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Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Lighting Up....

 First of all, I am envious of Widget.  When I was little, we used to try to touch our nose with the tip of our tongue.  I never quite made it and couldn't see the point of the exercise.

Widget has me beat by a mile!

Now down to business.  I decided to put two lighted candlesticks on the desk.

I had to make a choice.  Which would you choose?  The battery pack on the left lights up just the two lights.  The transformer on the right was the only one I had on hand.  It lights up a LARGE house.  It would probably explode the whole cottage if I tried it on just two lights...And besides, it is hard to hide....And a waste of power.

So I went with the battery pack.  It was from a string of those awful yellow lights that you can get to put on mini Christmas trees.  I cut the cord on those and fastened the two lights to it instead.  It holds two AA batteries.

It is very easy to do if you don't want a lot of light.  Candles aren't very bright, so it worked out just fine.

If you ever want to do it, you simply attach one wire from each light to one side of the wire from the battery pack.  Twist them together separately...Don't one group touch the other. 
Here's what it should look like.  The two brown wires in each group are from the lamps.  The green wires are from the battery pack.

I twisted them tightly together, making sure that they would be separate.  If you touch them together, you could blow the bulbs.

To insulate them so that can't happen, I painted each group with white glue.  I will do it again to make sure it is coated. 

Do test the light to see if it works before you paint them with the glue.
It is hard to get a good photo of the lights.  When you put enough outside light on the cottage to photograph, that makes the lights look dimmer than they are.

The other requisite for this technique is to have a place to hide the battery pack.  This one is under the desk.  I will paint it black before I bundle the wires(separately) and put the whole thing in place.  The only other thing that you have to make certain of is a way to get to the on/off switch.  In this case, I will be able to slide it in and out from under the desk.

Did you notice that the dragons now have a home?  They can guard me when I have my back to the door, working on the computer...You never know who or what will find their way in...

I have to go now and paint the little black box....

See you tomorrow.

4 comments:

Marisa said...

how clever! and thanks for the electric tutorial too


Hugs
marisa

Cara said...

Now that little lighting tip is just brilliant! I'm going to have to try that. I love the dragons in their new home.

Giac said...

Hello Casey,
It is always great to see artists tips, especially on elecrification. The room looks beautiful and the candlelight in front of the window is the perfect touch.
Big hug,
Giac

Troy said...

Again, your wicker is really great. Can't wait to try and make some for myself when I get all situated again. Keep up the good work.