A few readers called us out about something we mentioned earlier during our BHG & Home Depot–sponsored porch makeover. In the planning stages we said we intended to make twine mobiles among several other projects, but there were no twine mobiles in the final reveal. We changed direction along the way, but the real reason was that our twine-mobile experiment failed and we had to come up with an alternative to add ambiance to the porch corner. Things worked out in the end; below is the circuitous route we took to create the hanging candle holders that now dress up our front porch.
We’d seen a neat ReadyMade idea using string, a balloon and fabric stiffener to make a unique hanging fixture. While shopping at Home Depot for something to hang on the porch, we spotted jute twine and thought we could adapt that method to make woven twine orbs. Twine is heavier than the original string, and Home Depot didn’t stock fabric stiffener (all our materials had to come from Home Depot for this project), but we were confident we could make it work.
We substituted an indoor/outdoor clear gloss urethane for the fabric stiffener, reasoning it would stiffen the twine wrapped around a balloon to create a durable globe. John blew up a balloon, tied the twine to the knot, soaked sections of twine in urethane and wrapped them around the balloon until we had a woven orb.
The process was messy but manageable outdoors over a large piece of cardboard, and within about thirty minutes we had three sizes hanging in the garage to dry. Our plan was to pop the balloons once the twine hardened, leaving lightweight textured orbs to hang on the porch.
Within about thirty minutes, we had three different sized twine mobiles hanging to dry in the garage. All we would have to do is pop those balloons after the twine stiffened up for a foolproof trio of textural mobiles to add interest and fun to our little porch project.
Or so we thought…
When we returned from an Easter trip, the orbs had collapsed. We have a few theories: the urethane may have reacted with and weakened the balloons, the twine might be too heavy for urethane alone to support in that shape, or maybe it simply wasn’t the right method for the material. Whatever the cause, the twine spheres were no more.
Back to Home Depot we went, determined to redeem the project. Our first thought was to rescue the collapsed twine by inserting something round inside to restore the shape. In the lighting department we found inexpensive glass bulb covers—$4.99 each—and grabbed three of the thickest ribbed glass options we could find so they would hold up outdoors. Once we had them in the car, the idea shifted from salvaging the twine to building hanging candle holders with the glass covers. We returned to grab thin wire for hanging.
To make the glass covers hang, we learned through trial and error that a tight wire ring around the neck is essential. Using needle-nose pliers, we cut a piece of wire with an extra inch on each end, wrapped it around the neck beneath the lip, and twisted the ends together to form a secure ring. Next we cut a long length of wire for the hanging handle, looped it under the wire ring, and twisted about an inch on each side around the ring and itself to lock it in place. We left a short extra tail on each side and tucked it snugly around the glass lip at a right angle to prevent the handle from sliding around.
In short: a wire ring around the neck gives a secure base for the hanging loop. Twist the handle wire around that ring and tighten with pliers, then tuck the ends to keep everything in place. Slip a pillar candle inside, hang from a cup hook, and you’re done. Each lantern took about five minutes to assemble, and they’ve been hanging on the porch through rain—and even a tornado warning—without issue.
Ultimately we love the warm ambiance these three candle-lit accents bring to the porch, and the whole set cost about $20. While we’re disappointed our twine mobiles didn’t work out, the glass lanterns turned out to be an easy, attractive solution—proof that second attempts can be the charm.
How about you? Have you ever used unexpected items from the hardware store—or even the grocery store—to enhance your home décor? We’d love to hear about it.