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I tried several different methods of attaching the 4 separate strands to the frame until I finally came up with a solution.  I could have cable tied every single bulb to the frame, but I'd still be working on them for next year.  I finally came up with a quick and simple solution using Spt1 that I had used for other projects.

corner.jpg

Measure windows and build frames out of 1X2s.  I used corner brackets to hold the frame together.

frame.jpg

Finished frame.  When assembling the frame try and have all good sides facing out.  It will make it easier to line up the lights once you start inserting them.

staple spt1.jpg

Flip the finished frame over on the bad side and staple on end of the cord to the frame.  Pull the cord along the underside of the frame to the next corner, pull it tight, and staple it down.  Make sure you don't twist the cord because it will cause some of the bulbs to twist as well.

continue sides.jpg
Continue stapling cord along all 4 sides of the frame.  This is the one time you really want to make sure your staples are going through the cord.

frame front view.jpg

Flip the frame over once you've completed all the sides.

measure spacing.jpg

You'll want to measure the starting side for the correct bulb spacing.  I'm using 4 colors on strands that have 12" spacing so my bulbs are 3" apart.

anchor bulbs.jpg

Slide the first bulb in the strand under the cord and secure it with a cable tie.  The cable tie will keep the bulb from moving around while you attach the rest of the bulbs.

insert stands.jpg

Start inserting the strand under the cord and continue around the frame until it's completed.

corner bulb.jpg

Don't worry about the corner bulbs at this stage.  After you've done several you'll understand that you can use the corner for adding or taking up a little slack.  Most window won't be a multiple of 12 so you'll have to tweak some of the spacing.  I found it best to adjust the spacing on the short sides of the frames since the spacing isn't as noticable there.

finished first strand.jpg

This is what my frame looked like with the first strand attached.

continue with other colors.jpg

Continue with all other strands until they're all in place.

check spacing.jpg

You'll want to check the spacing on the long side of the frame just to make sure you have the spacing the same.  This's where you can use the corner adjustments.

all strands in place.jpg

Continue until all strands are in place.

cable tie corner.jpg

Back to those pesky corners.  Just cable tie the corner bulbs to the frame.  You can see that I had to play with the spacing a bit to get the frame to look balanced.

cable tie sides.jpg

Although the bulbs are laying flat against the frame, I wanted to make sure they stayed that way so I added a few extra cable ties just to make the cord a little tighter.

Now all you need to do is attach power cords to the strands, insulate the end of the strand with electrical tape

Place the finished frame in the window.  I'm not using anything to attach them to the house.  The frames are sized perfectly to fit the opening and the cord on the corners is giving it enough tension to fit like a glove.

all done.jpg

Yippee!!!  All done!!!

Remember this is my site and my opinions, I'm not an expert at anything, if you have questions or constructive comments e-mail me, and finally, please don't post any of this information on the TCL site or boards.  Thanks!

 

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