July 2020 • Nebraskaland 63
Christmas Tree Lights
Another holiday use for discarded empties are shotgun
shell Christmas tree lights. For this project, gauge doesn't
matter and all colors of shells are welcome – red, green,
yellow, blue, purple, white, whatever – the more colors the
better.
My dad made me a string of shotgun shell lights a few
years ago. First, he bought a strand of simple white lights.
Next, he punched out the primer from the base of each shell
to provide ventilation and dissipation of heat. Then, he
placed a shell over each white light, folding the crimp back
together to hold it in place.
The result is a festive strand of multi-colored lights that
gives the Christmas tree a folksy flair.
These are only three examples of repurposing empty
shotgun shells. By using your creativity and imagination,
you can probably think of more ways to turn what otherwise
would be trash into outdoor-themed art.
Shell Santa
Several years ago, I saved all my spent shotgun shells for a
coworker who wanted them for a "project" she was working
on. By the end of the season, I'd given her bucketfuls of
shells, and she begged me not to give her any more!
Her project was making Shell Santa Christmas tree
ornaments, and she gave me one for my contribution of raw
materials. It adorns my Christmas tree each year. On the
shell, she painted a face with a white beard and topped it
off with a Santa hat made of folded-over festive fabric with
a jingle on the end and white pipe cleaner for the "fur" trim.
A simple piece of wire inserted into two holes near the top of
the hull allows the ornament to be hung from a tree branch.
Obviously, red hulls are more traditional, but you could
certainly use other colors to give your Santa Shell a unique
look.
PHOTOS
BY
JARROD
SPILGER
