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Outdoor Lighting: Shooting Stars

To create striking outdoor lighting this holiday season, string several of these shooting stars in your yard.

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Photography: Victoria Pearson

Source: Martha Stewart Living, December 2007

Introduction

We hung our comets in trees that were 10 to 12 feet apart. To determine how many feet of lights you will need, measure the distance between the trees, add 8 to 12 inches (so the tail forms a swag), and multiply this number by 8.

For more ideas and installation tips, see Nights All Aglow.

materials

  • White spray paint

  • 24-inch star-shaped wire wreath form

  • 12-foot strand of rope lights

  • Small zip ties

  • Drill with 3/16-inch bit

  • 44-inch-long strip of 1-by-2-inch pine

  • Six 2-inch binder rings

  • Large, heavy-duty zip ties

  • 100-bulb strands of white wire mini lights

steps

  1. Spray paint star-shaped wire wreath form. Let dry.

  2. Plug in rope lights, and secure end to an outer point on the star with a small zip tie. Trim tie end. Wrap rope lights around outermost wire of star; secure strand with small zip ties (rope lights will not wrap an even number of times around the star). Trim tie ends.

  3. Drill 5 holes into pine strip, spacing the first hole 2 inches from the top and other holes 10 inches apart. Place binder ring in each hole.

  4. Attach 2 adjacent outer points of star to tree trunk with large zip ties. (If necessary, thread zip ties together to reach around tree.) Trim tie ends. Attach remaining binder ring to inner point of star, opposite side fixed to tree.

  5. Attach strip to second tree by lashing it vertically to trunk with large zip ties, positioning strip's top 3 to 4 feet lower than bottom of star. Trim tie ends.

  6. To make comet tails, secure prong end of mini lights to top binder ring on strip with small zip tie. Trim tie end. Pass light strand through binder ring on star, below left, and back toward strip, below right, plugging in more light strands as needed. Insert strand through next binder ring down on strip, and loop it back through star's ring. Repeat, finishing at strip's bottom ring.

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