Decorating a set of mini lights to match your interior decor is a craft project that really comes into its own when the lights have been decorated and can be switched on for the first time... the magical 'soft light' effects of the mini lights comes into play straight away, illuminating a corner of a room, drawing attention to a wall-mounted home decoration, wrapped around a tall item of furniture...

Materials

• a set of mini lights that's ready for use (must conform to all legal safety requirements), either mains operated or battery-operated
• PVC sheets decorated with motifs (a CreaPop speciality), sheet thickness: 115 g/m2
• a stapler or a hot glue solution
• and our "little extra": decorative-edged scissors, decorative craft punches...

Select the shape you want for your mini light shades from amongst our choice of patterns: either a cone shape (big or small), or a flower shape (this pattern is like a round heart).

Print out the pattern, cut it out, then transfer it to a patterned sheet of PVC once for every mini light on the string of lights.

Here we must fasten the mini light shade to the base of the light socket, where the electric wires come out. The attachment must be tightened around the wires to hold the lamp shade tightly.

To attach the mini light shade, you may use a small stapler (rapid and effective but not very aesthetically-pleasing) or a hot glue solution or even plastic clips (also made by Creapop) that you set in place after having made holes in the two parts that are to be assembled together.

An attractive look is achieved by cutting the edges of the cone (once the cone is tightly attached) with decorative-edged scissors.

Using a small, decorative craft punch (scrapbooking material), cut out a decorative edge along the outer edge of the cone (thus avoiding seeing the lit light bulb through the holes). A star shape can be seen in the right-hand photo when the light is lit.

Here's an even easier way of decorating a mini light shade! Cut out a rectangle, about 1.6 inches wide and twice as long as the light bulb (including the light socket), to which you must add a good 0.4 inches (so that the lit light bulb doesn't touch the PVC). Fold this rectangle around the light bulb, make a hole in the center, 0.2 inches from the edge, in the two pieces of PVC. Between the 2 electric wires, place a brass fastener. The mini light shade will now have a handbag form!

With decorative-edged scissors, cut the edges before you fix them to the light to create an attractive look!

Never leave a set of mini lights on unattended. Beware of potentially dangerous gases that may be given off when the materials being used heat up (including the glue or the glossy glue-varnish), be careful with inflammable materials. Some people use sheets of colored tracing paper to make the mini light shades, it's best to use sheets of Creapop-style plastic instead, which are made especially for this purpose.