Give a new use to disposable plastic cups. Turn them into these colorful luminous spheres that you can use as decorations at your next party.
Materials
- 50 soft plastic cups of 255 ml
- A paper punch
- A drill with a 1.3 cm bit
- 200 plastic straps
- A strip of small lights (100-150)
Process
1. With a drill, pierce the bottom of the glasses. To make it faster, you can stack two or three together. The holes should be no larger than 0.6 or 1.2 centimeters, or large enough to fit a light or two.
2. Using a hole punch, punch four equidistant holes just below the crease in the mouth of the glasses. Each should have its opposite in front.
3. Arrange 12 cups in a circle. Join each one with its adjacent one by passing a strap through the holes. Don’t close them until all the cups are connected, and before you do, make sure the circle stays flat. Once this is verified, close them and trim the excess.
4. For the second row, you will use nine glasses. Place one of them on top of the first layer. With a band, connect it with the glass that is below. Don’t close it all the way. Add a second glass and do the same as you did with the previous one. When all nine are located on the first layer, join their sides together. Each of the second layer glasses should be joined at three points (with the one below and on the sides). When all the bands are in place, close them and cut off the excess.
5. In the third layer, you will use four glasses. Place them in the space left at the top of the ball. When they fit well, start joining them together and with those of the second layer. The last four glasses will be joined in four points. You may need to make new holes if the ones you had previously made do not fit well. Likewise, you may have some unfastened holes left. Adjust the straps and trim. At the end, you will have half a sphere.
6. Before inserting the lights, please test them to make sure they work. Start at the tip. Insert the first string lights into one of the cups on the outer rim. Place one or two in each. You should end up at the outer edge again, in the glass next to the starter. Do this carefully, it is important that you do not skip any glass or light. Don’t worry if you break any glass in the process.
7. Build the second half the same way you built the first. Place the lights starting with the socket side. You can start with any glass, just make sure you end at the outer rim. The last few lights will be the hardest to insert, as you’ll need to get them in between the two halves. If you’re having too much trouble, you can use two string lights and connect them when you’ve threaded them through the two halves.
8. Press both halves together. Align the holes and place straps around the outline. Do not overtighten until the ball is assembled. Then close them and cut off the excess.
9. To hang it, use a piece of chain and two “S” hooks. Choose which will be the top. This will depend on whether you want the plug to be on top or bottom.
Poke holes between two of the glasses. Attach an S hook, then the chain and another hook. Another option is to use string or a piece of yarn.
10. If you want you can decorate your ball. One option is to string beads onto the bands. This will make it look just as cute on as it is off. Another alternative is to dip the rims of the cups in glue and then coat them with glitter.
You can experiment with other sizes or with lights of different colors, flashing or static. You can also try placing more lights per glasses. If you’re going to do this, do some testing before you start building. The size of the drill bit will depend on the type of lights you use.
To make the assembly process easier, you can staple the cups together instead of drilling and strapping them together, as shown in the video below: