:

      Deco 20 count clear mini LED’s  (4mm, about the size of a small bean) on white wire

      Deco 20 count multi-color (4mm) on green wire.

 

Wine Bottle Lamp Kits with the mini LED’s come with a ½ inch diamond drill bit, “Silly Putty” and a ½ inch black plastic snap-in grommet.

 

Both the Teeny,Teeny bulbs and the LED 4mm bulbs have become very popular with Lighted wine bottle artist. They last longer and burn much cooler. Drilling a 3/8 inch or a ½ inch hole is a little easier and the availability  of snap-in grommet gives your bottle a nice appearance.

 

    

     
www.winebottlampmaking.com