April 05, 2012

Rural Thursday #11



I spent a little time on Pinterest the other day and saw a project I just had to try. 


It's my own version (of course,) and I'd like to share it with you.

Here is the original post by Rebecca's DIY.
As I always say, you can go to this site to see the original project, because
I think the inventor should get all the credit.

But, just for fun -- here's my version of Rebecca's DIY Patio Lights.

What you will need:

20 paper 4 oz. drinking cups (I used Dixie bathroom cups)
20-bulb light string
Decorative paper (wallpaper, printables, Kraft Paper, Greeting cards)
Decoupage or school glue
Small craft brush to apply glue (optional)
Rotary Cutter (optional)
Cutting Board (optional)

1. Carefully de-construct one of the paper cups. This will be your template for cutting out the decorative paper. (See photo.)

Next time, I will use white cups.
These are what I had on hand.

2. Place the template on your paper and trace around it with a pencil. 
3. Cut around the outline with your rotary cutter or with scissors.




4. Cut an "x" in the bottom of your paper cup. This will make it easier to push the light through.



5. Apply the decoupage glue (or school glue,) around the wrong-side edges of your paper cut-out.



6. Wrap the paper cut-out around the paper cup -- matching the seam of your cut-out with the seam of the paper cup. Press on the seam of the cut-out until it sticks. 



7. It's about this time you need to check with your assistant, to make sure you haven't missed any steps.


Maggie

Since I received a paws up, let's proceed. 

8. Once you have made all of your light covers and the glue is dry, push each light through the "x" in the bottom of each cup. 

9. Plug in your patio lights (indoor only) and enjoy!

Note: If you will be searching on the Internet for copyright-free paper patterns to print, I highly suggest The Graphics Fairy. That is where I found the cherry image.


: : :

Now, it's time again for Rural Thursdays Blog Hop!

Please note -- you DON'T need to live in the country or on a farm to participate! 

Here's how you can join in:

1. Publish a blog post about
  • general information describing what's happening in your country/rural/farm life, 
or a post relating to a rural-themed subject that will benefit all Rural Thursday readers and participants,
such as
  • farming, 
  • rural-themed photography, 
  • recipes,
  • homesteading tips,
  • critters and pets, 
  • DIY projects, 
  • rural-themed giveaways
  • anything and everything that embraces living the simple life. 
2. Please make sure to add the Rural Thursday button to your blog post and link back here.

3. Please link to your actual post and not your home page.

4. If you don't have a blog, you are welcome to leave a comment below our post regarding what special things are happening in your rural world.

Your hosts for Rural Thursday are Nancy @ A Rural Journal and Lisa @ Two Bears Farm

(The Hosts of Rural Thursday reserve the right to remove any links that are deemed inappropriate.) 


Have questions? Please feel free to contact Nancy or Lisa.

Want to receive a weekly reminder when the hop goes live?  Subscribe to our newsletter

Thank you for visiting!


66 comments:

  1. Such a cute idea. I'm thinking you could also use fabric scraps. Maybe match the covers of your patio chairs.

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  2. I'm not that crafty or creative, but that's pretty cool! I've never seen patio lights like that.

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  3. These look great :) thanks for hosting :)

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  4. Really nice! I hope you´ll get a great Easter! :-)

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  5. what a cute idea! these look great!
    thanks for sharing.

    xo

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  6. That's a neat idea, I think my granddaughter would love this. Maggie looks like quite the taskmaster!

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  7. This is my first time here and I am SO EXCITED to have a place to share with others will be interested in our farm life. We have 32 chickens, 80 head of cattle, 5 goats who are escape artists, lazy ol' dog and a couple of cats.

    Thanks for having this blog hop!

    BTW, I LOVE the cute idea! That is adorable!

    Have a super blessed day!
    Beth

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  8. These turned out so cute! I love the fabrics -- and the polka dots showing through are cute too!! =)

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  9. What a cute idea for patio lights! I think fabric would work also...thanks for all the work that went into giving the step-by-step instructions, and thank Maggie for her supervision!

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  10. Very cute! You are such a crafty girl in addition to all of your other talents!

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  11. Love the patio lights, and love Pinterest! Such a clever idea. And look at Maggie, awe....love her!

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  12. you are just so darn crafty! those are cute and i lol'ed over your assistant haha

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  13. Seriously lovely! I have seen these on pinterest but your do look great -- well done indeed!
    I have linked up with your party... I hope it's rural enough, my photo's were taken on the top of a mountain! Hope that counts.. heheeeee.
    Hope you're well and looking forward to Easter.
    Jennie. x

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  14. Wow...those are too cute...and easy!

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  15. What a great little project.. I very much like your version!... and the lilacs in the previous post are beautiful. I can smell them from here :-)

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  16. How fun! I may have to try something like this as a decoration for my sukkah (part of a fall Jewish holiday)!

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  17. I think I'll try this for our July 4th party. Great idea. Thanks!
    BTW, I thought yesterday was Thursday and wondered why you didn't have the link up. lol

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  18. These turned out cute! And I'm thinking they probably wouldn't be too tough for the not-so-crafty such as myself.

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  19. Inspirational Nancy has done it again!

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  20. Lovely post and great 'how to' ~thanks, namaste, ^_^ linked w/Katherine's Corner

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  21. how does one "add the Rural Thursday button to your blog post and link back here?"

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  22. Wonderful idea - so simple, so inexpensive, and yet so adorable. Thanks for sharing. And my hat off to your assistant.

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  23. I like simple ideas that turn out so well! Very nice!

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  24. Cute project! I'm glad you got a "paws up" from your able assistant!

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  25. Oh my! I'm really impressed. Would love to try it myself.

    Thanks for sharing♥

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  26. What a neat idea... thumbs up, too cute! =)

    I want to link up, but not sure my post today fits in w/ Rural, although, St G IS rural! Let me know what you think =)

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  27. Cute idea! They turned out great!

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  28. This looks like a fun project to do.

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  29. How fun, and great instructions. How could I not like these cute lamps, red checks & cherries...perfect!! I LOVE Pinterst, so many wonderful ideas and finds.

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  30. oh nancy, i LOVE this....and i love how the "poka-dots" on the paper cups shine thru, it adds more interest to the patterns in the paper!!

    don't you just adore pinterest, some people are just soooo clever!

    your header is amazing, my favorite by far!!

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  31. This is the cutest idea and I love yours....Great job even if you did have alittle help from the resident cat.....

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  32. These are darling, Nancy! How fun and simple to make! :)

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  33. These look great - what a fun idea!!!

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  34. love your new lilac header... possibly my favorite flower... off to read previous post on them!! :)
    patty@ findingserendipity.com

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  35. You crack me up, "paw's up"! Love your project too!

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  36. I too have a handy assistant who oft checks the progress of anything I'm doing. This is a sweet project and if I was crafty at all I might be inclined to try it, but I'll just enjoy the light show from here.

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  37. LOL...if Maggie says it good, it must be...she has the face of authority!! Very cute idea!

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  38. Clever, cute and affordable. My kind of DIY. Thanks for sharing and have a great day.

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  39. Wonderful project! I love paper crafting - if you want some other choices, get thee to a scrapbooking store!

    And I love your assistant. Good thing she was around to offer tech support.

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  40. This looks like fun. Yours are really sweet.

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  41. Those light covers are fab! I meant to leave a comments this morning before leaving for work, but didn't feel, still don't am home sick... I leave for the Palouse Saturday, hope this is better... thanks for hosting!

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  42. Wow! I really like this! It actual
    Ymlooks site enough that my non-crafty behind could do it! (found you on the blog hop, and decided to follow you! Hope you can check out my blog whenever you have time!)

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  43. I really liked these cute lights!

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  44. Nancy, you're hired - and so is Maggie!

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  45. That is such a cute idea! I applaud you for linking to where you got the idea.

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  46. Very cool! What I like is that you can customize them for different events.

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  47. what a cute idea...I love your version...

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  48. I just adore your little lights, they are such a simple yet effective idea, great for decorating for a party!

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  49. Love that idea. I even like the dots under the fabric. And of course, you have a very good looking assistant.

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  50. Oh my goodness. I just love these. They look wonderful. Love the fabric you picked out!!

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  51. What a fun idea! And your assistant...adorable! Oh those blue eyes. Cute!
    Wishing you a beautiful weekend!
    xo Catherine

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  52. I love those lights Nancy!
    So truly creative, and really very beautiful.
    Happy Easter to you!

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  53. Hi! Love the lights, what an awesome idea! I am your newest follower from the weekend blog hop. Check me out when you get a chance. Looking forward to getting to know you! xxoo-Kim (SoCal Mom) http://bbunchmama.blogspot.com

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  54. I love this idea!Wow look at all of these wonderful comments, wonderful. Thank you for joining in the hop and for your bloggy friendship

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  55. Oh, this DIY project looks so cool!
    I visited though the site you take the info from and I don't understand a word... so I'm taking your guidelines. ;)

    Happy Easter from Barcelona.

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  56. ha! i'm pretty busy days and will have to rely on my assistants to do all the work. will keep you posted...

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Thank you so much for being here. I appreciate your thoughts and opinions.