Use decorative lighting for outdoor parties to illuminate the festivities.
©iStockphoto.com/Peter Brutsch
This project is perfect for summer parties. You can use any type of branch to create this festive light fixture. Have fun and experiment. Rebecca used a shrub that never recovered from the bitter winter. So, get outside and start trimming those shrubs for your next party.
For this project you'll need a branch from a tree or an interesting topiary, strand party lights or holiday lights, an extension cord, rope, a swag hook, floral tape, craft wire, a wall cleat and a good imagination.
Instructions:
- This sight-specific installation is all about fun and improvisation. Make it anything you want it to be. First, find your structure — a natural twig, branch, tree or other plant form. The triple ball-shaped shrub Rebecca used was reminiscent of an antique gas streetlight.
- Next, wind about 100 to 200 strand lights onto the frame. Wind the lights as densely as possible. Use floral tape or craft wire to hold the wires in place throughout the limbs.
- Next, find a location for the fixture. To create a party chandelier, hang it over a table on a covered patio. Hang a swag hook on the ceiling with a toggle bolt. Use rope to tie off one end of the shrub. Use an extension cord as a wire and hang it over the swag hook with the rope.
- Mount a cleat on the nearest wall and wrap the rope around the cleat to hold the fixture in place. This will allow you to adjust the height of the fixture during the party.
