Step 5: I'm Not a Girl {Babygirl's Room Design: DIY String Pendant Lamp + Macrame Ombre Lamp Cord | Part 2}

Hello again! If you have been following along, you know we created a string pendant lamp in our most recent room design post and we left it to dry. We were supposed to wait 24 hours to remove the beach ball and reveal the design but life happened so our 24 hours turned into 96 hours! I know... but hey, it wasn't going anywhere, right? Besides, we had a lamp cord to macrame.

(for a list of our upcoming projects, click HERE)

This lamp cord was not only going to be macrame but also have a peach ombre dye. So I got my supplies together:

100-feet Braided Cotton Rope // Duct Tape // IKEA Hemma Cord Set // RIT Dye in Tangerine

We have vaulted ceilings in our home but the ceiling height where this lamp was going to hang is the average 9-feet high. Since this will be a swag lamp, I needed it to go up from the top of the lamp we were creating, then up to the ceiling and back down to floor and over to the electrical outlet. A total of about 20 feet. The IKEA lamp kit is about 15-feet. Therefore, I added an extension cord (not pictured) to make this happen.

As stated, we went with the more modern looking cord kit at IKEA. For $5 each, you just can't go wrong. And although they are modern-ish, we still felt it was kind of ugly as it was. And we are also not huge fans of cords running through chains. In my search for a cool new idea, I decided to channel the 70s when my grandmother, aunts and mom used get together and macrame their hearts out. Then, I came across THIS macrame tutorial on tying a spiral knot. I simply used the cord as my two inner ropes.

1. The first step was to get this rope braided. I was so proud of myself. Once I got the hang of it, I was a macrame-ing machine! Still, in all it took me 5-6 hours total to get the cord braided.

2. Next, it was time to dip dye the cord to give it an ombre effect. I used a sandwich bag to place over the electrical plug and taped it tightly shut with duct tape. Mixing together hot water, a 1/4 cup of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of RIT dye in Tangerine, I immersed the cord for the length I wanted the color to go up and immediately removed it. Then I dipped the middle for about 60 additional seconds and the bottom for another 30-40 seconds. That was all it took. That dye is pretty powerful. Outside it went to dry. It came out pretty cool!

3. And now... the moment we've all been (or at least my daughter was) totally waiting for... removing the beach ball! We deflated the beach ball and then realized that the beach ball was not the best choice. Given the chance to make this again, I would probably use a balloon or a punchball so I could puncture it with a pair of scissors and yank it right on out! Since the beach ball was covered in vaseline, it was hard to grasp and deflate. We had to work hard to get it out of the string ball but hey... hindsight is 20/20.

You guys, I'm not going to lie. It was both thrilling and incredibly satisfying. The light and airiness of the finished project, and the fact that IT WORKED! It looked totally legit! In fact it was.... too legit!

At some point I may replace the energy saver bulb with a vintage filament but my daughter likes it this way... We shall see.

I used an old toothbrush to clear out some of the dried glue mixture that didn't break free with the ball. Then, I outfitted the cord kit with a clear plastic food container (you know the ones you put salsa in to-go at the restaurants). I cut the bottom off and placed that on the lamp kit to give it a little more width and ensure the lamp kit wouldn't slip through the lamp later on down the road. I totally forgot to take a pic for you but if you have questions about it, please ask. I am happy to answer you in the comments below.

We hung that bad boy up with ceiling hooks and felt the awesomeness because we did something totally rad! (decided to go back and paint those ceiling hooks white soon).

Of course next comes the big, payoff, moment-of-truth when you plug in your awesome string pendant lamp masterpiece and HALLE-LOO! The design angels rejoice!

If I can do this with a cranky 13-year old kid, you can too! It's such a gratifying experience to make cool things for your home. We sure hope you find our posts inspiring.

Next up we plan create a DIY Dreamcatcher for her wall. Stay tuned...

xoxo

Step 4: I'm Not a Girl {Babygirl's Room Design: DIY String Pendant Lamp + Macrame Ombre Lamp Cord | Part 1}

Hey there! We are so incredibly excited to have the walls painted. Initially, we were going to stencil a cool design behind the bed but my lovely babygirl changed her mind. Since turning 13, I have noticed that her mind changes quite a bit and that I need to exercise more flexibility than I usually do! Ah.... teenage parenting... so fun!

(for a list of our upcoming projects, click HERE)

Where were we? Oh yeah, the walls. So now that the walls are pretty, the next project we moved forward on was installing a pendant lamp in the corner where her armchair will eventually go. The first idea was to DIY a feather pendant lamp. However, we are on a budget and buying the ostrich feathers for a lamp was turning out to be quite cost prohibitive. So we scoured the internet and babygirl settled on another super cool but more economical lamp project... a String Pendant Lamp. YIPPEE! I loved this idea so much. Plus we had 90% of EVERYTHING to make this project in our home. So the cost = $ LOW!

A while back we both fell in love with a string light fixture that we saw in the window display of Anthro, so this was a perfect opportunity to bring that design into our home.

What you'll need for the string pendant:

Cotton String | Petroleum Jelly | Mod Podge | Black Marker | Cornstarch | Water | Beach Ball or Punch Ball | Masking Tape | Cup and Mixing Bowl

We went with a beach ball because Babygirl didn't want a really large lamp, but I have seen DIYers who have used exercise balls (36" round). You can go smaller or larger than what we are doing. It's totally up to you and what fits into and looks best in your space.

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Inflate the beach ball and, taking your Sharpie, draw a circle a little larger than the size of your lightbulb. It doesn't need to be perfect. This is where you will insert your cord kit. We drew our circle around the air valve to make it easy to hang and to make it easy to deflate later. Next, you want to rub vaseline all over the rest of the beach ball. This prevents the string from adhering to the beach ball when it's time to deflate it.

2. Hang the ball so that it's not touching anything. (We tied a string to the air valve on the beach ball and hung it from a spare closet rod between two folding chairs. I also HIGHLY SUGGEST covering your work surface with newspaper or a drop cloth or old sheet to protect it. The old sheet we used had decoupage glaze all over it by the time we finished.

 3. We didn't really measure out the glue mixture. Basically you want to pour the entire bottle of Mod Podge into a mixing bowl, add a handful of cornstarch and then slowly add water until you get the consistency of coffee cream. VOILA! So profesh, right?

4. This project definitely takes two to tango - even if you have it hanging. To get started, you want to pull out a length of string from your yarn ball and tape the end of the string near the top of the ball just inside the circle you drew. We will cut this away later. Now place the rest of the yarn ball directly into your glue mixture.

5. Starting the design can be a little tricky, but once you get going, it's simple and fun. I recommend getting your fingers a little wet with the Mod Podge to get started. Ultimately, you want the yarn to have a cool, chaotic look. But to get started, I recommend doing a bunch of vertical wraps until you feel like things are pretty secure. Don't be afraid to pull tight into the beach ball a bit.

6. Babygirl and I each took an assignment: I held the beach ball still, while she wrapped as intentionally chaotic as she wanted to. After all this was her lamp so it needed to be her creation.

7. She took a step back several times to gauge how it looked. You don't want to under-do this, but you don't want to over-do it either. At some point you'll hit the sweet spot and you'll know it. That, or your back will be so tired and your hands will be so sticky that you'll cry uncle and conveniently be at a happy stopping point. You know either way.

8.Let it dry a full 24 hours. I periodically checked it for "soft spots", re-coated those areas with a foam brush and gave it another 24 hours after that. It is worth making sure all of the yarn is really good and hard.

WOO HOO! We can't wait for this to dry so we can hang this bad boy! Next up we will be creating an ombre lamp cord to hang this awesome lamp. I know you want to see the finished project, dontcha? Yeah you do... so to quote the Beverly Hillbilies... "Y'all come back and see us now, ya hear?

xoxo