Remember my Glowing Outdoor Orbs? Of course you do. They're orbs and they glow. Like alien testicles. Who could forget something like that.
Well I've come up with the Glowing Outdoor Orbs Part II. Only the don't glow. So they're the Outdoor Orbs Part II. Only people tend not to know what an Outdoor Orb is (since I made the phrase up), so I've decided to change the name to White Glass Shades that Every House Used to Have But Now Doesn't Because We all Threw Them Out Like Idiots. And Now We Have to Buy Them From Secondhand Stores. How's that?
Anyhooooo back to the issue at hand. I'm a genius and as soon as you copy what I have to show you below, you'll feel like a genius too. Please note, with regard to my geniusyness, it doesn't apply to math or mathematical related problems, or numbers or decimals or anything that requires the adding or subtracting of fractions. Or math.
The ingredients for this craft are similar to but different from those in the original Glowing Outdoor Orbs. You still only need 2 things and it's still incredibly easy. I have come to understand that people LOVE the bigger projects I do, but tend to only duplicate the ones that take 10 minutes or so. Don't blame ya.
Here for your pleasure and limited time frame, is the 10 minute birdfeeder.
A old glass lampshade
A squiggle of rope ...
A $3 contemporary hanging birdfeeder.
How to make a super-fantastic hanging birdfeeder
Gather your rope. I happened to use ⅛th inch nylon rope. I bought a 50' package and it cost around $4. There's enough rope in that package to hang 3 or 4 birdfeeders from really high branches.
Using really thick rope would also look great. Probably even better than the thin stuff. I'm not sure why I bought the thinner stuff. I'm sensing a crack in my geniusyness.
#1. Measure twice the amount of rope as you need it to hang. Go look at your tree branch and just guess. When all else fails, just measure out a lot. You can always make the rope shorter, but you can't make it longer. Find the middle of the rope.
#2. Wrap the doubled up rope around the middle of your glass shade. The looped area of the rope is the centre of it.
#3. Pinch where the loop (centre) meets.
#4. Tie a knot where your pinch mark is.
#5. You now have a knot and a loop and a whole whack of excess rope.
#6. Wrap the rope around the shade again.
#7. Slip the excess rope through the loop, allowing the loop to rest over and lock on the knot. You'll probably have to undo and redo your knot to get it right. You want it quite tight but not so tight you'll break the shade. Good and tight is how I would describe it.
#8. Place a soft towel or pillow under the shade, then lift it by the rope to make sure it's hanging straight. Fiddle with centreing the rope until it hangs right. The towel's there in case the shades slips out and falls. It shouldn't but it might. Hell, what do I know about your knot tying abilities?
#9. Using Waterproof Silicone, glue your rope to the shade.
#10. To make sure your rope stays centred on the shade, just run the tip of the silicone down the centre of the 2 pieces of rope. As you run the tip down, it'll push the two pieces aside keeping everything centred. Go allll the way around the shade.
#11. Pinch the rope closed again, along the glue line.
If you want to be extra diligent (I was) you can also run a bead of silicone on the outside edges of the rope.
Hey! Wanna know why I was extra diligent?? Because the first time I did this I wasn't and 2 of my feeders crashed to the ground and shattered into pieces. See? Like this.
I oringally only used "Weldbond" glue, which is supposed to adhere to glass. Guess what? It didn't. So don't go thinking you can do this with whatever glue you have around the house. You can't. You must use a silicone based product like I've used. Marine silicone, tub silicone ... anything like that. Something that's meant for use on glass and is meant to come into contact with water. Weldbond says it does these things. But in my experience ....
... it doesn't.
#13. Let the birdfeeder rest for 24 hours to dry. Unless you're me. In which case, run outside and hang it from the tree immediately. Do as I say, not as I do. You want the glue to cure before subjecting it to the elements.
Hang them & fill them with bird/chipmunk/squirrel food!
You may have noticed that there are no pictures of birds at my birdfeeders. That's because I didn't have an extra 742 hours to sit around waiting for a bird to come. Besides it's been raining since I hung these feeders and I haven't seen a bird at them yet. I'm sure they'll come. They always do.
Also a bit of a warning here! I have no idea if one day the silicone will suddenly decide it's had enough of this and give up. It shouldn't. But it might. But it really, really shouldn't. However, I'm warning you that I cannot take responsibility if these glass shades come crashing down onto your Golden Retriever or French Bulldog's head. I don't think they will but I thought it'd be rude not to mention it's a possibility.
Although, on account of my mathematical abilities, I wouldn't want to put a percentage on it. Or a fraction..
Love these! You could also use them for tea candles, three look great together. The best part is your humor, nice to learn and get a laugh!!
I did this. No birds came. My cat is sad. :(
I do believe I still have a few of the light orbs around, as my house is older than dirt. I will try this. I must also add as I was reading the blog I was trying to keep myself from laughing so I didn't wake my hubby up..... I failed. I will defiantly be following your crafts!
Well thanks Laci! Now I'm going to have to go back and read this very old post. See what the hell was so funny, lol. ~ karen!
These are great!!! You could even paint them different colors or paint murals on them, wouldn't you think? (That is if you're the artsy-fartsy type, which I'm not, but my daughter SO is!!!) I could see these with painted morning glories or even sun, moon & stars type paintings. If you used the glow-in-the dark paint, they would show up at night!
You are so clever AND funny, I will be happy to see what else you have in your very brainy noggin!
LOL, thanks Nancy. There's LOTS in this noggin'. And if you're new here you have lots to read. :) ~ karen!
How about gluing some seashells on the orbs that are used indoors and then putting the lights in?
Don't forget that you can paint the orbs too for a really good look and/or just do a pattern in any color. You could just do black paint for dots, branches, or any little thing you want. Great project for kids. How about making lines? They don't have to be perfectly straight.
Love the globe bird feeders I have one thought ,when it rains won't it fill with water and get seed mushy?
Hi Jaci! That's only happened to me twice when the rain was literally coming in sideways. Otherwise it's been fine. :) ~ karen!
If you knot the rope like the old fashion Macramé Plant hangers, the globe would have a lot less chance of falling, and you may not even have to glue it, which means no drying time and less cost!! Love this and going to try it this weekend !!!!!
1. Goop brand glue might adhere to the glass better.
2. Or you cold weave more of a net around the globe to hold it better and look nicer, but this is a whole level more complicated unless you are a bored retired fisherman. (macrame?)
3. Doesn't the rain get in the globe?
Hi Billy!
1. The silicone works great! It was the Weldbond that was stupid.
2. I wanted it to look simple not complicated so I didn't make a netting to hold it.
3. Only if the rain is coming in sideways.
4. I guess it's about time to fill those feeders up.
~ karen!
Very very cool and you did a most excellent job splaining it. just lovely!
LOL. Thanks Patti! ~ karen
You are a genius! I love your ideas. You have a wonderful "down-to-earth" sense of humor. Between these two qualities it keeps me coming back for more of both. Thank you for being you.
Thanks Kathleen! Did you enter The Great Gargantuan Giftmas Giveaway? Because you should. :) ~ karen
You can buy glass outdoor orbs at garden centers, nurseries and Wal-Mart... they look like. Crystal balls because of the pearlized, shiny. colorful coat (in shades of purple, blue, green and pretty much any other color you can imagine) on the inside of the orb. You can even buy special stands for them. I'm pretty positive they are called "Glass Outdoor Orbs". We have 2 or 3 outside currently. Just Google it.
What a hoot! I laughed so hard reading your comments. You my dear are a gem! I love your ideas and actually found you accidentally. I'll be coming around now so just add one more lookie loo to your list!
Thanks for the ideas!
Well thanks Marsha! Glad you found my site. And you're very welcome. That's what I'm here for. Ideas! And occasionally people spit coffee on their computer screens so that's good too. ~ karen!
Love your birdfeeder and glowing orbs tutorial! I have just happened on this site and read all of the comments. Just a thought~~~would soaking the rope above the orb in hot sauce keep the squirrels out? Since they don't like hot sauce~~~
Hi Ellen. Welcome to my site. Hmm. I don't know if that would work or not. You would end up with a red and white tie-dyed rope though, lol. I don't have a problem with the squirrels right now, but it's worth a shot for someone else. ~ karen!
Ever thought of a macrame hanger for these? I was just going through the Orb's 1 and 2 and love both ideas and will be trying these this year. For the bird feeder, I was thinking a simple macrame hanger fitted to the diameter of the globe would look wonderful.
Thank you for posting this and all the other posts, as someone else said, great sense of humor and great writing. Keep it up!
Ron F.
Hi Ron. I did think of that, lol. But I wanted the backcyard to be really clean and simple, and wanted the feeders to reflect that as well. But having said that, a macrame hanger or a netting like you would make for an antique Japanese float would work too. ~ karen!
You are too funny! Our sense of humor is very similar. Scary, huh? My friend showed me your clever idea, but I enjoyed your post more, because yeah...these WOULD break in my hands. Sounds like we have the same relationship with math too! My husband's the calculator and I'm the dictionary, and it's best left that way! Unless you want to talk about the best money deals, like your glass orbs with the extraordinarily well-crafted, long-winded alias! Keep up the good writing...only don't take chances and sit beneath your glass orbs to write, or the world might lose a great writer, eh? : )
If you spread the ropes apart instead of together when you glue them to the globe, it would form a kind of cradle for the globe & would be more secure even if some of the glue didn't hold forever.
Good thinkin' S.K. ~ karen
Another idea for the globe bird feeder.... Take an additional amount of rope and silicone a strip of it lining around the opening of the globe. This gives the birds something better to grip onto while feeding than trying to balance on the slick glass edge.
Good idea Terri! ~ karen