New * NEXT LEVEL* Dollar Tree Solar Light Hacks!

hi everyone I'm Rosemary and in today's video I have some solar light hacks but before you say oh not another solar light ax video I assure you we will be taking these bad boys up to a whole other level not only with new never before seen designs but also tips on how to max out the light your solar lights give to make them brighter and more luminescent but like anything before you can go next level you have to stand on the shoulders of giants as they say so shout out to all the outstanding YouTube diyers who have already given us so many fabulous solar light hacks over the years and as for the brightening tips well shout out to science in addition we have to give props to Dollar Tree and other retailers who have really stepped up their game giving us new Fantastic options to work with but for the first few hacks we will be using traditional solar lights as those are the most widely available but will have plenty of hacks using the new varieties a little later in the video for the first hack I wanted to convert one of these to YouTube torches into a solar light post Dollar Tree used to sell these all the time but I haven't seen them in a while so I picked up this one at Family Dollar for three dollars so the first thing I did was remove the fuel canister it slides right out and I unscrewed the top from here I took a solar light and disconnected the top portion then used E6000 glue along with a few dabs of hot glue to attach it to the canister lid and then set that aside since the light will now be shining down into the basket and not a flame on top I wanted to remove some of the bamboo weave to expose more of the light on this Family Dollar tiki torch each crossband is individually woven so I removed a few of them and then just spread out the weave so that I would have some open space for the light to shine through in addition I took the plastic part of the solar light added a little E6000 around the base along with a couple dabs of hot glue and slid that into the bottom of the tiki torch holding it in place until the hot glue set I'll explain why I did that in a little bit to attach the top I again use both hot glue and E6000 East 6000 will be the glue that actually bonds the two pieces together but even though the hot glue won't be permanent it will give an immediate hold to keep the two pieces in place so the E6000 has a chance to properly set up and that's it you can keep the sticks long and use as a freestanding Lamppost or attached to a fence railing post or pool side for stylish and inexpensive lighting alternately you can cut the post down with a saw to create tropical Vibe path lights or decorative lights in the garden or in potted plants and now keeping that tropical summertime Vibe going here is another solar light hack using a tomato cage bamboo skewers some nautical rope a Dollar Tree wire basket and of course solar lights and and the first thing I'm going to do is to remove the spikes from the bottom of the tomato cage using wire cutters now if you have strong enough Cutters or hands it will snap right off if not do like me and just score with the Cutters then bend back and forth to snap it off now I did pick these up at Lowe's and they do come in three different sizes I have the medium size one which is about 42 inches tall and I did have this one for a few years actually so some of the soldered parts that come apart so I had to repair them with some duct tape so that's just a good idea to know if they do start breaking off because they do break off pretty easy just wrap them up with some duct tape and you'll be fine next I'm going to take the wire basket and zip tie that to the top to give the cage a uniform color and give some protective coating to that top basket I'm going to give the combo a coat of spray paint as for the bamboo skewers I wanted to give those a little color too so I'm going to wipe those down with some stain and I'm using the color Golden Oak here and I'll do two packs of the skewers for a total of 24. while those are drying I took some of the nautical group and I was going to separate this thicker Dollar Tree one I had into three strands then I remembered I had this whole roll of one on hand that was thinner one on hand so either way I wanted to wrap the rings on the cage I'll attach with some hot glue and then wrap the Rope around adding a little more glue every four or five wraps this is a little cumbersome up here at the top since the basket is here but it will wrap more freely on the other rings and then here it is with the first Ring finish and then here it is with all the Rings wrapped next I took the bamboo skewers and I did snip off the very tip of the point and attached them to the cage I'm going to use both hot glue and tight Bond glue I'll start by first attaching a skewer at each of the vertical bars on the cage attaching the skewer on the Rope this will create three sections and then in each section I'll put a skewer in the middle then in the middle of those two sections and then the middle again so that each section has a total of seven skewers then repeat for each section and here's what it looks like with all the skewers attached to add the lights I used E6000 and again detached the light from the pole and stake and glued it to the top of the basket I then left the lantern in place until the glue set and then you can see how well using three lights really lights up this large almost three foot Lantern and that's the first tip to increase the brightness from your solar lights just add more okay so we really didn't need Einstein for that one but here is an easy upgrade hack that is based on science since the light is shining straight down into the OPEC and somewhat dark colored deck a good percentage of the light will just be absorbed into the surface to reflect the light and keep it in the space I can place this shiny faux silver charger from Dollar Tree underneath then like magic the light will bounce off the smooth reflective surface and will have the effect of making the lantern brighter and more luminescent and so brightness tip number two add reflective surface that's also why I wanted to add back the plastic piece to the bottom of the tiki torch if you take a look inside that piece you can see that there's a reflective surface on the bottom the purpose is to maximize the light reflecting back into this section in addition the plastic itself as well as the facet cut surface will also affect brightness and throw of the light here is the light without the base and you can see how the light disperses then add the plastic cover and now the light bounces back up off the reflective base making the light more concentrated inside the casing and therefore brighter the light is also bouncing out around the sides because of the plastic material as well as the faceted surface and I'll explain why with this next hack so here's a Dollar Tree sugar pour this is an excellent item to use to Next Level your solar lights first of all it has a metal top which we can repurpose to now make a reflective Base by gluing it to the bottom in addition the body of the container is made of glass and materials like glass and plastic are excellent refractors of light meaning that they slow the light down and even bend it outwards the rib design of the glass like the facets on the solar light cover will serve to further throw the light to give it further reach so in effect what we've done is replicate it but supersize the original casing from here I glued the solar light on top to create a cute little Lantern by day Which packs a mighty punch at night can you believe that's the same little Dollar Tree solar light oh science and I do believe that is number three on our tips list use glass or plastic containers with faceted ribbed filigree Etc surfaces oh this is fun let's find some other options for rib surfaces like these vanity or ceiling fan light covers I picked these up at my local thrift store where I typically find singles in beautiful designs selling for a dollar or two pair them with a solar light and a base to make a wonderful little table lamp for this first one I use the reflective lid from a jar candle and glued that to the top of a Dollar Tree Candlestick next I glued the light cover to the top of that and added the solar light and notice I'm always removing the plastic from the solar light since I'm recreating the reflective refractive amplifying conditions in the larger container so I want the light to spread bounce off the larger reflective surface and then fill the larger container not to be confined in that original casing for the next light cover I chose this somewhat reflective paper clip holder from Dollar Tree I really like the look of the two pieces together plus I wanted to see the effect of the light on the mesh of the container you can see how cute the combo looks by day then when illuminated the metal cup does provide some reflection back up into the lamp but you also get a wonderful throw and design through the mesh love it I just love this light cover when I saw it in the thrift store it has a very Art Deco look so I thought a squared mirror candle holder from Dollar Tree would be the perfect base I did want it to have a little lift though so I took the lid from one of these wood boxes and since we're going Deco I decided to paint silver the pieces were then glued together and topped with a solar light for a Sleek Deco look by day glowing well into the night these light cover lamps are cute and although bright the frosted glass seems to keep the light contained so let's get back to the design and light throw ones they're more fun and the best option for that is to use containers with faceted surfaces which you can find at Dollar Tree thrift stores or even in your recyclables or create facets on smooth surfaces with overlays like these placemats and shelf liners I'm pretty sure it was that cutie pie Sarah Jane over at Chic on the cheap who first showed us how this faceted jar from Dollar Tree makes a fabulous container for a solar light upgrade and how once illuminate it it makes a gorgeous design it's absolutely beautiful but if you can't find don't pass over other options with faceted surfaces like this phase from the floral section which also makes a great choice use a mirror or another one of those reflective Lids from a jar candle for the base then flip the base upside down and add a solar light to the Top by day it creates an elegant silhouette and by night it breeds stunning Angelic wisps and patterns another way to get great light designs is to add a filigree cover to a smooth surface container using items like placemats and table runners and I picked these up at Walmart I simply cut them to size and then wrapped around a Dollar Tree cylinder vase and hot glued in place since the vase opening was too large to hold the solar light in place I cut strips of the material then glued and wrapped it around the light until the light fit snugly in the opening you can leave as is or place on top of a Dollar Tree Candlestick for some added height if you like then once it's dark the light show begins wowza what a great solar light hack and then here it is with the gold cover and then again at night super easy to do with a super impressive result the best kind of hack now if all this glass makes you nervous especially in outdoor spaces plastic choices also abound and make wonderful solar light upgrades this Sam's Club sized Downy unstoppables container is one of my favorites its height and weight with are the perfect size to maximize the two lumens coming from the solar light and the faceted designs along the sides makes for a stunning throw to add a little reflective material as well as a little weight to the bottle I placed Dollar Tree glass stones in the bottom then simply glued a solar light to the top these plastic bottle lanterns are amazing and they give off a tremendous amount of light and you can use them all around your outdoor space and indoors too without fear of them getting knocked over and sending broken glass everywhere especially with Barefoot feet well we haven't had a brightening tip in a while and this Lantern is a perfect example of number four maximize container size for the lumens been doing this all along in this video by basically increasing the container size using refractive glass or plastic adding reflective materials and using or adding light throw features like ribbing but we have all of that on both of these containers however this taller and wider container will be brighter because it will refract reflect and throw more of the light from a higher point now of course at some point you can go too large since this is only a two Lumen solar light and it'll be like hey two lumens that's all I got don't put me up too high the same Friday Night Lights now although I've been sounding like Rosemary the science fairy I really have no idea exactly how high and wide a two Lumen light can go in casual observation though it seems to max out at about 12 inches tall and 4 inches wide which is exactly the measurement of this bottle and for that reason as well as the open bottom of this next design I'll actually be leaving the plastic on this next hack I wanted a wall sconce next to my deck door so to create a solar light version I picked up one of these phone cases with a little stand at the Dollar Tree I pulled out a little stand and drilled the hole in the plastic and I found that the best way to drill plastic is to actually set the drill in reverse now I can close the stand and cover the hole and the eventual screw from here I glued the light to the bottom of the base and the vase to the cell phone holder the result is a great little wall sconce no electricity or wiring needed another great option for this sconce is to use one of the Dollar Tree's new modern solar lights it looks great and can be attached the same way using E6000 glue on the sides than attaching to the inside of the vase modern lights can also get a quick and easy upgrade with the filigree wrap like with the placemat material used earlier just cut a piece wrap and glue in place but my favorite way to use these has got to be removing the bottom piece and gluing three of the lights to the middle of an acrylic tray I got this one at Family Dollar along with an acrylic Bowl which is the same one they sell at Dollar Tree I flip the bowl upside down and then glued it to the tray and it's also a good idea to seal it with some silicone because the idea here is to use it as a floating light in a pool oh my goodness I love this I don't have a pool but my neighbors graciously let me film in their hot tub but if I did have one this would definitely be in it it's too cool another floating pool light option would be to use a frisbee from the toy section with these solar step lights glue three to the bottom then top with an acrylic Garden bowl from the floral section gluing and sealing as before oh my goodness how much fun I think I like these ones even better and then here's a little version using one of these starfish pool toys and one of the step lights I'm thinking that you can seal around the light then attach to the starfish not sure how waterproof it will be but it sure is cute another new light Dollar Tree has is this cool color changing kind of lava lamp one for a fun little upgrade I took a splash ball catcher net from the summer toy section and then detached the net pry it off the handle with a screwdriver and spray painted the piece with some silver paint next I zip tied the frame to one of the lights I used the stake to stick it into a potted plant for a decorative touch that lights up the night and I have multiple more ideas for these and the other new lights but since I'm trying to keep to my Sunday night post schedule I am Plum out of time I could do them in an upcoming patio and deck video so comment solar lights in the comments section if you'd like to see more if you'd like to see more outdoor and summer decor ideas check out this video here thanks so much for watching and we'll see you next time

Channel: FABEDhacks

Views: 179,693

Keywords: solar light hacks, dollar tree hacks, dollar tree solar light hacks, dollar tree diys, dollar tree solar light ideas, dollar tree diy, dollar tree hacks 2023, outdoor diys, dollar tree solar lights outdoor diy, dollar tree solar light, solar lights, patio diys, solar lights outdoor, new dollar tree 2023, new solar light diys, solar light diys, dollar store solar lights, Solar light hacks ideas

Id: brN4xH7Pjmc

Length: 15min 20sec (920 seconds)

Published: Sun May 28 2023