Garden decoration: sit back and enjoy these magical hanging lights

Make your own decorative hanging lights
Stunningly simple – these hanging lights will add a touch of magic to your summer nights

  • Difficulty
    easy
  • Cost
    < 50 £
  • Duration
    1-3 h

Introduction

Anyone can light a few candles – that’s easy. But not many people know how to hang them from up high. Your new hanging lights will become the main attraction at every party, and make even quiet summer evenings with your loved ones more enchanting. And the best thing is, they take no more than two hours to make – so you can light the candles and revel in the atmosphere almost straight away.

You need
  • ruler
  • scissors
  • g-clamps
  • pencil
  • meter rule
  • wooden plank: 48 x 20 x 2 cm (L x W x H)
  • 4 tealights
  • 4 glass holders for the tealights
  • hin rope for hanging the lights: length depends on where you’re hanging them from
L: Length, W: Width, H: Height, D: Diameter

Let's go - step by step

Step 1 6

Drill holes for the rope

Drill holes in the plank so you can hang up your decorative lights
Later, you’ll thread the rope through the holes to hang up your lights

You need: Cordless combi drill, Mixed sets (bits, drills, accessories), g-clamps, wooden plank

To admire your hanging lights night after night, watching them swaying gently in the summer evening breeze, there are just six simple steps to follow. First, you need to drill holes in all four corners of the plank. Attach the wood drill bit to your cordless combi drill and position it around 2 cm from the edge of the first corner. Then apply pressure to drill the hole. The holes should be the same size as the rope you’re going to use – so make sure you choose a drill bit with the right diameter.

Step 2 6

Mark where your lights will be positioned

The plank is measured before sawing the holes
To ensure the tealights are spread out evenly, you first need to measure the wooden plank

You need: ruler, pencil

To make sure your hanging lights are equal distance apart and prevent the plank from tilting at one end, divide the plank into four even parts. So, if your plank is 48 cm long, each square would be 12 cm long. Once you’ve marked the squares, you need to calculate where you will drill the holes for your tealights. Think back to your geometry lessons at school: simply draw two diagonal lines in each square, from corner to corner. The point where the lines meet is the centre and is where you will saw the hole.

Step 3 6

Drill the holes for the glass holders

Use the hole saw to create the holes for your lights
The tealight holders are then placed safely in the holes

You need: impact drill, 7-piece hole cutter set, g-clamps

Secure the plank firmly to your work surface with the screw clamps; you’ll need both hands to hold the impact drill. Position the drill on the first centre point you marked up and, holding the drill upright, apply light pressure to start drilling. The hole saw should be around 1 cm smaller than the upper rim of the tealight holders you’re using. Make sure that your impact drill can be used with this size hole saw.

Step 4 6

Sand down the edges

The plank is sanded down
To make sure your decoration is smooth, simply sand down the edges

Now sand down the edges you've just sawn by moving the multi-sander evenly over the surface, in one direction, without applying pressure. Afterwards, clean up the saw dust with a dustpan and brush or a lightly dampened microfibre cloth.

Step 5 6

Decide on the height of your hanging decoration

The rope for the garden hanging lights is cut
The rope for the garden hanging lights is cut
The rope for the garden hanging lights is cut

You need: ruler, scissors, rope

Not long to go now! Cut the rope that the plank of wood will hang from. The length is up to you and depends on how low you want the tealights to hang. Find a suitable place to hang them – and try out a few options to see which one looks the best. Perhaps from the ceiling? Or maybe a tree branch? The decision is yours. Once you've cut four pieces of rope of equal length (one for each corner), tie a knot in the end of each one and thread them through the holes.

Step 6 6

The finishing touch

Your decorative garden lights are finished
After all your hard work, now it’s time to enjoy the finished product: light some candles, sit back and relax

You need: tealights, glass holders

Tie together the top ends of the four pieces of rope and insert the tealight holders into the holes. Then simply hang up your decoration, light the candles and enjoy.

Tip
INSIDER TIP: HANG YOUR TEALIGHTS FROM THE CEILING

You’ll need: ceiling hook, drill and drill bit (based on type of ceiling), anchor

Want to hang your decoration from the ceiling? No problem! The best way is with a ceiling hook. Mark the spot you’d like to hang it from with a pencil. You can find out which type of drill and drill bit are suitable for your ceiling here. Once you know that, you can start drilling. For a step-by-step guide on how to drill holes in walls, click here. It’s exactly the same process for ceilings. Simply insert the anchor, screw the hook tightly and suspend your lights from it.