Illuminated Glass Block Present

Glass blocks are a great medium for decorating around the holidays. Illuminated presents make great centerpieces and are simple to make with the right tools.

All of the following materials required for the project are available at your local Home Depot:

• 8"x8"x4" or 6"x8"x4" glass block
• 1 3/8" Diamond hole saw
• Power Drill
• A strand of battery-operated Christmas lights
• 3 AA batteries
• Decorative ribbon

Step 1: Purchase Materials.

All of the following materials required for the project are available at your local Home Depot:

• 8"x8"x4" or 6"x8"x4" glass block
• 1 3/8" Diamond hole saw
• Power Drill
• A strand of battery-operated Christmas lights
• 3 AA batteries
• Decorative ribbon

Step 2: Drill a Hole Through the Glass Block.

Slowly drill a hole through one side of the glass block using the power drill and the diamond hole saw. Make sure to wear safety equipment while completing this step: i.e. gloves and safety glasses. Hint- spray the cutting surface of the block with water while drilling to keep the drill bit cool and minimize the dust. Clean out the debris from inside the glass and rinse with water. Allow the glass to fully dry.

Step 3: Insert Lights.

Test the strand of lights to make sure they are fully functional. Carefully thread the strand of lights through the hole in the glass block, evenly spreading the strand throughout the block.

Step 4: Add Ribbon.

Wrap the edges of the glass block with ribbon and add a bow. Hint - use hot glue to set the ribbon and bow to the block.

Step 5: Make More!

Illuminated glass block presents make great gifts for the holidays, birthdays, weddings, baby showers, and anniversaries. Your friends and family will love them!

Comments

[ManuelO12]

Made a few of them last year. After some bad luck using a power drill (cracks in the glass block) I used our CNC milling machine to drill the holes..

[BeachsideHank]

On the ones I made some time ago, I used clay to form a reservoir for drilling the hole. It didn't take much, just a 1/4" or so of water and it lubed the diamond cutter (from Harbor Freight) perfectly. I used filament bulbs then, but if I were to do it again I'd use LED lights instead.

[DIY Hacks and How Tos]

This looks great. If you want to make the video easier for people to view, you can upload it to YouTube and embed it on the page using the Embed Video tool in the step editor. Then people can watch the video on the page without having to download it.