Reversible Color Changing Zip-Tie Lamp

Today I will be showing you how to make a hanging multicolored LED lamp made entirely out of zip-ties and hardware cloth (square chicken wire). This lamp is reversible so that when you turn it one way the ties lie flat and smooth but if you flip it over it turns into a spiky glowing sea urchin!

You will need:

1. 1/4 in. 23 gauge hardware cloth

2. 1000 pack of 4 in. zip-ties (cable ties)

3. One single socket pendant light

4. Color changing LED lightbulb

5. A metal hanger

That's it!

1. Cut a 13 3/4 in. by 5 in. rectangular piece of the hardware cloth (that should have 55 by 20 squares).

2. Form the mesh into a tube the long way, overlapping 5 squares (see image).

3. Secure the form by using four zip-ties at each overlapped corner (image).

Once you have the first three steps done, it's time for the tedious work.

Starting at the bottom working upwards, begin to add zip-ties (as if you were doing a latch hook rug).

While you're working, make sure that all the zip-ties lay flat (see pictures). If the zip-tie is attached in the opposite direction it will stick out.

Continue to add zip-ties until you have only the top two rows to do. At this point in time you should have used 900 cable-ties.

Before you go ahead and finish those last two rows, continue onto the next step.

In order to have your lamp hang from the ceiling, you need to have something to hang it with.

1. Cut a piece of the wire hanger that is approximately two times the diameter of the cylinder.

2. Using a sharpie as a form, make a loop in the center of the wire (image 2&3).

3. Unbend the loop so that the wire lies flat (image 4).

4. Bend the ends so that they form a 180 through the center (image 5).

5. Using a ruler and the diameter of the cylinder, find the radius on each side of the wire (image 6).

6. Bend the ends of the wire back towards the center at the points you marked in step (6).

7. Place the wire piece you just made into the light by putting it around opposite vertical wires in the mesh in row 19 (second row from the top).

With the remaining 100 zip-ties, fill up the last two rows. Avoid the two locations where the hanger sticks through (four zip-ties).

That's it! Now all you have to do is mount it on your pendant light (which should have a color changing LED lightbulb in it by now).

Do this by setting the hanger over the end of the lightbulb socket (image 3).

If you would like, step 4 can be repeated and another hanger can be added at row 2 (second row from the bottom) so that the whole lamp shade can be flipped over for a just as awesome spiky look!