Turn Christmas Lights into Pretty Patio Decor

Does anyone else feel sad when it is time to box up Christmas/holiday decor? I always feel a little bummed that the holidays are over because the holidays are a great excuse to beautify our world. To keep the blues away, I came up with a way to recycle Christmas lights and use them all year. Embellished patio lights! Let’s get started.

Supplies needed to turn Christmas lights into patio decor:

• Christmas Lights (preferably white)
• Vellum Paper
• Washi Tape & Leaf  Embellishments
• Silhouette Cameo
• Silhouette 3D Flower Cutting File (any 3D flower will do or you could use a craft punch)

Step 1: Using your vellum paper, cut out 3D flowers and circles (or any other shape you’d like). I played around with the sizes of my flowers until I found sizes that fit perfectly over the lights. (Even if it isn’t perfect, tape will secure it). I embellished every other light on my string. And on half of the flowers, I stacked two different sizes to add a little depth to the flower. It’s totally up to you how many flowers/shapes you want to cut!

TIP: When cutting vellum on the Silhouette Cameo, use an old mat or grunge up a new one. It is really difficult to pull the vellum cuts off of a brand-new mat.

Step 2: Being adding your embellishments to your bulbs. I used a bit of white washi tape to secure the flowers/circles to a bulb. You can see in the photos that the tape does not have to be pretty and perfect – you can’t even see it when it is all done.

Step 3: Add more embellishments to the string. I used green leaves and bits of washi tape throughout the string. And that’s it! It’s pretty easy but cutting vellum can be a bit time consuming because of it’s delicate nature.

I’m still playing around with placement of the lights. I think the patio is a perfect place for them, as outdoor entertainment is not too many months away. But I also think these would look great in a child’s room.

What do you think? Where would you put your string of embellished lights?