glass globe lights

Maybe someone else has done this, but I thought I'd share...
I'm too cheap to buy the lighted glass fish floats, so one day while I was in the local Hobby Lobby I noticed how the glass blown gazing balls looked alot like the floats.
I bought several sizes ( no mirrored ones)then picked up a few of those little night lights that people use at Christmas time to light up the little villages, and some cheap fish nets.
Worked out great. I bought most of them in the fall when they were closing out the globes, but I have noticed sales on the balls even now. Here's a few pictures. Just check the hole on the "neck' of the globes to make sure the light bulb will fit.



This last one was taken before I hid the electric cords better. Plus my lounge is much darker than the flash makes it look.
Hope I'm not posting old news here, but it's just so cheap and easy to do, I had to pass it along.

Clever Girl!!!

Very Clever Girl! This thought had flashed through my mind once but I never went anywhere with it. Thanks for posting the pics and sparking the flame of my imagination.

A extra touch would be to spray the inside with a clear matte finish to sort of "frost" them and then your light bulb will not be "visible" just a nice glow.

Tried that once last year. Kept having these annoying yard gnomes show up in my living room!

Very smart! Hobby store, here I come!

I did that with one last year, had my husband cut off the neck part.
Unfortunately, the marble of the glass meant that light showed through in the clear parts.

I'll have to try Swanky's suggestion of spraying the inside - great idea by the way!

I'm all about cheap! ha ha.

Great idea Swanky to spray the insides to frost em'!

Globe lights for all!

nice job! very inginuitive!!!!

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=7522&forum=7&vpost=100161

glass fishing floats ROCK!!!!

spray away!!!! (just not near pets...)

Yee-Ha! I went right after work and got 2 10" "floats to be" 1/2 off! Rock on! Go check it out. 1/2 off until the 30th. I got the ones I thought would convert best. They were the $25 ones. They had $20 ones that were a close second. They also have the net you would need there. Several types. And large clam shells (maybe 6 inches across, not 2 feet) that could be wired up as wall sconces easily for a couple of dollars.

I think we'll be back after pay day just to get more large ceramic pots for planters at 1/2 off...

Will update on my fish float lamp creations as they occur. Thanks for the tip!

I finished up mine, sort of. I put a "etching" paint inside to give a matte glow to them. I got a net from Party city and used a regular corded light with 7 watt bulb. I am going to redo them with a heavier net soon. Sorry these pictures are too dark.

Nice work on the glass ball lights. It just goes to show, if you look around and read TC pages, you can Always find inexpensive ways to give your home bar that tropical tiki look you have been looking for. Thanks E59

Very ingenious!! They look great !

I found those same lil balls at Home Depot last summer. Supposed to be gazing balls on metal rods but once I found they came off I knew they would be perfect "float lights".

I only have one up in my bar now but hope to get the other two up soon. I used the same type of single lighting fixture that you did, but I used a flicker inside for a little movement. A bit of small brown netting and up it went. While the red ball looks great with the flicker, I think I'll use the solid light for the green and yellow.

Thanks for the great idea. It makes a fantastic substitute to the real thing!

To evenly diffuse the light, I used a semi-transparent spray paint for glass on the outside of the globe. I wove the net out of twine from directions I found here on Tiki Central, and used a standard size light socket with 40 watt tubular bulb. I was surprised how well socket fit. It was as if the threads on the outside of the socket could screw right in the hole in the top of the globe.

So after about an hour of work, here’s what I ended up with...

[ Edited by: traderjim6781 2006-03-10 18:30 ]

in case anyone is interested, design masters paints makes a transluscent spray paint. they use it in the floral industry a lot.

this is a quick link i found.

http://www.backgroundstobasics.com/pages/designmasterpaints.html

we use it for painting glass stuff and floral stuff all the time. it works great. you can mix it on top of each other for great effects.