Propped_Up
11-21-2009, 01:35 AM
As requested, here's my meager tut...
Throughout this tutorial, The Dollar Store (a.k.a. Dollarama) will be referred to as "DS".
I apologize for the fuzziness of some of the pics, but I think you'll get the idea anyway. For those of you who might be thinking "...but I don't have the time or patience for this...", think again. This is quick & easy (my 5-yr. old was assisting me, and it didn't tax his ability or his patience).
Preparation time: 10-15 mins. (only need to do this ONCE)
Actual assembly time: 5-10 mins. per icicle
Materials:
sharp utility knife (or scissors)
wire cutters
20-gauge tie wire from the DS
thick plastic (like you use for vapor barrier)
tin foil (if you want)
scotch tape (if you want)
hot glue gun + glue sticks
spider web from halloween (very small amount) from the DS
string of 50 mini-lights from the DS
Ok, some of this process is optional...I'll mention those options as we go along.
HINT: when assembling your icicles, work with the lights ON! If you accidentally wiggle a bulb loose, you'll know and can correct it right away.
For this tutorial, I'll be making the second icicle in my 3-icicle chain. Your 1st one should start from the plug-end of your lights, beginning with the 1st bulb inside the icicle. leave as many bulbs as you desire between icicles for spacing (I leave 2 or 3).
If you plan on making more than 2 or 3 icicles, it would be most helpful to make yourself a simple template. With a string of 50 lights, I figure I can get 3 icicles, of different lengths. So draw 3 triangles on a piece of cardboard in the sizes you want. the pic below shows the dimensions I used, which will allow 3 icicles for a string of 50 lights.
http://i47.tinypic.com/23jol7c.jpg
Now place your plastic on top of the template and use a sharp utility knife to cut out as many triangles as you think you'll need. When you're done, also cut out as just as many rectangles (3-ish inches wide, and the length of your longest triangle). Set all this aside for now, if you plan on doing the next step (this next step is optional, but I find it very helpful and effective).
Use scotch tape to tape each light so that it is in line with the power wires, rather than sticking out into space...this makes it much more manageable when closing the plastic around the lights. To hide the power wires a bit, I wrapped small bits of tin foil around the spaces between the lights. This also adds a bit of reflectivity. If you like, you can also cover the actual sockets of each light this way, but I think that's probably a bit of overkill.
http://i47.tinypic.com/2qv8hs7.jpg
Now cut 3 lengths of tie-wire, making sure that each one is approx 4 inches LONGER than your icicle. Spot-glue the wires, evenly spaced, onto your triangle. Be sure to leave approx. 4 inches at the tip of the triangle wire-free...you'll need this later, and it must not have wires on it.
http://i49.tinypic.com/261gnz6.jpg
Once the spot-glue has cooled a bit, get a very small amount of spider-web and thin it out fairly well. Place a few small dots of glue around your triangle...you don't need much! Now position the spider-web on the triangle so it's away from all the edges (approx. 1" or so).
http://i49.tinypic.com/2mwaueh.jpg
Now take one of the rectangular pieces of plastic that you cut out and cut one end into a point. place it down the center of your triangle with the point resting approx. 1" or 2" from the tip of your triangle. Spot-glue in place.
http://i47.tinypic.com/2vdlifk.jpg
If this is the 1st or 2nd icicle in the chain, you'll need to "loop" the lights so that they enter the top of the icicle and exit again at the top. Place the lights as shown below. For clarity, the red arrow indicates the direction of the light string.
Note that the lights do not go any farther down the tip of the triangle than the glued-down tie wires do!
http://i47.tinypic.com/zn4nex.jpg
Starting at the top (wide end) of your triangle, curl the sides together until they slightly overlap, approx. 1". Do a little, and spot-glue...do a little more, spot-glue. You're basically forming a cone. When you reach a point that you have too much difficulty getting the sides to meet, stop. Fold the tip of the triangle up toward the top, so that the end of your icicle is now where the tie wires end. Spot-glue in place.
http://i50.tinypic.com/15qc84n.jpg
When that cools a bit, fold the "corners" of the tip into the middle (one at a time), and glue in place. This will give you back your pointed icicle tip.
Now twist all the tie wires at the TOP of the icicle together to form a sort of "dome" shape. Trim off any excess wire with your wire cutters. This is now your hanger.
http://i46.tinypic.com/t7g6pz.jpg
Once all the glue is cooled properly, GENTLY AND CAREFULLY twist your icicle in different places to create the irregular look that icicles have.
http://i49.tinypic.com/264lu83.jpg
And VOILA! One finished icicle!
In the pic below, the icicle we just made is on the right.
http://i46.tinypic.com/34nscb8.jpg
It may seem like a lot of effort as you see it "in print", but trust me, after you've made one icicle, you'll see how quick and easy it really is.
Happy freeze-stick making!!!
Throughout this tutorial, The Dollar Store (a.k.a. Dollarama) will be referred to as "DS".
I apologize for the fuzziness of some of the pics, but I think you'll get the idea anyway. For those of you who might be thinking "...but I don't have the time or patience for this...", think again. This is quick & easy (my 5-yr. old was assisting me, and it didn't tax his ability or his patience).
Preparation time: 10-15 mins. (only need to do this ONCE)
Actual assembly time: 5-10 mins. per icicle
Materials:
sharp utility knife (or scissors)
wire cutters
20-gauge tie wire from the DS
thick plastic (like you use for vapor barrier)
tin foil (if you want)
scotch tape (if you want)
hot glue gun + glue sticks
spider web from halloween (very small amount) from the DS
string of 50 mini-lights from the DS
Ok, some of this process is optional...I'll mention those options as we go along.
HINT: when assembling your icicles, work with the lights ON! If you accidentally wiggle a bulb loose, you'll know and can correct it right away.
For this tutorial, I'll be making the second icicle in my 3-icicle chain. Your 1st one should start from the plug-end of your lights, beginning with the 1st bulb inside the icicle. leave as many bulbs as you desire between icicles for spacing (I leave 2 or 3).
If you plan on making more than 2 or 3 icicles, it would be most helpful to make yourself a simple template. With a string of 50 lights, I figure I can get 3 icicles, of different lengths. So draw 3 triangles on a piece of cardboard in the sizes you want. the pic below shows the dimensions I used, which will allow 3 icicles for a string of 50 lights.
http://i47.tinypic.com/23jol7c.jpg
Now place your plastic on top of the template and use a sharp utility knife to cut out as many triangles as you think you'll need. When you're done, also cut out as just as many rectangles (3-ish inches wide, and the length of your longest triangle). Set all this aside for now, if you plan on doing the next step (this next step is optional, but I find it very helpful and effective).
Use scotch tape to tape each light so that it is in line with the power wires, rather than sticking out into space...this makes it much more manageable when closing the plastic around the lights. To hide the power wires a bit, I wrapped small bits of tin foil around the spaces between the lights. This also adds a bit of reflectivity. If you like, you can also cover the actual sockets of each light this way, but I think that's probably a bit of overkill.
http://i47.tinypic.com/2qv8hs7.jpg
Now cut 3 lengths of tie-wire, making sure that each one is approx 4 inches LONGER than your icicle. Spot-glue the wires, evenly spaced, onto your triangle. Be sure to leave approx. 4 inches at the tip of the triangle wire-free...you'll need this later, and it must not have wires on it.
http://i49.tinypic.com/261gnz6.jpg
Once the spot-glue has cooled a bit, get a very small amount of spider-web and thin it out fairly well. Place a few small dots of glue around your triangle...you don't need much! Now position the spider-web on the triangle so it's away from all the edges (approx. 1" or so).
http://i49.tinypic.com/2mwaueh.jpg
Now take one of the rectangular pieces of plastic that you cut out and cut one end into a point. place it down the center of your triangle with the point resting approx. 1" or 2" from the tip of your triangle. Spot-glue in place.
http://i47.tinypic.com/2vdlifk.jpg
If this is the 1st or 2nd icicle in the chain, you'll need to "loop" the lights so that they enter the top of the icicle and exit again at the top. Place the lights as shown below. For clarity, the red arrow indicates the direction of the light string.
Note that the lights do not go any farther down the tip of the triangle than the glued-down tie wires do!
http://i47.tinypic.com/zn4nex.jpg
Starting at the top (wide end) of your triangle, curl the sides together until they slightly overlap, approx. 1". Do a little, and spot-glue...do a little more, spot-glue. You're basically forming a cone. When you reach a point that you have too much difficulty getting the sides to meet, stop. Fold the tip of the triangle up toward the top, so that the end of your icicle is now where the tie wires end. Spot-glue in place.
http://i50.tinypic.com/15qc84n.jpg
When that cools a bit, fold the "corners" of the tip into the middle (one at a time), and glue in place. This will give you back your pointed icicle tip.
Now twist all the tie wires at the TOP of the icicle together to form a sort of "dome" shape. Trim off any excess wire with your wire cutters. This is now your hanger.
http://i46.tinypic.com/t7g6pz.jpg
Once all the glue is cooled properly, GENTLY AND CAREFULLY twist your icicle in different places to create the irregular look that icicles have.
http://i49.tinypic.com/264lu83.jpg
And VOILA! One finished icicle!
In the pic below, the icicle we just made is on the right.
http://i46.tinypic.com/34nscb8.jpg
It may seem like a lot of effort as you see it "in print", but trust me, after you've made one icicle, you'll see how quick and easy it really is.
Happy freeze-stick making!!!