Time for another DIY craft project and today I’ll be showing you exactly how you can make this twine-ball light garland yourself.
It’s one of those projects that’s a little bit messy and does take quite a bit of time, but it is so much fun. Plus you have a really cool piece of decor at the end of it. Perfect for parties or around the home, you can paint it up in any colour you want to match your design scheme, and when lit, it looks so pretty, casting lots of patterned twinkly light everywhere. Mine is now taking pride of place in my office.
How-to make a Twine Ball Light Garland
I’ve seen twine balls used for all sorts of purposes, from chandeliers to dining table decor, so I thought I’d have a go at making a light garland using this idea. I wanted something that would create a really pretty lighting effect, but I also wanted the string to have quite a strong and vibrant colour.
I chose to use coloured twine, alternating between pink and purple twine balls. But what I actually found was that the glue and cornflour mixture tended to make the colour of the twine look a little dulled and whitewashed, it still looked pretty and would work really well if you want a muted colour-scheme, however this is not the look I was going for. So to create the vibrancy I wanted I sprayed my twine balls with spraypaint once they had dried, this gave them a really lovely sheen as well as the strong colour I wanted,which is worth noting if you want strong as opposed to muted colours. And of course if you are spraying yours you can use any twine, you don’t need to go to the expense of sourcing pretty coloured ones.
{You will need}
- Twine ~ Either plain or in colours of your choosing
- PVA Glue ~ About 1/2 litre
- Cornflour
- Warm water
- Balloons
- Marker pen
- Vaseline
- Old tray for the glue mixture
- A broom or long piece of wood to hand the balloons from
- Twinkly light garland to attach the twine-balls to
- Fishing wire
- Spraypaint in the colours of your choice ~ I used Rustoleum painters touch multi-purpose paint
{One} First of all blow-up the balloons, one for each twine-ball you want to make and draw a circle around the top using your marker so you know where to wrap your twine up to, then smear the balloons with a thin coating of vaseline, this will stop your twine from sticking to the balloons.
{Two} Next I tied a piece of string to the ends of each balloon and then around an old piece of wood which I had balanced across the backs of two chairs in my backyard. This allowed me to work quite easily with the hanging balloons. Make sure you have something underneath, like plastic sheeting or bin bags to catch all the drips.
{Three} Now make your glue mixture, take the old tray (I used a disposable roasting tin so I could just throw it away afterwards) and mix up PVA glue, a few tablespoons of cornstarch and warm water. You want the mixture to be smooth, not too runny, and make sure there’s lots of it as twine is quite absorbent.
{Four} This is the really messy part. Take the twine and dip it into the glue mixture, running it through so it is entirely soaked, then begin wrapping it around the balloon, both vertically and horizontally until you get the desired effect. I wanted mine to have quite a lot of twine so did this a few times. When you have finished snip off the end of the twine and tuck it underneath another piece so it doesn’t stick out. Do the same for all the balloons.
{Five} Leave to dry overnight. You will find that your twine balls have now gone hard, if they haven’t then just leave them a little longer until they are fully set. All the balloons on mine began to pop as they dried, but if they haven’t give them a nudge and pop them, then remove the balloons.
{Six} You can now spraypaint the twine balls into your desired colours and attach to your light garland. I used fishing wire, which is clear, to attach mine.
So what do you think, is this one you’ll be trying out at home?
Michelle x
The fabulous photography of the finished garland is courtesy of North West Wedding Photographer Katy Lunsford. All other images taken by me.
This twine-ball light garland was also recently featured by Kat Williams on top UK wedding blog Rock n Roll Bride.
TAGS: Craft, DIY & Crafts, Featured on Rock n Roll Bride, How-To, Light Garland, North West Wedding Planner, Party Decor, Pocketful of Dreams, Tutorial, Twine Ball, Wedding Craft Project, Wedding Decor, Wedding DIY, Wedding Stylist Michelle Kelly
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Sorry Michelle, I had to comment on this one! This DYI is fabulous! Ok, it is a bit complicated perhaps, but the final result is fun and it gives you something that you can use for an event and then keep it in the house as decoration. I love it, so thank you for sharing! xx
ok i started making mine. theyre currently drying but how do i put the lights in?
Hi Stacy, I used fishing wire to attach the twine balls to the lights. Hope they turned out okay for you. x
You are so welcome, it was a lot of fun and I love looking at it hanging on my office wall. xx
i would love to make these,but i’m having a hard time finding the “pva glue”, what is it? and where can i find it? thanks
It’s really just plain old white glue- PVA stands for poly-vinyl acetate.
Lucy, it’s Elmer’s glue, just plain old white glue.
These look fabulous! I made one from a sugar and water mix and it’s rock solid (and sweet) but yours look better
Thanks Cate, mine were rock solid too, it’s the final spraypint step I think that gives them the really finished and shiny look. x
[...] Garlands may be used for all types of holidays and for usual days also to raise the spirits and relax looking at subtle light. You can make a garland yourself, it would be original, personalized and exactly like you want. For this project you’ll need some twine, plain or in colors you choose, cornflour, warm water, balloons, marker pen, vaseline, old tray for the glue mixture, a broom or long piece of wood to hand the balloons from twinkly light garland to attach the twine-balls, fishing wire, spraypaint in the colors you prefer. The craft is not so quick and simple to make but it’s worth making it. The result is astonishingly beautiful and cool. A more detailed instruction for crafting is here. [...]
Great outside project for the summer time. For adults. Very messy…
Hi Ashlee, it was messy but so much fun. x
[...] DIY Craft Project: How to craft a twine-ball light garland {As featured on Rock n Roll Bride} – Stum… {Five} Leave to dry overnight, you will find that your twine balls have now gone hard, if they haven’t then just leave them a little longer until they are fully set. [...]
[...] {Five} Leave to dry overnight, you will find that your twine balls have now gone hard, if they haven’t then just leave them a little longer until they are fully set. DIY Craft Project: How to craft a twine-ball light garland {As featured on Rock n Roll Bride} [...]
[...] {Five} Leave to dry overnight, you will find that your twine balls have now gone hard, if they haven’t then just leave them a little longer until they are fully set. How to craft a twine-ball light garland [...]
This is actually the perfect DIY project for my veranda redo. Thank you so much for the tutorial!
I think I will probably use yarn though..mostly because I have a ridiculous amount of it.
Hi Jessica, you are so welcome, yes yarn, twine, string, whatever you have to hand should work fine. Hope they turn out well for you. x
[...] (Source: Pocket Full of Dreams) [...]
[...] DIY Craft Project: How to craft a twine-ball light garland {As featured on Rock n Roll Bride} [...]
[...] DIY Craft Project: How to craft a twine-ball light garland {As featured on Rock n Roll Bride} – Stum… {Five} Leave to dry overnight, you will find that your twine balls have now gone hard, if they haven’t then just leave them a little longer until they are fully set. [...]
As far as the spray paint is concerned… do I NEED to use some?
If I want to keep the color of my twine.. can I use a clear coat? Or do I even need to?
Hi Jacii, The spraypaint just ave a really strong colour and finish to the twine balls, but it’s not absolutely necessary. I found the colour to be a little wishy-washy once it had dried as the glue tends to make things look a little ‘milky’. Hope that helps. xx
Yes it does, thank you so much!
Thanks for the tips! Here’s my question: If I put them outside, do you think they’ll hold up in the rain? Are they water proof???
Hi Ashley, I couldn’t really say, I think with a coating of waterproof varnish they should be okay but obviously you would need outdoor specific lights to go inside them too. xx
beautiful decorations. i made something just like this awhile ago. check it out here: http://kcm702.wordpress.com/2011/12/07/yarn-balls/
Hi Kim, They look great, love the multi-colours. x
I made one large twine balloon as a art project when I was a kid. It looked like a large red string balloon, but that’s all. I always wanted to do something else with it. I’m going to do this.
As to using these outside, if you use outdoor Christmas lights the lights will be fine, but water-based glues (like Elmer’s) probably won’t hold up if they get wet. There might be some kind of sealer that would keep the water out, or maybe a different kind of glue.
These are a little fragile. I kept my string balloon in my room until it got smashed and then I had to throw it away.
I’ll post pix when I get my project done.
Thanks so much!
Jan
[...] pomysł na zapewnienie punktowego światła w mieszkaniu. Lampiony nitkowce od Pocket full od dreams robione znaną nam już metodą – balon, nitki/tkanina + [...]
Hi Michelle! I fell in looove with your little lamps when i saw them for the first time. I was in the mids of re-vamping my balcony (staining the table and chairs and planting lots of flowers in white and orange). Now i needed something comfy and cozy to finish the balcony with! Your lamps! So I tried my luck and gave your instructions a go. My balls went onto a LED light chain, I hand painted them with acrylics (that’s what I had in the house) on the outside and inside.
http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w37/madulain/lamps/balcony-1.jpg
http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w37/madulain/lamps/balcony2-1.jpg
Thank you!
Madulain – where did you get these lights? I love the ones you’re using? Also I still don’t get how you hang the lights in the balls with fish wire…
Hey Christina, the wire is a clear fishing wire (filament) so I just used it like string and wound a little bit around the twine ball and then around the base of the garland. It doesn;t matter if it’s not 100% close just something that provides a bit of a hook.
Madulain, These look wonderful. Such a pretty colour to choose and very seasonal too for Autumn. Thanks for sharing your pictures, it’s fab to see people using my tutorial.
Wow, these are so pretty! I guess you could mix some paint with the glue, that might make them a little more vibrant.
How did you get the spray paint so evenly over the twine? It’s even on the inside of the balls. Was that part hard?
This is one of the projects that would be great to do with kids aswell!
Hey Laura, as the twine is quite thin the spraypaint just automatically covered the insides as well. Thanks for the comment. x
[...] of my recent DIY projects: How to craft a twine-bal light garland has been such a popular post that it has been pinned on Pinterest over 12,000 times and viewed [...]
What is the exact mixture. Like the measurements? Tried this the other day & ended up in a headache lol! The string just kept falling off the balloon…
Hey Brittney, Well it was really trial and error for me, I used mainly glue, few tablespoons cornflower and a little water, keep it quite a thick consistency, not too runny. Just make sure you have lots of the mixture soaked into the twine when you start using it and wrap it around itself around the balloons so it will naturally stay in place.
how do you get the balloon out?
Hey Kristin, Mine actually popped overnight and just fell out, but if your don’t then pop them first of all and they should slide out easy enough. The vaseline at the beginning makes sure the twine doesn’t stick to the balloon.
How small do you think you can make these balls? Love the ideas!
Hi Aleta, I don’t think there’s any size you can’t do with them, as long as the twine is thin enough then just give it a go. Let me know how you get on. x
2 Questions! 1. What is the recipe measurement for the glue? 2. How will these hold up in the rain? Or would you recommend taking them down after every use?
Yes, I would also like the liquid measurements to the dry ingredients.
Hi Shannon and Heather, I’ve answered these questions up in the comments section above but here’s the details again re the mixture:
it was really trial and error for me, I used mainly glue, few tablespoons cornflower and a little water, keep it quite a thick consistency, not too runny. Just make sure you have lots of the mixture soaked into the twine when you start using it and wrap it around itself around the balloons so it will naturally stay in place.
I don’t think they will hold in the rain unless you can put some kind of waterproof sealant on them afterwards. Hope that helps.
#DIY Craft Project: How to #craft a twine-ball #light garland {As featured on Rock n Roll Bride} http://t.co/SmIwKWce via @pocketfuldreams
This is a really great tutorial! Can’t wait to give it a try.
Thanks let us know how you get on.
HI Michelle!
These are sooo wonderful! I posted your tutorial on my website, you can see it here:
http://www.lescreateliers.com/Les_Createliers/Idees_Ideas/Entries/2012/8/1_Guirlande_lumineuse_avec_boulesLight_string_with_balls.html
Thanks,
Marie-Eve
Wonderful Thank-you Marie-Eve
[...] great dorm room DIY project: this Twine-Ball Light Garland is such a cute alternative to your standard Xmas light [...]
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Hi! My daughter is getting married later this year and we wanted to make some of these. We’re having a hard time finding the little round balloons. Any suggestions? Thanks!