Draw on a Lightbulb with a Sharpie

"draw on a light bulb, and you can have really cute designs shine on your wall at night." 

Yes, another sharpie pin. I've been meaning to test this one out for some time, but most of my light bulbs are CFLs so I've been waiting until I remembered to pick up some old fashion light bulbs. This week was the week. I've been unable to find the original source of the image so I can't tell you for sure if this is what the image is really telling us, or if there is some other craft that has been lost in translation. Often times you find images on pinterest saying one thing, but the source is for something entirely different (like the coffee for hair loss, the brown sugar straightener, the spray painted lightbulb and coffee beans).

Simple enough to test out, I spent about 10 minutes this evening doodling on a light bulb with a Sharpie. 

Here's the finish product:

And here it is, plugged into my table lamp, casting... light. No shapes, no patterns, just bright white light.

 I knew this wasn't going to work, because if you've ever looked at a light bulb, they usually have markings printed on the top of the bulb listing the make, manufacturer and wattage of the bulb. If drawing on them worked well enough to cast shapes, then you'd see the marks from any light bulb being cast on to your ceilings as well. 

Good Idea Friday - Coloring Your Dresser Pulls

"Color plain dresser pulls with a sharpie and bake!" 

Faux Malachite Knobs : Tea and Lime

When I first saw these I thought for sure it was the good old switch-a-roo, like the spray painted light bulbs I wrote about. These don't look like sharpie covered knobs to me, instead they look like something you could get at Anthropologie for $22 a pop. So I was honestly surprised when I found the blog post about how to make them!

Over at Teal and Lime, Jackie wrote about how she wasn't happy with the pulls that came with a dresser she had bought. So she broke out a sharpie and started coloring them. After letting them dry she baked them at 350° for 30 minutes. They certainly are beautiful, but I was worried that with being knobs, the wear and tear would soon have the ink coming off. I sent her an email and asked how they were holding up. She replied that they were still holding up fairly well, a bit of the color was coming off but that it wasn't enough to bother her yet, plus touch ups won't be hard. Readers of her blog have suggested you could even do a quick lacquer coat with professional spray or even clear nail polish, which is something I would highly recommend if these are going to be used regularly. Another idea would be to use a ceramic marker (which was her original idea until she learned her marker had dried up). But all in all, I think this is a great idea for adding a pop of color to your home without spending a fortune on new pulls.

Yet Another Sharpie Mug

"Gold sharpie marker, bake at 350 for 30 min and let cool in oven"

Oh yes, the infamous sharpie on glassware posts. Anyone who is a long time follower of such blogs like Pinstrosity will know that really, sharpie + glass + baking does NOT equal long lasting dishware. 

That aside, this isn't what this is an image of. At all. These aren't just mugs that have been colored with a sharpie and baked . They're professional made, and sold at Luna Lighting for £22 a pop. 

But you have a lot of boring old white dishes you snagged cheap at the dollar store and you want to make them a bit fancy, so what do you do?

Toss the sharpie and spend a bit more on ceramic markers. They do the job better, as that's what they are designed for. Most craft and hobby stores carry them. They usually run about $6-$15 a piece depending on brand, but you're more likely to have success using them then you would using a sharpie.