Last year during the holidays I filled a large glass bowl with some of these miniature "disco" ball ornaments I found at the local bargain shop. They reflected the tree lights nicely especially in the evenings. So this year I thought I would make some into a garland.
Gather together:
miniature mirrored ball ornaments (mine were $1.00 for 8 pcs)
screw eye hooks
craft glue
paint brush or tooth pick (for glue application)
metallic cord, fishing line or ribbon (for stringing)
1.
Cut off any hanging loops from the mirrored ball ornaments.
(the first ball has the 1/2" x 1/2" screw eye hook. my garland used the middle size hook)
2.
The mirrored ball ornaments that I found had a styrofoam base, so they are light weight. The downside is that when you stick your screw eye hooks in they do not have anything solid or toothy to grab onto. Before inserting your eye hook, brush a bit of glue onto the screw portion of the hook and then insert into the mirrored ball. Allow to dry.
3.
****Thread your mirrored balls onto your chosen hanging cord and knot at the top of each ball to avoid the ornaments from sliding together. I left about 3 1/2" - 4" between each mirrored ball.
....................a few further tips...........................
Putting a bit of glue on your eye screw hook is essential when the base of the mini disco balls is styrofoam as the screws will slip out--especially when you are tying them onto your ribbon or string.
****You can tie the screw eye hooks onto the fishing line/ string/ ribbon first and THEN insert the hooks into the mini disco balls. This makes easier work then trying to wield the disco balls that are already tied onto the ribbon, and making knots and flipping the ribbon and the balls around. This is a tip worth trying--trust me.
I found that tiny 1/2" x 1/2" screw eye hooks while they may look the best they can be the priciest (over $2 for 6!). If you don't mind going up a size look for picture hanging kits at the bargain shop--quite often they contain the screw eyes and for a fraction of the cost ($1 for the kits which usually includes 15-20 screw eye hooks) you can make a full length tree garland using a couple of these kits. You will often find these in a silver OR gold finish.
I first made a garland using a light weight ribbon for stringing, but liked the nylon fishing line a bit better--- for a tree the nylon fishing line would disappear into the greenery + the focus would be on the reflective disco balls.
Given that these mirrored balls are so cost effective I could see doing quite a lengthy garland that could wrap around a fairly large tree--white lights + a mirrored ball garland,who needs ornaments?
(here is another seasonal garland that uses eye hooks + pine cones)
