Wednesday, 23 May 2007

LED Light up Bottle

By S. Roberts

You can find lots of unusual things in bottles, ships and messages, so why not fill a bottle with LED lights? What a bright idea! This attractive bottle is a great talking point; it makes a nice table decoration or a festive night-light, everyone will want one of these.

To make the LED light up bottle you will need... A clear glass bottle, a meter or so of tinsel, a loo roll or kitchen towel tube, glitter, PVA glue, and a set of 20 LED lights. You can get these ready made from with a battery compartment from the '99p Store' on your local high street. Tech confident people could make their own from individual components. DO NOT use mains fairy lights, this is a fire hazard!

First wash out the bottle and remove all the labels. Use a nice smelling detergent to rid the bottle of any lingering odours from its previous contents. Leave the bottle to drain and dry out completely.

Take the LED lights and the Tinsel, use a small amount of selotape and stick the wire directly behind the last LED bulb (the bulb furthest away from the battery compartment) to the end of the strip of tinsel.

Twist the string of lights and the tinsel loosely together and carefully push the lights and tinsel into the bottle until the battery compartment rests on the neck of the bottle.

The loo roll or kitchen towel tube will become a fancy bottle stopper that covers the battery compartment. Draw around the end of the tube onto a piece of card. A grocery box is great. Cut the disc out and push it into the end of the tube. Use a bit of selotape to hold it in place.

Cover the tube and end piece in PVA glue and sprinkle with glitter. Cover the cardboard completely so that it is no longer visible. Leave to dry.

Perch the battery compartment on top of the bottle and place the glitter bottle stopper over the top of it, so that it hides the batteries and part of the neck of the bottle.


S. Roberts write for www.santaspostbag.co.uk a free educational resource packed with creative things to do and make including traditional, religious & 21-century activities. Visit http://www.santaspostbag.co.uk/christmas-fun-stuff.html for more fun stuff. SantasPostbag is in association with www.bigboystoyz.com Together keeping Christmas magical.