Light Orbs

by The Chirping Frog

My husband made one of these last year and decided we need them year round.... he's at it again. There are four up and more in the making. I've been asked how he makes them so here's a quick look at the process.

lights outdoor orbs hanging building tutorial, crafts, lighting, repurposing upcycling

He starts with a roll of concrete wire mesh.... you can get this at Home Depot. He then rolls a long length of it out (be very careful with this stuff... it will cut you...badly). He usually has me stand on the end while he unrolls it and then he cuts a length and we immediately turn it over so it doesn't want to roll back up on itself..... (it'll fling itself right at your head in its attempt to roll back up.... be careful). He cuts it down as you see in the picture.... one square width and long lengths.

He also cuts one of the long edges off (you need it for a center support).... you'll have lots of little crossbars to pick up.....

Depending on the size of ball you want (I'm sure there's math that can be done but it's a simple trial process for the first piece... I'll do anything to avoid math) you'll cut your center piece and form loops on either end. This is your central support to help keep its shape. Then, cut your lengths of wire down to size and starting at the top attach them to the loop on your central wire. Gently pull them around to the bottom and attach at the bottom. If you look closely you can see the central wire in the picture.

Once you have them spaced to your liking and have your ball formed you just add lights with zip ties.... pay attention to where you put the plug-in portion so you have access to it...

Here is one of ours hanging out front.

Here's a few of them lit up.....

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2 of 23 comments

Barb on Oct 25, 2017

I wouldn't want the wires to plug them in showing so I would use Solar lights and make sure the panel is facing the top so it could get the sun . Or even put battery timer lights that go on and off by themselves .
They have some really good lights out that stay on for 6 hours off for 18 and they go on and off each night on their own . Needing to change the battery Once a month or so depending on the size of the battery and how many lights on a strand you use . They have C cell battery lights and AA lights the C cell last longer for like a month and a half .
I love this Idea and have made a few things using the lights .

1 Reply
Sharlene Laurie Waugh on Dec 22, 2020

Love!!!

1 Reply