basic 13" made with soldering iron

(stapler instructions here)

You need :

- 50   9-oz cups, hard or soft plastic, tumbler style
(more on the right cups)

- 100 mini-lights

- soldering iron

- good ventilation

also helpful: clothespins

To begin melt hole in bottom of 50 cups. (Test first hole to make sure two lights will fit through later.)

Put 12 cups in a circle. If 12 cups doesn't make a circle, your cups are not 9 oz tumblers. Use modified instructions.

Press hot iron through one cup to the next, at cup bottoms. Melted part will cool and form a strong bond while you hold cups together.

This is Layer-One.

Place 9 cups on top of Layer-One. There may be some gaps. (Blue cups show placement.) Solder each cup to at least two other cups at cup bottoms. Let joints cool before moving to next cup.

This is Layer-Two.

Fit 4 cups into the space left. Join each cup to at least three other cups.

This is Layer-Three.

Now you have half a sparkleball (25 cups). Reinforce this half by melting joints where cup rims touch. Where cup rims don't touch, do not force. Hard cups may crack. Gaps between cups are fine.

IMPORTANT! TEST LIGHTS BEFORE YOU INSERT THEM.
Start at prong end of the cord. Insert the two lights closest to prong into a cup in Layer-One. (The prong will then hang out when you put the two halves together.)

Put two lights in each cup. Work your way around, zigzaging from outer cups to inner cups.End up next to cup you started with.

You're almost done! Now build the second half just like you did the first.

On the second half, start lights from the opposite end of the cord and thread lights as before.

Press the two halves together until they fit nicely. Join them careful not to burn lights or wire. Make sure cords are hanging out. Using clothespins makes this part much easier although photo doesn't show.

Finally, go over the sparkleball and make sure each cup is well-attached to at least two other cups.

To make a hanger out of chain and two "s" hooks (as shown) choose the top of your sparkleball. Melt a hole between two well-connected cups. Insert one "s" hook into the hole and close. Add chain and second "s" hook. Zipties, clear fishing line, ribbon are other ideas for hanging.

or click here