DIY & Crafts

Save money and have fun doing things yourself

  • Home
  • Repurpose
  • Crafts
    • Kids
    • Paper
    • Winter
  • Holidays
    • Valentine’s Day
    • Easter
    • Halloween
    • Christmas
  • Fashion
    • Sewing
    • Beauty
    • Hairstyles
  • Gifts
    • Baby Shower
    • Father’s Day
    • Mother’s Day
  • Homemade
  • Home
    • Lifehacks
    • Decorating
    • Organization
    • Parenting
    • Gardening
    • Health
  • Food
    • Recipes
  • Knitting & Crocheting

Home » Winter » Painted Christmas Light Bulb Penguin Decoration

Painted Christmas Light Bulb Penguin Decoration

November 30, 2019 By Katie Hale 1 Comment

Collage of lightbulb penguin decoration being displayed

This painted light bulb penguin decoration is an adorable addition to your holiday decor. It’s so cute and fun, plus it is a great way to upcycle old light bulbs that might have just become trash. I love turning trash to treasure, and this is by far, one of my favorite decorations this year.

If you are in love with penguins as much as I am, then you’ll adore these penguin cork ornaments! They are so cute added to the tree and easy to make!

Collage of lightbulb penguin decoration being displayed

Table of Contents

  • Painted Light Bulb Penguin Decoration
  • Tips for Painting a Light Bulb
  • Can I Make This An Ornament?
  • Supplies Needed
  • How to Make a Painted Lightbulb Penguin Decoration
  • Printable Step by Step Photo Tutorial:

Painted Light Bulb Penguin Decoration

One of my favorite animals is the penguin. They are just so cute! I love their permanent tuxedo and how adorable they are just waddling along on the snow.

Of course, I am a sucker for anything that is a land and water animal, and penguins are always a favorite. This light bulb craft was a great addition to my holiday decorations this year.

Easy to make, and great use of an old light bulb, I fell in love with this idea!

These look great alongside a peg doll penguin craft on your mantle. They aren’t traditional Christmas themed, but the winter theme with the cute little red hat make it a great fit.

Plus, I can just leave them out on the mantle after Christmas and since they are winter-themed, they fit for a few more weeks until time to switch to Valentine’s day decorations!

These also look great next to my mini paper strip Christmas trees. You could even set them up next to this flower pot snowman!

A penguin decoration on a bed of hay with pinecone next to it

Tips for Painting a Light Bulb

Painting light bulbs for crafts like this cute penguin decoration is easier than you think. There are a couple of different options for painting them that you can use.

I prefer simple craft paint, while others prefer to use spray paint when coating the entire bulb. Do what you prefer, but don’t give up on them! Try something different if the first method doesn’t work for you.

If using craft paint, you can hold the light bulb from the top and paint all around the bulb, then flip it upside down and place the top into a cup or a piece of styrofoam until it dries. I like using a piece of craft foam for this.

When using spray paint, you will simply spray all sides until coated, and then follow the same methods for allowing it to dry.

Check out this list of other great light bulb ornaments for Christmas. So many fun ideas here for you to make this year! They look great next to these fairy light decoration ideas.

A penguin decoration sitting on a wooden table with greenery

Can I Make This An Ornament?

Of course! I love turning anything I can into an ornament for Christmas. Light bulbs are perfectly made for this. All you have to do is add a hanger to the top!

You can glue a piece of ribbon or twine to the top or backside and hang from the tree. Another option is to string wire or thread through the hole at the top/bottom of the bulb if the bulb has a loop or hole. This will depend upon the type of bulb you have for this project.

Some other ornaments you can make this year are these cute cinnamon stick reindeer, these pom pom gnome ornaments, or these rustic aromatic Christmas decorations.

A light bulb penguin sitting in front of a red and white present and on top of cotton balls

Supplies Needed

  • Black paint
  • White paint
  • Orange foam paper
  • Red pom pom
  • Red pipe cleaner
  • Googly eyes
  • Light bulb
  • Scissors
  • Hot glue and glue gun

Supplies for making a light bulb penguin decoration

How to Make a Painted Lightbulb Penguin Decoration

To make your painted penguin decoration, you will begin by painting almost all of the penguin black. I left an area on the “stomach” without color as I will be painting that white. Once the penguin is covered in black paint, set it aside to dry.

Painting a lightbulb black to create a penguin decoraiton for Christmas

You can prop your light bulb on its unpainted area, hang it to dry, or even sit it upside down inside a cup as mentioned above.

Painting a light bulb black

When the black paint is dry, you will paint the white stomach on the front of the penguin. Set this aside and let it dry.

Painting the white stomach on the penguin decoration

Once the lightbulb is dry, you will take the red pipe cleaner and wrap it around the head.

Adding the red pipe cleaner to the penguin lightbulb ornament

Now, you will glue the pom pom onto the top of the bulb as a hat.

Gluing a red pom pom on top of a light bulb penguin decoration

Glue on the googly eyes and then cut a small triangle from the orange foam and glue to the bulb to create a nose/beak.

Adding eyes and nose to the penguin lightbulb

Now, draw feet onto the orange foam paper and cut them out to attach to the bottom of the light bulb.

Cutting out orange feet from the penguin

Glue them to the bottom of the lightbulb penguin to create a stable base.

Gluing the orange foam paper feet to the penguin lightbulb

Now add your penguin to the mantle or tree.
A penguin decoration in white Christmas tree

Printable Step by Step Photo Tutorial:

Yield: 1

Painted Christmas Light Bulb Penguin Decoration

Painted Christmas Light Bulb Penguin Decoration

A simple lightbulb is painted to turn into a cute penguin decoration that is ideal for your tree or mantle this Christmas season! Make this cute craft to add to your holiday decor!

Active Time 15 minutes
Additional Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Difficulty Medium
Estimated Cost $1

Materials

  • Black paint
  • White paint
  • Orange foam paper
  • Red pom pom
  • Red pipe cleaner
  • Googly eyes
  • Light bulb

Tools

  • Scissors
  • Hot glue and glue gun

Instructions

  1. Begin by painting the lightbulb black leaving a small area on the stomach without paint for the penguin stomach; Painting a lightbulb black to create a penguin decoraiton for Christmas
  2. Let the black paint dry completely, and then begin painting the stomach area white; Painting the white stomach on the penguin decoration
  3. Once the stomach is painted, set the penguin aside to dry;
  4. Once all of the paint is dry, you will wrap a red pipe cleaner around the top of the bulb; Adding the red pipe cleaner to the penguin lightbulb ornament
  5. Next, attach a red pom pom on top of the bulb; Gluing a red pom pom on top of a light bulb penguin decoration
  6. Cut out a small triangle of orange foam for the nose/beak of the penguin, and attach it and the eyes with glue; Adding eyes and nose to the penguin lightbulb
  7. Now you will cut the penguin feet and base out of the orange foam paper; Cutting out orange feet from the penguin
  8. Glue the feet in place; Gluing the orange foam paper feet to the penguin lightbulb
  9. You can now display your penguin on the mantle or in a Christmas tree. A penguin decoration in front of greenery A penguin lightbulb ornament in front of a wooden box filled with holiday decorations

Notes

Use different colored pom poms and pipe cleaners to add personality to your penguin. You can even make them in different bulb sizes to create a mom, dad, and child penguin family.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

  • Personalised Penguin Hanging Christmas Decoration
    Personalised Penguin Hanging Christmas Decoration
  • Personalised Family Christmas Tree Decorations
    Personalised Family Christmas Tree Decorations
  • Fused Glass- Fused Glass Christmas decoration
    Fused Glass- Fused Glass Christmas decoration
  • Nordic Felt Christmas Decorations
    Nordic Felt Christmas Decorations
  • Luxury personalised Christmas Decoration
    Luxury personalised Christmas Decoration
  • Crochet Penguin Lulu Pattern, DIY Christmas toy decoration
    Crochet Penguin Lulu Pattern, DIY Christmas toy decoration
© Katie Hale
Project Type: Crafts / Category: Christmas
147shares

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 9,994 other subscribers

Comments

  1. Janet says

    December 16, 2019 at 1:26 pm

    Really like these ideas for light bulbs. Any ideas for up cycling rest of year would be welcome

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Search

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Recent Projects

Fishtail Ponytail Pigtails with Bow Accent {Hairstyle Tutorial}

Country Chic DIY Paper Heart Hanging Garland

Adorable Owl Diaper Cake Baby Shower Gift Idea

Adorable DIY Diaper Cake Train Baby Shower Gift

Pages

  • About Us
  • Be Featured
  • Contact Us
  • Email and Push Notification Subscriber Settings.
  • Privacy Policy
DIYnCrafts.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca and amazon.com.au.

Copyright © 2021 DIY and Craft Projects and Collections

147shares