Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Sport Rope Light Signs, Just in time for football season!

Just in time for football season! These signs are lit with high quality rope light and are Licensed Logos by the NFL, MLB, and NCAA! These are great for use indoor and out to let people know what team you root for!

Some more specs from the manufacturer:
  • A unique, cost-effective alternative to Neon signs
  • Display indoors or outdoors to show your team spirit
  • Wall and ground mounting systems included
  • Durable rope light with 1" bulb spacing, shaped and mounted on a steel frame
  • NFL/MLB/NCAA licensed
  • UL Listed

Click here to see what all sports team signs we have in stock!

--
Zach

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Lighting Glass Blocks and Bottles

One trend that is going strong and looks to continue to do so is Lighting Glass blocks and Wine/Champagne bottles. How you go about making these is really only limited to budget and/or tools available. You'll need to have some sort of drill bit or hole saw designed to cut glass, diamond bits are a good choice.

You'll clean the bottle or block and be sure to remove any labels (if you so choose), tape off the area you're wanting to drill with some duct tape and mark where you're going to want to drill.

Now, you can use a hand drill, but you've got to keep the object steady, it's better to go with something like a Drill press and have some sort of jig made up to hold your bottle or block perfectly still. You may want to use some sort of lubricant (WD-40 oil or something similar) to keep the glass from shattering.

Once you've drilled the hole that you're going to fish the lights through, remove the tape and rinse the bottle to remove any tiny bits of glass.

Once you've done all that your bottle is ready for lights! We carry 3 different styles of lights at this moment are perfect for this style of craft! Click here to go to our Mini Light page Our 15, 20, and 35 count light strings are great for this stuff because they have a small bulb count and don't have a end connector. That means lower heat and no clipping off plugs! We have a variety of wire and bulb options that will work for any style of craft and any color glass, not just white/clear or green glass! We also have LED battery lights which would work well for these Glass projects and would not limit you to placing these items by a power outlet. Click here for Battery Operated LED sets and Here for Cases

Plug up your light string when you're inserting them, why? The biggest reason is so that you don't loosen the bulbs and kill the string and saves you from having to redo it. The smallest bit of preparation saves you from giving yourself a headache.

Once your lights are in and working, decorate any way you see fit. Some people light to put on rub on transfers, or bows, or paint. Just be sure to take your time and have fun with it!

We have a large selection of lights perfect for this and will soon be carrying small count LEDs strings that would work great for this style of project. They should be in in the next few months.

--
Zach
All American Christmas Co.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Mini lights

Mini Lights are arguably the most common of Christmas lights available on the market today. Theres a handful of names for them (twinkle lights, fairy lights, miniature lights, tree lights, the list goes on) and year after year regardless of the popularity of LED Christmas lights, Mini Christmas Lights always come out on top.

We do get questions about these lights on a fairly regular basis.

How Many Sets Can I Plug Together?
The rule we go by is 3 sets, or no more than 300 bulbs. Typically 300 mini light bulbs is about 1 amp (or 110 watts) and you're best not to exceed that in one continuous run of lights, if you do then you run the risk of two things blowing fuses or blowing bulbs. Neither of those two make for a good decorating project, so we suggest making custom light power strips (click here to learn how!). This rule of 3 (or 300) is good for any style of mini light product; strings, icicles, curtains, nets, the list goes on.

Can I clip the plug off of the end if I don't need it?
WE NEVER RECOMMEND CUSTOMIZING A LIGHT STRING! This is a question you always have to answer carefully, because if a set has JUST TWO (2) wires going into the female plug, yes you can so long tape each wire off separately. If your set has more than two (2) wires then no, you shouldn't clip the plug off. PLEASE NOTE, we never recommend doing this because you're putting yourself at risk, and we of course will not be held accountable for any warranty or replacement for a customized string. So if you can get by without clipping the end plug, please do so. Or look at our No End Connector (NEC) sets as an alternative.

What does "End Connector" mean?
This is probably the second most common question we get and the answer is quite simple, think of the "Beginning" of a string as the plug that goes into the Wall, the male plug. The "End" of the string is the opposite end of the string were there is (or isn't) a female plug. The majority of 50 to 100 bulb count light strings have a end connector so you can connect sets "End to End". Our most popular Mini light strings have to be our "No End Connector" sets, these sets only have the male plug at the beginning of the string and end with a bulb instead of a female plug. NEC (no end connector) sets are perfect for crafts and decorating where you don't need and/or want that plug at the end of a string.

If one bulb burns out, do the rest stay lit?
Yes, almost all of the sets in production now come with a shunt. A shunt keeps the power flowing through the bulb even if the filament is burnt out or broken. All of our mini lights have this feature, and we hope that those old days of burnt bulbs killing strings are a thing of the past. Now remember, if a bulb is loose or twisted it WILL cause the string to not light, regardless of the filaments condition.

--
Zach
All American Christmas Co.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

New LED sets for crafts!

So I've rambled and ranted about why LED bulbs and light sets are a better investment and so on, but every once in a while a new product shows up on the horizon and we get really excited in our office. We got a call from one of our suppliers/manufacturers about a new set designed for those people who need a LED for smaller scale and craft projects. After some negotiation with the factory and deliberation in our office we came up with a set that's going to be, dare I say, perfect for the niche it needs to fill.

Coming very soon is a LED light set that will have approx 20-25 Bulbs, 3-4 Inch Spacing, and no end connector and a extra long lead wire!!

...chances are you aren't as excited as we are, though, you should be if you are a fan of making crafts with Christmas lights. Imagine how you're Glass Blocks and Wine Bottles will look with these sets. They will generate no heat use very little power! The extra footage for the power chord means less extension chords, and the long life and reliability of these sets means less issues with customers. I could go on!

Stay tuned to the blog and I'll be sure to post when these great sets will be in for sale.

--
Zach

Friday, December 12, 2008

The difference...



Just a quick video to show the difference between No End Connector and End to End Christmas light sets. NEC (no end connector) sets are perfect for crafts and smaller scale lighting projects. Stay tuned for more videos!

--
Zach
All American Christmas Co.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

THANKS!

Thanks to everyone who took advantage of our 5% discount coupon. This coupon code is no longer valid.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

5%

Enter Thanks08 in the Coupon field when checking out to receive a 5% percent discount on your online order!

Valid for online orders only!