Floating Ornaments

I picked up these silver ball ornaments from target (for only 1.00 for 16!) and I wasn't sure what to do with them. I thought it would be really cool if they were all floating at different levels from the fireplace. BUT, I didn't want to "hurt" our fireplace by putting a bunch of nails or tacks in it. So, I thought I could devise a way to do it without the holes in the fireplace and without some big bulky hanging device! Here's how I did it:

First I got a thin piece of basswood (1/8" x 4" x 24") and cut it with an xacto knife so I had a skinny piece (approximately 1" wide) and a thicker piece (approximately 3" wide). The basswood can be found at any craft store and the length doesn't really matter, as long as it's as long as you want your ornaments to hang. You'll also need a thin dowel and two smaller pieces the width of the skinny piece (to go on the ends of the box you are going to create.) You will also need clear fishing wire and glue.

Once you have your skinny piece cut, glue the small pieces to each end of the skinny piece. It'll look a little something like this:

Then, once those are dry, attach the dowel (cut to the same length as the skinny piece) to the center of each end piece:

Attach the skinny piece to the wider piece by glueing the 1/8" sides together, essentially creating an "extension" of the wider piece (the skinny piece with dowel and end pieces). Spray paint it white (or whatever your fireplace is) and cut the fishing wires to various lengths. Then, tie each piece of fishing wire all along the dowel like so:

Here's a diagram (i tried.... haha) that may help you visualize:

Finally, at the end of each wire, attache the ornament. You can lay the "device" on top of your fireplace and let the ornaments "float" along the fireplace. :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!