DiyLightAnimation
Fun => The Porch => Topic started by: UncleBuck on September 26, 2012,
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This is my first year and I have incorporated 14 cascading snowflakes into my display. I had 14 incandescent rope light snowflakes on order from Novelty Lights and they just informed me that they will not be receiving snowflakes from their manufacture this year. Does anybody know how to build rope light snowflakes and make them look nice. Any suggestions on what I could replace the snowflakes with. They are a cool part of the display and I would hate to just cut them out of the songs.
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I bought some wire snowflakes with a rubber/plastic coating on them from Home Depot last year. I was planning on zip tieing LED rope lights around them but will not have time to do that this year. I'm sure Home Depot will carry them again this year; select stores.
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Last year I made stars from 1/4 round stock and rope lights. The way I made up the sizes was by how often you can cut the rope light. If you can cut the rope light every 18" and have a 5 pointed star (10 sides) you would divide the rope light by 10. 18" is kind of small so I started with 36"/10=3.6" a side.... also you can get coro from Lowe's or home depot and make a snow flake cut out. On a peace of scrap coro drill holes until you find the good size hole for a mini incan or led and poke it through the hole. If you look on my veimo page you will see my Merry Christmas letters. They are coro with 200 lights in each letter. I got the coro from a sign shop, they were misprint signs they were going to throw away....
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You could cut the shape of the snowflake out of black coro. Then zip tie rope light onto the shape by placing rope light right directly on coro and drilling a small hole in coro every place you want to place a zip tie. It may not be better than wire frames but no welding necessary. You would have to make sure size of the snowflake is correct size to end on the rope light cut line (usually 18" increments). There have been past posts that show you how to make your own rope light wire connections.
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If you don't want to make your own, Lori will fix you up 100%. Just tell her your vision of what they should look like....they'll bend up a custom wireframe for you if they don't already have the size & shape you need.
http://www.lorislighteddlites.com/
Good Luck,
Mike E.
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I here the word "Coro" used a lot but I have no idea what it is. <fp.
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I cut 5 of these out of coro last year and plan on doing maybe 7 more for this year.
Coro, short for corrugated plastic, the stuff most of the political or real estate road signs at made out of. Lowes has 4x4 sheets
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I cut 5 of these out of coro last year and plan on doing maybe 7 more for this year.
Coro, short for corrugated plastic, the stuff most of the political or real estate road signs at made out of. Lowes has 4x4 sheets
those are sharp! i plan on doing something similiar. i like your design.
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Thanks, I used an overhead projector and penciled the outline, used after Christmas clearance led's cool white and just a few blue in center. Easy and very cheap. Its a little hard to see, but I zip tied them to some heavy plastic netting, end of session I just take the net down with them still attached and roll it up.
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I here the word "Coro" used a lot but I have no idea what it is. <fp.
Coroplast - Corrugated plastic. Think corrugated cardboard but made with plastic. Used a lot for signs and the like. Here is a random Google-sourced image
http://cullytechnologies.com/demo/h2orockets/images/full/p6010044.jpg
Home Depot sells it, as will sign shops.
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If it helps...
this site has a tutorial for coro displays
http://www.christmasutah.com/
http://www.christmasutah.com/images/Coroplast_Marty_Slack.pdf
This site has a template for snowflakes in the project section (then scroll down until you find it)
http://burtonchristmaslights.weebly.com/index.html
http://burtonchristmaslights.weebly.com/projects.html
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google paper snow flakes lots of patterns there
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or coloring book snowflakes (or any designs)
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All great ideas here ... unless the OP really just really wanted to buy something instead of taking on a diy project.
I think many of the DIY snowflakes look really great, btw.
Would these work? They are 18" or 46 cm ...
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Christmas-christmas-decoration-lantern-christmas-lighting-snowflake-lights-white/645511355.html (http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Christmas-christmas-decoration-lantern-christmas-lighting-snowflake-lights-white/645511355.html)
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Great ideas from everybody! Thanks for all the links, I'm not sure if I will purchase or DIY just depends on how my other projects go and if I have time to deal with the snowflakes. I did have one question, does anyone have a close up shot of how the mini's are attached to the cora?
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Marty's excellent coroplast overview shows how the lights would most easily be attached. Awesome overview!
http://www.christmasutah.com/images/Coroplast_Marty_Slack.pdf (http://www.christmasutah.com/images/Coroplast_Marty_Slack.pdf)
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AverageJoeTX - where did you get the plastic netting and do you have a close up pic of the netting?
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I went to Lowes looking for chicken wire and this heavy plastic netting was with the chicken wire. I'll get some better pictures and try to find out exactly what the name is. Its much stronger and heavier than bird netting.
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So I have been to both Lowes and Home Depot and the largest piece of cora I could find is 20"X24". Do they make 4'X8' sheets? I beleive someone mentioned they bought 4X4 sheets.
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4ft x 8 ft 10 sheets shipped for free
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202489118/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=coroplast&storeId=10051
(out of stock online) they had stock last week
36" x 24" 15 sheets shipped for free
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202038094/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=coroplast&storeId=10051
24" x 18" 15 sheets ships free if you have an order above $45 (the coro costs $39.96)
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202038093/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=coroplast&storeId=10051
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Also try a local sign shop.
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Joe, what size are your snowflakes? (and that's not a personal question) <fp. In the pic of just the snowflake it doesn't look very big but in the pic of them displayed on your roof they look much larger.
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They are like 18 to 24 inches across, i'm out of town for the week, Sunday I can get more info on the flakes and the netting, there were only 5 last year but they were one of the talked about props. I am hoping to add more this year. Last year I put it all together in the driveway, rolled it up, carried it up the ladder, rolled it out on the roof, done.
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Thanks everyone for the idea's. I have now been introduced to the world of "CORO" and the mind is going crazy! >:D I made 14 snowflakes and plan to make some other stuff.
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Those look great !! ... good job!
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WOW. That is some awesome work.
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uncle buck, those look great! how big are they? how many lights did you use? i plan on doing 8 two tone white and blue for my show. i have one more arch to build and then i am starting on my snowflakes.
thanks
duane
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24"X24" with 150 lights. I used two 4'X8' sheets of coro and cut them into 16 - 24"x24" sections.
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MAN that's a lot of work!!!! i am only doing 8 and i have one done. what did you use to poke the holes ?
duane
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24"X24" with 150 lights. I used two 4'X8' sheets of coro and cut them into 16 - 24"x24" sections.
Those look great. You should sell them.....I would place your first order (x16).
where did you find the pattern for the flakes?
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Nice and sharp!!
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My wife just found a random picture and we used a projector to trace it onto the cora.
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I'm sreious about buying them. Dont have time to do it myself, and yours look great. Just the cut out of the flake. How many lights/holes are in each one?
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150 lights on each one. I wish I had the time to cut you up some but this is my first year and it's taking everything I've got just to get set up. I really under estimated the number of cords and time it takes to make them. I blew through 1000' of spt2 and butt load of vampire plug. Fortunately the Zman bailed me out and let me borrow some cord and plugs.
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Nice and sharp!!
is that an awl that you purchased or a screw driver on a grinder? that looks like it worked great!. i have one done so far and i used a little cone shaped rasp in my drill. what you used looks like it makes a cleaner hole. stretches the plastic as opposed to filing it away. i am doing blue in the center of mine. i will post a pic when i get them done. thanks, your flakes are the ones i liked when doing research so i copied.
duane
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I'm assuming that you skipped holes going down each arm with lights, and back to the center hitting the open holes. Correct?
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Yes it's an awl just don't push it threw to far or the hole is to big for the light. I also pushed the light threw from the same side as the awl.
Yup, by skiping holes I was able to avoid doing any splicing.
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I'm assuming that you skipped holes going down each arm with lights, and back to the center hitting the open holes. Correct?
mike, that's how i did mine. i copied what uncle buck has. on the holes, you just have to figure out how many lights you want, formula would be: total number of lights, minus 36(3 lights per finger off the arm, 12 fingers) divided by total inches of arms combined. i am using 105 white and 50 blue. so my main arms were 105-36=69 69/6=11.5 11 lights per 12'' arm so spacing will be 1'' on the lights. the inner star was 48''/50lights so: 50/6(points on star)=8.3 so 8 lights per point is just under an inch on the spacing. not sure what uncle buck did but that is how i configured mine. i will have pics up later today.
duane
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Thanks Duane. That helps a lot. Can't wait to see your pics too.
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well here are a couple of pics. i'm not too happy with this so i am going to redo. this one is my ginny pig so it's a rough idea of what i'm doing. i thought i had enough holes calculated but i forgot about 18 of the finger lights and some of the holes are too big. lesson learned and the next 8 should be pretty nice.
duane
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Nice first run. I may have to give a go at this for this year. More stuff to do than I have time to work with.
My wife thinks I'm nuts....too!!!!
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My wife thinks I'm nuts....too!!!!
I don't want to judge, but given my personal experience, I would have to side with her observation probably being true.
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I will be building some for next year. Also I think all the wifes think we are nuts I for one suffer from the C.L.A.P.
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Nice first run. I may have to give a go at this for this year. More stuff to do than I have time to work with.
My wife thinks I'm nuts....too!!!!
i am fortunate, my wife is on board. problem is just getting her to help build some of this stuff! lol if you plan on doing it this year, go to your local sign shop and find out where they get their coro. i paid 18 bucks and some change for 2 sheets. you can get 8 per sheet if you lay them out right. 24'' across. 2'' arms.
duane
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I'd like to build something like this but I'd like to know how they stand up to the sun. I'm tired of buying stuff that fades, yellows to gets brittle from UV rays.
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No idea, I live in the Seattle area and are more concerned about the rain.
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I'm in the desert. I'll let everyone knowing I get to around to building them in the week it so. As I build them I will put them up. My front house faces north so they may not be in direct sunlight.
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I'd like to build something like this but I'd like to know how they stand up to the sun. I'm tired of buying stuff that fades, yellows to gets brittle from UV rays.
Jeff, Have you tried 303 Aerospace Protectant? It was recommend to me by someone on this site to use on my rope light snowflakes that I built. Here is a link to their website: http://303products.com/index.php/303r-aerospace-protectant-16oz.html?SID=plekg9q6h9mf9vdbhlbtu3dj53
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To make holes in Coroplast I have also used an old soldering gun with the pointed tip. It goes through very easy and I found it a little easier on the hands.
Steve
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In making this many , what about making a jig from plywood. It would be cut in the shape of the snowflake to outline and cut the coro. While also having nails spaced properly for punching all the holes at once.
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In making this many , what about making a jig from plywood. It would be cut in the shape of the snowflake to outline and cut the coro. While also having nails spaced properly for punching all the holes at once.
that's what i did. this picture doesn't show the holes but they are there now. and by using the pattern, they are all the same, and you can clamp them down to help cutting them out, makes it a lot easier to cut out like this that is for sure.
duane
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What i was thinking of is using plywood. Mark the holes you want with a marker, through each marked area pound a nail thru it. Youll end up with a "spiked" plywood star. This would allow all the holes to be made at once by pushing down on the coro. Does that makes sence?
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What i was thinking of is using plywood. Mark the holes you want with a marker, through each marked area pound a nail thru it. Youll end up with a "spiked" plywood star. This would allow all the holes to be made at once by pushing down on the coro. Does that makes sence?
I believe I understand, but how would you push the coroplast all the way through without impailing your hands or other appendages?
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What i was thinking of is using plywood. Mark the holes you want with a marker, through each marked area pound a nail thru it. Youll end up with a "spiked" plywood star. This would allow all the holes to be made at once by pushing down on the coro. Does that makes sence?
gotcha! the only thing is that a nail hole is not large enough for the lights to fit threw. it would work to mark all of the holes but you would still have to make the hole large enough for the light. after experimenting in the garage all night. i took my wood pattern, stacked 4 coro flakes under the wood pattern, clamped it to the table tight enough to hold them all but not crush the plastic. i was able to drill 4 at a time with a drill and a bit the size i needed for my lights. it worked great. the wood pattern keeps your drill bit from walking and ripping the plastic.
duane
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something else i thought i would share. i am putting my snowflakes on my roof and i have been racking my brain trying to figure out how to mount them, secure them, and not have them flat on the roof. i had ideas like pvc frames, steel frames, and then i'm sitting there in the garage taking a break and it hits me. i used tomato cages to create my mini trees and i had to cut about 10 inches off the top because they were too tall. so i took the top ring that i cut off and i am going to use it to support my snow flakes. i'm going to tie them all together once on the roof to create a grid between them to hold them all in place. will post pics once done but here are the supports i came up with.
duane
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something else i thought i would share. i am putting my snowflakes on my roof and i have been racking my brain trying to figure out how to mount them, secure them, and not have them flat on the roof. i had ideas like pvc frames, steel frames, and then i'm sitting there in the garage taking a break and it hits me. i used tomato cages to create my mini trees and i had to cut about 10 inches off the top because they were too tall. so i took the top ring that i cut off and i am going to use it to support my snow flakes. i'm going to tie them all together once on the roof to create a grid between them to hold them all in place. will post pics once done but here are the supports i came up with.
duane
The innovation I have seen on this website amazes me. This is a great idea and I love the fact that the members share their ideas and come up with cost effective solutions.
Great job Duane, if I get time to make these snowflakes I will definitely keep this in mind.
Steve
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What you have to watch out for is that if the wind can get under them, it can blow them off of the roof and the bigger they are, the more leverage the wind has.
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I built a stand out or PVC, zip tied the flakes to the stand and secured them with sand bags. I'll post a picture later today when I get back on the roof to wire them up.
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This is how I mounted mine on the roof.
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looks nice
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Unclebuck, are those this years pics?
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Looks good. Keep up the good work.
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Yes the pic's are this year. This is my first year and just put them up yesterday.
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The sand bags are a great idea and are well hidden by the stars. I remember when I had a roof with that level of pitch. What a great canvas to decorate on and you did a great job. The roof on this house is way to high and way to steep for me to mess with.
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looking good uncle buck
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OMG this thread is awesome!!!!!!!!!! even if it's last year!!! This gives me so many ideas!!!! I'm glad I found it... I've already downloaded the snowflake pdf file. I can use that star too!
I think I'll try making a template from a thin piece of MDF and use that to stencil out on some coro. I just have to get some more coro from somewhere. I'll check my local sign shops for this one!
Great thread and excellent ideas!!!!!!!!!!!! AWESOME!!!!!!!!
Dean
P.S. don't tell the wife.. She thinks i'm nuts for adding more stuff to the display!!! lol
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OMG this thread is awesome!!!!!!!!!! even if it's last year!!! This gives me so many ideas!!!! I'm glad I found it... I've already downloaded the snowflake pdf file. I can use that star too!
I think I'll try making a template from a thin piece of MDF and use that to stencil out on some coro. I just have to get some more coro from somewhere. I'll check my local sign shops for this one!
Great thread and excellent ideas!!!!!!!!!!!! AWESOME!!!!!!!!
Dean
P.S. don't tell the wife.. She thinks i'm nuts for adding more stuff to the display!!! lol
+1 great ideas here for sure.
Here is a link to pretty cheap coro. IF someone knows of a cheaper place, I would like to know it.
I have 0 local places that sell coro for a good price.
http://www.beacongraphics.com/bgllc/Amazing/itemdesc.asp?ic=4MM-WHITE-36X24&eq=&Tp=
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Duane, Here's the pic of how I have stored them.
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Duane, Here's the pic of how I have stored them.
thank you sir. i'll have to take off the brackets i made, but doesn't look like they take up that much room and i have about 5' of shelf space left so that will work. i only have 8 to stack.
duane