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Sparkleball

A sparkleball is a magical ornament handmade from plastic cups and a string of mini-Christmas lights.
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The directions may sound difficult but will make sense as you work. Build your first, and you'll be rockin' and rollin' by your second sparkleball.

To make a basic sparkleball, you will need the following supplies: 1. A soldering iron (pictured) 2. 50 9in Solo-style plastic cups (with slanted sides) 3. A string of 100 lights, mini-light size. I also use a fan for ventilation, and you must must must work outdoors.
Heat the soldering iron. When hot, poke/melt a hole approx. 1/2" in the bottom of all 50 plastic cups.
Arrange 12 cups in a ring, as pictured. Make sure cups touch at the bottoms. This is more important than touching at their rims. With the hot iron, connect each cup to its neighbor at the bottom sides. To do so, press the iron so it makes a welded joint. The joint must cool to hold fast.
Now build a second layer of cups on top of the first ring. Use 9 cups in this layer, and again work from the cup bottoms. Work cup by cup, adding one and joining it to at least two other cups. Make the joints at the cup bases or from inside the cup, at the bottom. This layer may have gaps between cups but that's ok.
Press the last 4 cups into the space left in the dome you've built. Once pressed in, then solder the four cups, making sure each one is joined to at least 2 or 3 other cups.
Now you're ready to thread lights into the sparkleball half. Start at the plug end (plug was cutoff from photo, but it's right by the tag which is visible.) and insert two lights into the first cup. You'll start inserting lights on the large ring you made first.
Insert 2 lights into each hole, working from top layer into bottom and back up.
You must finish threading the lights in the big ring. Now you're half done. Repeat steps 1-5 to build the second half.
To thread lights in the second half, start-- this time-- from the opposite end of the lights. And start threading in the very center, working to the outside. When you get towards the end, it will be a bit awkward, with both halves coming together. Have the iron hot and ready to work.
Press the two halves tightly together, making sure the electrical plug hangs out between them. Join the halves with the hot iron, working close to the cup bottoms but being very careful NOT to melt the lights or cord. The plug
When I'm finished, I go back and reinforce the sparkleball but melting a notch in all cups that touch at the rims.
I make a hanger from chain and "s" hooks. I melt a hole, joining two cups, and insert the "s" hook. I put my hanger opposite the plug, but some people like the plug at the top. Your choice.
Plug in and enjoy. Now start your next one!
Here's Monica with a mini-sparkleball made with condiment cups and 50 lights. You'll find more sparkleball projects and photos of finished sparkleballs on www. sparkleball.com, a happily non-profit and free-for-all website devoted to spreading sparkleball joy.

People who love this project (67)

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opposites-girl

Oct 14, 2007 6:09pm

They are very cool!!!

annie

Oct 20, 2007 10:31am

Thats such a brilliant idea!! They'd be perfect for festivals or garden parties, well done you!! :O

Cat Morley

Oct 21, 2007 3:33pm

I want to make loads of them for every room of the house. Do the lights get quite hot?

I've never had a problem with the lights getting too hot. The kind I've used are all safe-tested for use indoors for the holidays, anyway. In the US we can order them yearround from Christmas websites, and I usually shop for the best prices.

Cat Morley

Oct 21, 2007 10:03pm

Awesome, I'm going to check out the stores now, though it's probably a good idea to pick lots up just after Christmas when they go on sale.

sue c.

Oct 25, 2007 11:33pm

I have seen these and wonder how they were made. Now I can make them for every holiday. break out all those lights I bought on clearance sales,lol

Sparkleball Lady

Oct 26, 2007 12:05am

Don't be afraid to buy odd lights (either in shape, color or number.) The odd ones are always left over after Christmas, and a sparkleball made of mismatched lights might be quite lovely. Monica's miniball was made with 50 blue and white bubble lights I bought on sale for almost nothing.

Jen M.

Nov 14, 2007 3:04pm

I made two last night...I would suggest using 2 50 light strings instead of 1 100 string. Easier to join the halves that way! Make sure to get the end to end connectable kind then just plug the 2 together inside the ball.

They were really easy to make and surprisingly fast! Thanks for the idea!!!

Zindziwe J.

Nov 22, 2007 4:53pm

Way cool!

Sparkleball Lady

Dec 3, 2007 3:54pm

If you plan to make a sparkleball, there are some useful tips here http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf82354075.tip.html from editors of that site. They must be pro-crafters, and they had a few things to add to my instructions. Very helpful if you're serious about this project.