Post #360515 by GatorRob on Mon, Feb 11, 2008 8:53 AM

If you want to make a good repro yourself the EASY way, complete with light, for under $35, follow me...

I don't take credit for this idea, because it came from the combined ideas of Polynesiac and Howland. But their ideas were in separate threads, so I'll combine them here for easy future reference.

You will need:

• IKEA makes a 10" glass ball lamp. It is frosted white. $13
• IKEA also sells a 7 W compact flourescent bulb. I noticed they don't sell the bulbs online, but hopefully you can find the low wattage ones like this at Home Depot or Lowe's. $4.50 each.
• A cotton (not nylon) basketball net. I got mine from Sports Authority. $6
• A package of dark brown Rit Dye from the grocery store or Target or a fabric store. $2
• Stained glass spray from a craft store like Michaels. $6

If you have an IKEA near you (as I do), great. Otherwise you can order the lamp from their website, but you will have to pay for shipping, which is probably not a big deal if you are ordering several.

1. Spray the lamp with the stained glass spray. It helps to have the lamp turned on so you can see the effect you are getting and so that you can spray evenly. You may have to do a couple of coats.
2. Weave a piece of cotton rope (or a piece from another basketball net as I did) through the bottom of the basketball net to form a circle a couple of inches in diameter. Tie off the ends and hot glue the knot. This will cradle the lamp ball, so it needs to be secure.
3. Dye the net for about 15 minutes. The dye is really dark, so I didn't leave it in too long.
4. Once everything dries, assemble it and tie off the netting at the top.

That's all there is to it. Thanks Polynesiac and Howland for two great ideas! Worked like a champ. I'm definitely making more of these. They will look great alongside the real glass floats I have (that I am definitely not cutting a hole into). I'll post some pictures, hopefully tonight.