Christmas Lights Advice

LED Christmas lights come in 2 colors of white – pure and warm – and you love or hate each shade (so it seems!)

I just grabbed a couple of sets of lights and shot this video – I just installed a backdrop behind my desk 2 days ago and now when I get the urge to put something on film, it’s easy. I’m planning to do some longer more detailed videos soon on crafts, projects and decorating tips soon but sometimes you just need to take a minute to make a point. (So, if a picture is worth a 1000 words, how much is a video worth?)

Best regards and Merry Christmas,
Shellie Gardner
White LED Christmas Lights

I was visiting with a friend today and I made a passing reference to net lights (what a shocker!). She made a little face and complained that net lights were just a little too “uniform” for her. See, in her neighborhood all the hedges are nice and striaght and every Christmas everyone installs their net lights and there are rows after rows of perfect hedges.

Seems my friend is a bit of a rebel. As part of the same conversation, I mentioned pink mini lights and pink C9 lights and the idea that she could have a completely pink house this Christmas made her eyes light up with anticipation. (We were conspiring that she and her daughter could surprise her husband and son with their all pink decor!!)

Well, I had a small solution to her net light concern. Net lights are just the best way to decorate a hedge, hands down. Especially in clear mini lights. Each bulb is laid out in a precise grid and the set takes approximately 30 seconds to install.

If you find all that order disconcerting then try the following: Instead of just one set of net lights, buy two. Throw the first set over the hedge then throw the second set offset by a couple of inches over top of it. The gridlike pattern will be minimized and you’ll have 300 mini lights in a some odd 24 square foot area.

I could see her eyes light up at the prospect of having all the convenience of net lights with the massive over the top look that she always spends hours and hours on ever November. Her words: “I like to wrap and wrap and wrap each branch of the hedge”.

I’m starting to wonder how the hedge manages to withstand all that Christmas lights affection.

If you decide that net lights are not the way to go because you want to do your entire house in purple, pink, teal or yellow (net lights are commonly only manufactured in traditional Christmas colors – red, blue, green, and clear) then here are a couple of tips to help you adorn your shrubs:

1. Since Christmas lights can only be run 3 sets to a single run before you have to use another extension cord, consider choosing the longest strands that you can get your hands on without going overboard. Consider 4 inch spacing since that is the most common and easily accessible distance between mini lights available on a set. For large tree trunks, you might look at 6 inch spacing. I like the sets that have 100 mini lights per string with 4 inch spacing because they give you 33 feet to work with.

2. Make sure your hedges are all trimmed up so that you don’t have pokey branches messing up all your hard work. This advice is strictly for folks in the deep South who don’t experience much winter. Or for our South American readers

3. Roll the lights up like balls of yarn before you begin installation. The principles here are the same as they are for yarn. The sets will stay better organized and you will be less likely to knock a bulb out – which will begin your search for the open socket when half the set refuses to light.

4. Consider installing the lights at night so you can see all your empty spaces and correct as you go.
(Be safe – don’t do this if you live in the hood like my neighborhood used to be 10 years ago. Use your good judgement.)

5. Use a modified figure 8 to install the lights on your greenery. The figure 8 pattern will help disguise irregularities and make holes less likely. Just bob and weave…

Most of all, have fun. Some folks like neat and tidy nets, other like the cacophony of chaos. Pick an all one color theme or go crazy with multi or mix it up – it’s all good and fun at Christmas time.

Best Regards,
Shellie Gardner
Christmas Lights

Isn’t August the best time to have a party before the fall routine sets in? The thought of barbeque brisket and lemonade makes my mouth water.

In that spirit here is my favorite brisket recipe (from my good friend Joni!)

Joni’s BBQ Brisket

5-6lb beef brisket
1pkg Lipton onion soup mix
1/4 bottle liquid smoke
Hickory smoke BBQ sauce
Garlic salt
Onion salt
Accent or savory salt
Celery Salt
Pepper

Lay the brisket out on two long pieces of aluminum foil positioned like a cross.
Sprinkle over the meat equal amounts of garlic salt, onion salt, Accent or savory salt, celery salt and pepper. Sprinkle dry soup and liquid smoke over meat. Wrap tightly in the aluminum foil (using the two pieces ensures that as much of the liquid stays in with the meat as possible). Place in roaster or on deep cookie sheet with sides. Bake 11 hours at 225. Pour off juice and reserve. Open foil and cool meat slightly. When able to handle the meat, slice thickly with electric knife. Use 1/2 juice (separated from fat) and 1/2 hickory smoke BBQ sauce mixed, and pour over and between slices of meat. Rewrap tightly in foil. Bake at 350 for another hour (or finish off in a crock pot).

I like to fresh squeeze lemons, add their tangy juice to water and add more sugar than may be healthy for me. It’s also nice to serve lemonade in a clear pitcher with ice and lemon slices.

I love it – kicking back with friends on the porch after a hearty meal – don’t forget the coleslaw and beans Oh! And savory corn on the cob – buttered with herbs and baked in foil if you aren’t barbeque-ing.

Just a few strings of mini lights hanging above the back deck – making the feel of the evening mellow while we kick up our feet is just the thing.

Hope you have a great party very soon. Invite a few friends over and when they ask what to bring suggest margaritas….

Best regards and stay cool,

Shellie
Christmas Lights

This morning I am catching up all of the email thank you’s with 10% discount codes from the Christmas Light Source recycling program.

Every day we are still receiving 4-6 large boxes of lights to be carted en masse to a local recycling facility that processes them in country in the most ecological way available.

It’s so good not to see these beauties end up in a landfill after dutifully providing hours of sparking light All the proceeds from the recycling program will be used to purchase books for the Toys for Tots program.

Occassionally, we receive boxes of completely unused lights that have never even been out of their packaging. These lights we take to a local thrift store that supports The Safe Haven Women’s Shelter. If you live in the Fort Worth area, consider dropping off your unused items there to support this worthy cause.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer! Now is the time to light up the porch with clear mini lights and think ahead to red, white and blue for the patriotic Holidays as well as we honor our Veterans and Celebrate our Indepence!!!

Happy Summer Everyone!

Shellie Gardner
Christmas Light Source

Spring is in the air and that means Easter is right around the corner! I’ve just published a new article about decorating for Easter and incorporating a little sparke with Christmas Lights.

As spring approaches each year, we anticipate the warmer breezes wafting into open windows and the wonderful sights of spring green leaves and flowers appearing from the once frozen winter ground. The celebration of Easter seems to be the turning point for many of us when we think of spring finally arriving and gracing us with a much-needed respite from the cold, harsh winter months.

See the rest of our article on Decorating for Easter.

Shellie
Christmas Light Source

As we get closer to New Year’s Eve, why not take the time to look at how easy it is to use Christmas lights to decorate for your big party. Now is even a great time to take advantage of those after Christmas sales then store the lights away for use next year.

See my entire article on Decorating for New Year’s Eve with Lights for more ideas!

And Happy New Year! I’ll be posting on taking down and storing Christmas lights within the next couple of days.

Shellie
Clear Mini Lights

The 70 foot Christmas tree from the Bitterroot National Forest has been installed and decorated in front of the our nation’s Capitol and the lighting ceremony will be tonight.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Montana’s Governor Brian Schweitzer will be on hand to officiate at tonight’s event. (I think House Speaker Pelosi will be throwing the switch.)

The Capitol Christmas tree has been known alternatively as the Capitol Holiday tree until Congress changed its name back to include the word Christmas.

It is traditionally decorated with scores of Christmas ornaments made by the children who live in the state that donates the tree. Weighing up to several pounds each, they are certainly a sight to see during the day!

Since 2005, the tree has been lit with LED Christmas lights – first, only 10% were converted in 2005 as an experiment then the Christmas lights were converted to 100% LED from 2006 on to take advantage of the 90% greater efficiency of LED Christmas lights vs. the traditional C9’s that had been used for so many years.

This year, the tree is decorated with 1000’s of C9 LED bulbs strung in 14 gauge stringer wire. Using retrofits allowed the Office of the Architect the flexibility to warm up the tree a bit since LEDs throw alot of blue light. The addition of extra warm white, orange and red will do just the trick.

Look out tonight on CNN for coverage of the event – and hopefully it will hit You Tube as well. The Capitol tree is just another wonderful tradition that helps kick off the whole Holiday season.

Now. To decorate our tree….. 1200 mini lights and a score of Owen and Jack’s ornaments.

Merry Christmas,
Shellie Gardner
Christmas Lights

LED Christmas Lights have really burst onto the scene for Holiday decorating over the last few years. But you may be wondering, “what are those LED Christmas lights and where did they come from?”

Well, I’ve put together a brief history of LED Christmas lights. I’ve refrained from techno-jargon. I’m saving that for another article

Here is a sampling…..

LED Christmas lights are widely accepted now as one of the many choices of Christmas lights available to consumers. However, it was years ago that the concept of LED’s was actually discovered. Christmas lights are a recent application for LED’s. Light emitting diodes (LED’s) were first used for commercial applications. There really is a history behind LED’s and the effect they currently have (and have had in recent years) on the Christmas light industry.

See all of the article Brief History of LED Christmas Lights.

Shellie
C9 LED Christmas Lights

Driving home last night from my son’s violin lessons (an hour away from our home) I was struck by the difference in appearance between “normal” headlights and the new halogen lights that are becoming all the new thing in car headlight technology. I reflected that they perfectly illustrate the differences between cool slash pure slash winter LED Christmas Lights and Warm White LED Christmas lights.

Whether they are sets or bulbs, the whites are in the same category – cool or warm. The cool sets – like the Halogens are sharp and crisp with blue overtones. The warm sets are ….. warmer with yellowish overtones.

The cool white sets look good if you have solar lights that also have that sharp icy look. Quite a bit of the landscaping lighting that you see on the market nowadays has this cooler look so to stay complemetary, it’s nice to know that your Christmas lights won’t have to clash. Pure white LED’s seem to be a prominent choice for commercial applications – both in downtown areas and at large facilities.

Warm white is the color most likely to blend in with traditional mini lights and C7/C9 Christmas light bulbs. There is still limited availability of LED lights in every form of Holiday lighting so if you are going to mix incandescents and LED, warm may be the way to go.

On both style of lights, their warmness or coolness is most noticeable when you hold them up to each other. They both tend to look more neutral but if you put them next to each other or next to their counterpart colors, the visual differences become clear.

As far as popularity, the preference for warm and cool seems to be running 50/50 with strong feelings either way. As it is with all Christmas lights, it’s just a matter of taste

So if you are still on the fence about whether you are a cool or a warm led person, take a drive after dark and oncoming traffic may be able to shed some light on your decision.

Shellie Gardner
White LED Christmas Lights

It’s great how LED Christmas lights come in all sorts of different shapes and colors. Large jobs – outlining walkways and yards – call for larger C7 and C9 style bulbs. Smaller jobs – lighting garland, wreaths, centerpieces, Christmas trees!! — let you choose between a huge array of smaller LED shapes.

I have been recently playing with wide angle LED Christmas lights and I like the way the small flat LED covers can be hidden into greenery and the angle of light diffusion seems to be very even – a nice pinpoint of light.

In the picture above, I’ve “hidden” some of the pure white lights in some sheer silver organza. I’m thinking of using this as a table edge for an upcoming party – or stuffing this into a glass brick for some Christmas decorations (fake present glass brick project!!).

I like the razzberry, strawberry and mini ice shapes of led mini lights for decorating – they all look good in a ton of applications – especially during the Holidays. But having access to the simple neutral lines of these particular light sets – I think I’m going to have fun experimenting with them!!

Shellie Gardner
Christmas Lights