How to Make Embroidery Hoop Orbs
I accidentally went on a bender buying up a ton of embroidery hoops. I got this crazy deal on far more than I’ll ever need from eBay. Though the listing said that they all came from a smoke-free home when I opened the box it reeked. The smell was so strong that I tossed the whole thing outside to air out, totally disappointed. So then I bought up another lot of embroidery hoops off of eBay and this time half of them were broken. So then I went to the craft store and bought up a ton when they had this 40% off of everything coupon happening and so now here I am with a TON of embroidery hoops. I suppose of all the things I could have gone crazy one, embroidery hoops isn’t all that bad, but still 🙂
Now these hoops that went outside warped and I was so disappointed, especially since these were the newest out of any I had gotten in my two eBay orders. So they’ve sat tucked away until I thought of a way I could use them… I could try to make an orb out of them to plant my air planter that, otherwise will have a very short life. You see my kitty, Marla, seems to think they are quite tasty and I only have one left. An orb seemed a good place to keep one since I can hang it on the wall. In the end, I’m quite happy with my little project and glad I could finally find a use for my warped hoops!
For this project you will need:
- Wood embroidery hoops
(one with closure, 3 without) - Wood glue
- Clamp
- Air plant
- Hot glue
- Baker’s twine
(one with closure, 3 without)
You’ll need 3 inner hoops and one outer (with the closure on it).
Play with them a moment and you’ll see that the inner hoops can be placed within one another.
Put all three hoops together and glue them in place with wood glue. Take care to space the hoops apart evenly. Turn the orb from all angles to make sure it seems consistent. Allow drying, for at least an hour.
Now you’ll take your hoop with the closure. Open it up all of the ways (here the screw is completely gone.
Wrap it around your orb taking care to center the closure on one of the inner hoops.
Place a dab of glue inside of the closure and then screw tight.
Because the inner hoops are all the same size there’s going to be a gap in one place or another. See there at the bottom? No worries, though, it is easy enough to fix.
Apply glue in the gap and then use a clamp to hold tight for the glue to take hold. Allow to dry, overnight is best.
This is my lone air plant, the survivor.
Using low-temperature hot glue affix the plant to the inside bottom of the orb.
Attach baker’s twine, or another string, to the closure to hang.
I’ve got my hoop orb hanging with my DIY floral dreamcatcher I made here and the whole scene makes me quite happy!
It also doesn’t hurt that it’s hanging from a moose antler 🙂 Safely away from kitty, I have the best of hope for this guy… good luck, little air plant!
A crafter since her earliest years, Allison spends a little time every day making something. She crafts, sews, paints, glues things onto other things, and is a firm believer that a life spent creating is a life worth living. Visit Allison’s blog, Dream {a Little} BIGGER.