11 DIY Outdoor string lights ideas to transform your garden

DIY Outdoor string lights ideas are truly fascinating! During summer months many people spend their evening time outdoors – in the garden, patio or on the balcony. It is not a surprise, really. All of us have been waiting for the warm weather and enjoy spending as much time as possible in the fresh air. Whether you will enjoy a quiet evening with your family or throw a summer garden party, you will have to think about proper lighting for the dark hours.

It is generally accepted that the lighting ends with a garden lantern standing on a table. That could be an ideal choice for an intimate, romantic dinner but if you wanted to entertain family and friends you’d definitely need more light. On the first place, your pathways should be illuminated, so that people walk around your garden safely as well as the dining area. Even if you need outdoor lights not for a garden but for your balcony, why not be creative and make your lights as an easy and interesting craft project? Candles, lanterns, garlands are able to create a special atmosphere in any interior or exterior.

DIY Outdoor string lights ideas – fairy string lights for a magical atmosphere

Nowadays the market offers numerous outdoor light fixtures. Some of them are cheap others come with a hefty price tag. String lights can be found in any hypermarket and they are usually quite inexpensive, but what a wonderful atmosphere you can create with their help!

Today, string lights are widely used as a decorative element not only for holidays like Christmas but as garden lighting. The huge variety of models is a guarantee that everyone will find something to his taste. Most often these are LED lights which are more practical and their energy consumption is quite small. Those of you who prefer a more artistic approach to the exterior design of their home should have a look at these DIY outdoor string lights ideas which will make your garden or balcony unique and will add a festive vibe to any home or party space! Check out the tutorials and see that it is very easy to craft original string lights and the best thing is that you can use super cheap materials.

DIY Cupcake liner fairy lights

Making DIY Cupcake liner fairy lights is really fast. All you need is cupcake liners, string lights and an hour of free time. Here are the materials:

• a string of white string lights
• a package of cupcake liners
• scissors

Instructions:

Spread the string of lights out over a large, flat surface, and separate the cupcake liners.

Poke the lights through the bottoms of the cupcake liners so that the cupcake liners create little lampshades around the lights.

 

DIY Ping Pong fairy lights

Materials:

• Colorful ping pong balls
• String of LED lights
• Scissors

Directions:

Poke a hole into the ping pong balls with the help of scissors and make a few small cuts into the ball. .

Insert a light into every ping pong hole.

Hang your fairy lights and enjoy!

 

DIY paper cups fairy string lights

Materials:

• String lights
• Paper cups
• Craft knife or scissors

Instructions:

Cut a small X in the middle of the base of the cups.

Push the tiny light bulb through the X.

Repeat for each light bulb.

DIY coffee filter fairy light flowers

Materials:

• LED string lights
• Coffee Filters
• Raffia Ribbon
• Green Floral Tape

Instructions:

Pinch a hole into the center of the coffee filters.

Push lights through the base of the filter.

Fold down inside a little and squeeze the filter around the base.

Wrap with floral tape and tie raffia around the base.

Wrap raffia around a pencil to curl.

 

DIY Paper foil star shape garden lights

Materials:

• a strand of regular string lights
• metallic text weight paper or glittery card stock
• star shape punch
• hot glue gun

Directions:

Punch your stars.

With the help of a small circle punch make a hole in the middle of each star.

Slide the paper star the tiny bulbs.

Add a touch of hot glue to keep them in place.

 

Polka Dot Paper Lanterns

Materials:

• empty toilet paper rolls
• acrylic or spray paint
• tacky glue
• tissue paper
• floral wire
• string lights
• exacto knife
• hole punch
• paintbrush

Directions:

Using the exacto knife and cut the toilet paper tubes in half.

Paint your tubes and let dry.

Punch holes all over the tube. You can use two different size hole punches to make your lights more interesting.

Cut a piece of tissue paper the height of the tube and long enough to go around the inside of the tube.

Glue the tissue paper inside the tube with the color facing out through the holes. Let dry.

Make a small hole in on either side of the tube about 1/8″ – 1/4″ from the top of the tube.

Cut a length of floral wire about 5″. Wrap it around the bottom of a bulb on your string lights. Put the ends through the holes you made from the inside out.

Center the bulb inside the lantern and bend the ends of the wire in to secure it.

 

DIY colorful folded paper party lights

Materials:

• String lights
• colorful scrapbook paper,
• scissors,
• glue

Instructions:

Cut a strip of scrapbook paper.

Fold the paper back and forth, accordion style

Once the paper has been folded, glue the two open sides together.

Slide each paper shade onto the light bulbs.

Hang and enjoy!

 

DIY seashell string lights

Materials:

• String of lights
• Seashells (various colors)
• Hot glue gun

Instructions:

Find seashells that are about the same size and make pairs. Make as many pairs as you have lights on your string.

Tape a 2-foot section of lights to your work surface with bulbs lying flat.

Apply a thin layer of epoxy along the hinge edge of a shell, and press into place at the base of a light. Repeat for each bulb.

Let dry about five minutes before continuing with the next section.

 

DIY rattan ball string lights

Materials:

• a string of LED lights
• rattan balls or grapevine balls
• hot glue gun

Instructions:

Insert each light bulb into a rattan ball.

Glue to secure the balls.

DIY pom pom fairy lights garland

Materials:

• a string of LED lights
• pom pom makers
• Yarn

Directions:

Make pom poms from the yarn. You can make them in one color or different colors.

Tie pom poms to the string of lights

 

Punched paper fairy lights

Materials:

• White card stock
• Scissors
• Hole punches in various shapes or sizes
• Holiday lights

Instructions:

Print a template onto card stock.

Punch holes into one side of the light covers. You can use hole punches of different shapes and sizes to make the fairy lights look more interesting.

Fold the covers on the dashed lines.

Overlap the two tabs and punch a hole in the center.

Gently push each light cover onto a bulb.

Plug them in and enjoy!