Posted in Repurposing, Lighting |
Repurposing Lite-Brite
March 10th, 2007
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Full question:
Nancy, First, I want to say I really enjoy your newsletters and reading about your crafting ideas. I also enjoy the pictures of your finished projects. I’m really glad I came across your site and subscribed to your newsletters.
My question is this: Do you remember the old toy called ‘light bright’(probably not spelled correctly)? It is a plastic device that takes a light bulb and has a plastic grid-type cover on the top. Black paper with a design made with dots was placed on top of the plastic grid. You then used colored pegs to push through the dots on the paper. The dots and pegs were color co-ordinated to make the picture lighted and colorful. I hope this description is understandable, as I have a question about this toy.
Do you have any suggestions about using one of these toys in doing crafts? I have 2 of the plastic toys with the plastic grid-type top( no colored pegs or black papers). I had thought about maybe converting it somehow to use for a lighted tracing device. Any ideas you may have would surely be appreciated.Thanks
Sue
PS: Did you ever try the planting of forsythia clippings? If so, were you satisfied with the results? I like not having to root them before planting.
My answer:
THANK YOU SO MUCH for sharing all the reasons why you find the work I do here so helpful. Reading comments like those are the very reason why I started this site!
I do indeed remember lite-brite, but left your description of it in your question for any readers who may not be as familiar with it as I am. And I even have ideas to share on “repurposing” them - some “with” pegs, and some “without”.
With pegs, use colored or white chalk to draw a design that suits your decor on a piece of construction paper the proper size to fit in the lite-brite. Use the pegs to make your design and then display it - it provides an extra light source (not for reading- just for coziness), plus it can tie in some of your decorative elements.
For instance, do you have a pattern in your room’s fabrics that you could duplicate on the lite-brite? Do you collect something that you could make a replica of on the lite-bright? (like I collect urns. That would be EASY to make on a lite-brite.)
You can paint the frame, or alter it in a ton of ways, if white plastic doesn’t work with your decor. And I still see those at yard sales, so you may be able to get more of them, or even more pegs, to expand your “drawing” options.
Undecorated and/or no pegs? You could also use them as uplights - hidden behind a chair and focused on a plant. I would LOVE to get my hands on one to see if burned out minilights would fit in the holes, AND still have any light show through them. If THAT works, that would open a whole new realm of decorating options.
And I *THINK* your tracing device idea would work if both the item to be traced and the material it was being traced on were transparent or opaque. Maybe transparency film sold in office supplies stores could be used?
And, about those forsythia? Some of them “took” and some of them didn’t. But considering how much “non-work” it was to “plant” them, I’m ok with just sticking a few in the ground again this year to replace any that didn’t make it last year!
Your Frugal Decorating Diva,
Nancy
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