DIY Projects & Crafts Holiday Crafts Christmas Crafts Shooting Stars Outdoor Lighting To create striking outdoor lighting this holiday season, string several of these shooting stars in your yard. By Martha Stewart Editors Martha Stewart Editors Facebook Instagram Twitter Website An article attributed to "Martha Stewart Editors" indicates when several writers and editors have contributed to an article over the years. These collaborations allow us to provide you with the most accurate, up-to-date, and comprehensive information available.The Martha Stewart team aims to teach and inspire readers daily with tested-until-perfected recipes, creative DIY projects, and elevated home and entertaining ideas. They are experts in their fields who research, create, and test the best ways to help readers design the life they want. The joy is in the doing. Editorial Guidelines Updated on September 23, 2018 Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: VICTORIA PEARSON 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 and our entire collection of Christmas Lights. What You'll Need 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 Instructions Spray paint star-shaped wire wreath form. Let dry. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.