Make your own chicken wire light balls with chicken wire and Christmas lights!
With the cooler fall temps, now is the time to revamp your patio and enjoy the weather before winter comes along. One way to make your patio or outdoor space cozy is with some twinkle lights! We came across these chicken wire hanging balls that many people use for Christmas decorations in the front yard but they can easily be used year round. Follow the simple steps below to make your own outdoor hanging light and wow your guests at your next outdoor dinner party.
Supplies Needed:
Wire cutters
Christmas lights
Measuring tape
Hemp twine to hang the balls
Needle nose pliers
Step 1:
How much chicken wire to cut really depends on how large you want your ball to be. We wanted a medium size so we measured about 12 inches wide by 12 in high chicken wire and cut that amount out. Make sure to wear gloves when cutting the chicken wire because it can be very sharp!
Step 2:
Once you've cut the wire, fold the wire together so the outer edges of the wire are touching and interlock the pieces together by folding the wire in with your needle nose pliers.
Step 3:
Next, cut slips in the top of either side and gently fold the flaps down and gently push and mold the wire until you have a circular shape. This will take some patience, trimming away excess wire, and shaping until you get just the right size you want.
Tip: What NOT to do...
We had a major Pinterest fail moment when we were cutting out the wire and not leaving enough length to fold down the flaps to make the ball shape. If your wire is to "tall" it can become too skinny and hard to make into a ball. Think the fatter and more square the shape of wire is--the easier it will be to shape into a ball. See below we ran out of wire and has the tiniest wire ball ever--ha!
Step 4:
The good news is-- your wire ball does NOT have to be a perfect ball because the next step is wrapping it in Christmas lights. This part is pretty self explanatory but we do recommend sticking the plug part in first so it's easy to access and plug in.
And voila! You now have a cozy outdoor area that will have guests super impressed with your DIY craft skills. Make sure to tag all of your projects with #makerscorners for a chance to be featured on Instagram!