I saw a pair of amazing papier maché pot plant holders at a friend’s house recently, and I immediately thought that they would look amazing as pendant lights. And since I am not one to toy with an idea for too long, I made them!
You’ll need:
- papier maché paste (click here for a simple recipe)
- unprinted news paper and white tissue paper, torn or cut into strips around 15cm long
- 1 balloon per light
- pretty paper to decoupage onto the light
- modge podge
- electrical wiring and fittings to make a light*
Hang the balloon and then start to add the unprinted news paper in layers, making sure that you smooth out any wrinkles as much as possible. I did 2 layers of news paper and then finished it off with 2 layers of white tissue paper. It took about half a day to dry between layers. The balloon will start to shrivel after about 3 days which allows it slowly pull away from the paper.
Cut out your chosen pretty picture and apply to the dry papier maché with modge podge.
I used a simple lamp fitting, switch and plug and 3.5m of electrical cord per light. To make sure that the paper shade fits properly over the lamp holder, I cut a cone out of an old milk bottle to fit around the holder. That way there won’t be risk of the paper shade tearing.
Totally love it! It took some patience – I am not one to spend 3 days on a project – but it was well worth it!
Happy Playing!
* If you are not confident that you are able to wire up the light yourself, please get an electrician to do it for you since we cannot accept responsibility for your electrical skills 😉