Spray painting things matte black
Neon
Macrame
Light Bulb vases
Hanging Plants!
What you'll need...
1. an old lightglobe - if you're planning on spray painting it like me it can be frosted or clear, but just beware that Australian frosted globes don't seem to just "wash clean" like US ones seem to.
2. spray paint - choose something that will match your string
3. fine sandpaper - you can skip this if you're planning on being extra gentle with your globe for the rest of eternity
4. masking tape or painters tape
5. a small plant, or a cutting. or flowers if you're planning on a vase instead.
6. potting mix
7. everything that the other tutorials I'll link to say that you need, like SAFETY GOGGLES. BE SAFE.
And here's what I did...
1. I cleaned my bulb out of all it's bits as this tutorial told me to
2. I got a stick to act as a handle for spray painting, and after lightly sanding my globe by hand, I used the masking tape to tape off the base of the globe. Not taping anything could be cool too, or just half the bulb, or a faux paint-dip look diagonal, or whatever your sweet little head can come up with!
3. I used that spray paint OUTSIDE to lightly and evenly cover the bulb.
4. I made a super-simple macrame (some would say cheats' macrame, but I say it is knotting string, so it's macrame, so there!) hanger from brickies string using this tutorial. My three strings were 70cm long, and had a knot at 6cm (handle), my first "couples tie" 29cm after that, my second "split the couples" 5cm after that, 4cm was my "couples back together" tie, and all my strings were knotted back together after another 5cm.
Experiment with different lengths between knots, a different amount of start strings (I chose the minimal three as I though the mash-up was quite busy enough already), different amounts of knots (just keep splitting up and putting together the couples - pretend you're a writer of Home and Away episodes, HA.) And of course with different string types - twine is a classic, as is yarn, but all manner of builders and boat supplies are being used at the moment on "the pins" so just use what ever takes your fancy! I like the idea of threading wooden beads in-between knots like in 70's style macrame, but perhaps with a simpler vessel.
5. I squished some potting mix into the bulb, be careful of the broken glass edge! You're welcome to just make a hanging vase of course, but I'm lazy when it comes to refreshing vases so I needed something for my succulent to root into. If you're using a plant that has roots already, its better to only half fill the bulb, rinse the dirt off the plant so the roots can fit through the top of the bulb, then fill over the roots with more soil. Give it a good water in, and then slip the bulb into your hanger!
Then of course its a task of finding a place with enough light to hang your plant - research how much sun your new baby likes, and give it to them!
:) Have fun, Lauren.
EDIT: The wonderful postcard print is by local dude Sean Morris www.illsean.com