Bonus Meeting: Making giant, lighted holiday ornaments
Maybe you saw them hanging last year from the trees in Jill and Matt Jones' front yard, or maybe you've seen them in other parts of town: these illuminated holiday balls look gorgeous during the holiday season! In Greensboro, where Jill is from, they are so popular that many streets are lined with house after house of lighted Christmas ornaments.
On Sunday, Nov. 4, Matt Jones taught about 20 members of the club how to make them. And it was easy!! For those of you who missed the workshop or who want to make more, here's how to do it:
Materials:
A 4-foot length of chicken wire (1" mesh)
A pair of work gloves
Two strands of 100-count mini Christmas lights
Wire cutters
3-prong, outdoor adapters
Outdoor extension cords
Instructions:
1. Trim a 4-foot length of wire from the roll.
2. Form the cut ends into a cylinder, overlap by a few inches and begin twisting the cut ends together.
3. Next, close one end of the cylinder by folding in three or four sides, similar to how you would wrap the edges of a gift, and twist their edges together. Then do the other side of the cylinder. You can use small cut pieces of wire to hold pieces together if necessary.
3. Keep molding the wire until it resembles a sphere
4. Loop the male end of the first strand of lights through the wire, secure it with a simple knot and wrap the lights around the ball, trying to cover as much area as possible.
5. Plug the second strand into the female end of the first strand and
finish stringing the lights around the ball. Tie off the female end of
the lights to secure it in place.
6. You may want to leave a long end hanging off to connect to another ball wtihout an extension cord.
7. To get it into the tree, tie an extension cord to a heavy object and throw it over a branch. Then plug it into your first ball and hoist it up.
There's also a video here on how to make them.
We're looking forward to seeing all of your holiday balls this year in Govenor's Square!!!
