Wednesday 11 March 2015

All hail the Glow Cloud



Recently I was digging around for a gift bag behind the couch (... isn't that where everyone keeps their massive stash of gift bags?) and I found a big paper IKEA lantern. I have a vague memory of buying this once, intending to try to make it into a Death Star, which obviously never came to fruition. Instead, I decided to make a glow cloud, using this tutorial by 3 Chic Geeks.


Their tutorial is very easy to follow, basically you are just sticking toy stuffing to a paper lantern using a hot glue gun. I found that doing this on a chair, with me varying between sitting and standing, made reaching all sections of the lantern easier and also meant that less hair was sticking to the toy stuffing (poor Scott; living with me is basically like living with a giant, constantly shedding cat). I also found that ripping the stuffing into handfuls beforehand made gluing much more efficient.


We hung it in the corner, above the bookshelf where a paper swallow mobile had been basically since I moved in (one of my first ever home decor projects ... ahhh, memories!) using command hooks. Here's a hint: don't use command hooks. Your glow cloud will fall down. One of the things on my to-do list is now to go to the hardware store and get a proper hook.


 During the day it looks like an innocent fluffy cloud, but then at night ...
 

 ALL HAIL. These photos are pretty bad, mostly because I am still using my phone as a camera for literally everything. But, you do get a sense of it's constantly mutating hue nonetheless, right? To light up the glow cloud, I used a "colour changing light mood lamp ball sphere" that I brought from ebay, because the hardware store/ craft store people looked at me very strangely when I described what I wanted. If you don't live in Australia, you might have more luck with finding this in a store. I sometimes have dreams about visiting America and just going to craft stores ~____^ Anyway, the most important thing is to buy a lamp that won't heat up, because you definitely don't want to set your glow cloud aflame!


I also brought an LED torch from the hardware store, which is meant for work site safety. It is *very bright* - it even comes with a warning not to look at the light directly. It makes for a much brighter glow cloud, but it can only be yellow and red, and the red is a scary flashing warning light which makes the glow cloud seem very angry. While the colour changing light is not as bright, it is brighter than the pictures above would lead you to believe, and it's actually very relaxing to watch. I am still considering hanging some plastic animals from the bottom of the glow cloud, but I don't know if that would be a little too much. What do you think? 

In other news, I am now in week two of roller derby training. I have muscles that I did not know existed! My t-stops are dreadful, but I can plough stop pretty well, and last night I did 19 laps in 5 minutes which I thought was pretty good. I think we're going to time laps again tonight, so hopefully I can overcome the thigh pain to maybe reach twenty!

- Lisa xx

9 comments:

Kate said...

Love your hail cloud! I was weary reading this post because I thought maybe you made it with cotton balls and I have an irrational fear of cotton balls and wouldn't have made it through! But no worries here - stuffing fluff is great! Such a rad project!

Alecia said...

Oh wow! That's so cool! I wish my parents would let me drill holes for hooks, but hey something to look forward to when I get a place of my own :)

Dana Paramita said...

aw u r so creative! love it<333

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http://paramitadana.blogspot.com/

bekswhoknits said...

All hail the glow cloud!

I love this so much. I have those giant paper lampshades all through our house. I've also thought about making them into a death star, but maybe a glow cloud would be better.

I have a lot of amusement thinking of an angry glow cloud. You don't really want to anger the glow cloud.

Lisa said...

Thanks Kate! I'll keep in mind not to make anything with cotton balls - this blog shall be a safe place for you! ^___^

Thanks Alecia! If you have a chill landlord, moving out of home can be fantastic for decorating! I look forward to the day I truly have a place of my own though (i.e. no more renting!!), so I can not have yellow walls for the rest of my life! ~___^

Thanks for your comment Paramitadana!

Thanks Beks! Angering the glow cloud does seem like a very bad idea! I wasn't sure how well the Death Star was going to work since I wanted it to be both grey and transparent, but I'd love to see one if you end up making it! ^___^

Batty said...

That looks so awesome!!

Lisa said...

Thanks Crissy! For such an easy project, it really is very lovely ^____^

Amy said...

This is so cute! Thank you for sharing ♥
Amy xx

Perfect Imperfections

Lisa said...

Thanks Amy ^____^