About this design
Before LED strings, Christmas trees and porches glowed with big, colorful bulbs. The Vintage Light Bulb Ornament celebrates that look: a rounded, pointed glass body sits on a screw base marked with horizontal grooves. The grooves cut through the base, so the solid file is four pieces: the bulb and three base bands.
In the color version, the bulb is red with a white shine and the base is silver. It suits retro holiday shirts, signs and kitchen decor.
Project ideas
- Retro shirts. A row of bulbs in different colors across a sweatshirt.
- String-of-lights garlands. Repeat the bulb along a curved line in your software.
- Kitchen and bar signs. A bulb beside a phrase in your own font.
- Ornaments. Cut from colored acrylic with a silver base.
- Gift tags. A bright bulb tag for a holiday present.
Color ideas
The default color version is red with a silver base and white shine. For a full string of lights, cut copies in:
- Green, blue, orange and yellow, the classic vintage bulb colors
- Pastels for a retro pink-and-mint look
- Gold with a silver base for a glamorous bulb
- White with a silver base for a minimal style
Size and cutting tips
This design passes our cut checks from about 1.5 inches tall. Because the base bands are separate pieces, keep the design grouped while resizing, and apply vinyl with transfer tape so the grooves stay evenly spaced.
To make a string of lights, place several bulbs along a curved line and connect them with a thin cord drawn in your software.
Step by step: a string of lights banner
- Download the color SVG and size it to 3 inches tall.
- In your cutting software, duplicate it four times so you have five bulbs, and set the bulb layers to red, green, blue, orange and yellow. (Or recolor the bulb in the customizer and download one file per color.)
- Cut the bulbs from matching cardstock and the bases from silver cardstock.
- Glue each bulb to its base.
- Tape the bulbs along a length of black or green yarn, angling them slightly in different directions.
- Hang the string across a mantel or a doorway.
Good to know
Classic large Christmas bulbs come in strong, saturated colors, so bright flat colors rather than pastels will make your string look the part.
Variations to try
- Add a short black cord to the base for a single-bulb ornament.
Pairs well with
The Potted Tabletop Christmas Tree and the Zigzag Band Bauble share its cozy, retro feel.
