Make a Hanging Cloud

There are few things as relaxing and inspiring as clouds. Unfortunately, you can't always go outside to look at them. Instead of missing out on them, why not read this wikiHow to learn how to make some hanging clouds for your room?

10 Second Summary

1. Open up a white paper lantern.
2. Hot glue clumps of polyester stuffing to the lantern.
3. Gently pull on the polyester tufts until the cloud is fluffy.
4. Add some LED lights into the lantern, if desired.
5. Tie some fishing line to the top of your cloud.
6. Hang the cloud from a hook.

Steps

Making a Basic Cloud

1. Cut four strands of wire with wire cutters. How long the wires are will depend on how big you want your cloud to be. You will be folding these wires into a ring, so keep this in mind. Make sure that all of the wires are the same length.
2. Twist the wires into rings. Take your first wire, and overlap the two ends by 1 inch (2.54 centimeters). Twist the ends to hold the ring together. Repeat this step for the other wires.
3. Tuck the first ring into the second one, crosswise. Hold one right horizontally. Hold the other ring above it, vertically. Slight the vertical ring into the horizontal one halfway. Your two rings will make a cross.
4. Secure the cross. You can do this by putting beads of hot glue on the joints between the two rings. You can also tie the joints together with some more wire. Be sure to tuck any sharp ends into the wire "orb."
5. Add the other two rings to form an X and complete your frame. Slip the third ring over your frame at a left angle. Secure it to the joints between the other rings with hot glue or more wire. Repeat this step with the fourth ring, but insert it at a right angle. These two new rings should form an X.
6. Hot glue polyester stuffing to the wire frame. Pull off a long strip of polyester stuffing. Draw a squiggle of hot glue across it, then wrap it over your frame. Make sure that it covers at least two rings.
   • Work quickly. Hot glue sets fast.
7. Continue hot gluing polyester stuffing to the frame. Keep doing this until most of your frame is covered. Be careful not to wrap the frame too tightly, or your will distort it.
8. Fill in the gaps with smaller tufts of polyester stuffing. Once you have most of your cloud covered, pull out smaller tufts of polyester. Draw a swirl of hot glue, then press it against the cloud.
9. Fluff the cloud out. If your cloud looks too much like a ball, gently pull here and there on the tufts to bring them out. This will make your orb look more lumpy and cloud–like than like cotton candy. Don't pull too much, however, of the polyester stuffing won't hold together.
10. Tie a piece of fishing line to your cloud. Cut a long piece of fishing line. Dig through your cloud until you find a joint between two wire rings. Tie the fishing line to the joint.
11. Attach the cloud to the ceiling. Get some tape and tape your hanging cloud to the ceiling. For a stronger hold, screw a ceiling hook into your ceiling. Tie a loop into the end of the fishing line. Slip the loop over the ceiling hook.
12. Finished.

Making a Lighted Cloud

1. Open up a white paper lantern. If you'd like a larger cloud, hot glue one or two smaller paper lanterns to a larger one.
2. Hot glue a clump of polyester stuffing to the lantern. Pick off a large, cotton candy-sized lump of polyester stuffing. Draw a swirl of hot glue, then press the stuffing against the lantern.
   • Work quickly. Hot glue sets up fast.
3. Continue hot gluing clumps to the lantern. Alternate between large, small, and medium-sized clumps. Be sure to cover the top and bottom of the lanterns as well.
4. Fill in the gaps with smaller tufts of stuffing. This time, apply the hot glue directly onto the lantern, then quickly press the stuffing into the glue. If you glued multiple lanterns together, be sure to fill the seams between the lanterns.
5. Fluff the lantern out. Gently pull on the polyester tufts until the cloud is fluffy. Make some of the tufts larger than others. This will make your cloud look more cloud-like and less like cotton candy.
6. Add some lights. For something quick and easy, tuck a battery-operated LED light into the lantern. Alternatively, you can fill the lantern with white string lights. If you use the icicle kind, you can even pull the strands out through the bottom of the cloud to make it look like rain.
   • Make sure that the lights doesn't generate too much heat and never leave them unattended.
7. Tie some fishing line to the top of your cloud. Dig through the the fluff until you find the top hanging wire of your lantern. Tie some fishing line to it. If you attached multiple lanterns together, be sure to tie some fishing line to each one. Cover the gap at the top of the lantern back up when you are done.
8. Hang the cloud. Insert some hooks into the ceiling. Tie small loops into the end of your fishing line. Slip the loops over the hooks. You will need one hook per lantern. This means that if your cloud is made from three lanterns, you will need three hooks.

Making a Simple Cloud

1. Tear off a fist-sized chunk of polyester stuffing. You can find polyester stuffing in craft stores and fabric shops. This method is suitable for smaller clouds about the size of your hand.
2. Pull the stuffing apart to make it larger and fluffier. Hold the stuffing between your hangs and tug on it at various places. Pull some chunks out more than others.
3. Continue shaping your cloud. A little bit of stuffing goes a long way, so your cloud can get up to twice its size. Avoid making it too large, however, or it won't hold its shape. For a more realistic cloud, consider making the bottom flatter and less fluffy than the top and sides.
4. Wrap a short piece of wire around a pen or pencil to make a coil. Use a pair of wire cutters to cut a short piece of wire. You can also use a short piece of white pipe cleaner. Wrap the wire around a pen or pencil to make a coil, then pull it off.
5. Make a small loop in the end of the coil. Gently pull the coil apart first, so that it is more like a spring. Use a piece of pliers to twist the wire at the end of the coil into a small loop. If you are using a pipe cleaner, you can use a pencil instead.
6. Twist the coil into the cloud. Keep twisting it, like a screw, until just the looped end is sticking out. This will help anchor the string into your cloud.
7. Tie some string to the loop. The best type of string would be clear thread or fishing line, but you can use regular thread as well. How long you cut the string depends on how far down from the ceiling you want the cloud to hang.
8. Attach the cloud to the ceiling. These clouds are pretty light, so you can tape the other end of the string to the ceiling. If you want a stronger hold, screw a hook into the ceiling. Tie the end of the string into a loop, then slip the loop over the hook.

Tips

• Make a few clouds if you'd like the outcome; a ceiling with several clouds can look really awesome.
• Add a bit of color to your clouds to give them that sunset color.
• Hot glue sets up fast, so work quickly.
• Consider painting your paper lantern with glow-in-the-dark paint first. Your cloud will have a subtle glow.
• Don't over-fluff your cloud. If you pull on the stuffing too much, it will lose its shape and fall apart.

Warnings

• Polyester stuffing is flammable. Do not put clouds near any heat source (lamps, ceiling lights, etc)

Things You'll Need

Basic Cloud

• Polyester stuffing
• 24 gauge steel galvanized wire
• Wire cutters
• Thread or fishing line
• Tape or wall hook

Lighted Cloud

• White paper lantern
• Polyester stuffing
• Hot glue gun
• Hot glue sticks
• Fishing line
• Scissors
• Ceiling hooks
• Battery-operated LED lights or string lights

Simple Cloud

• Polyester stuffing
• Thin wire
• Wire cutters
• Needle nose pliers
• Scissors
• Fishing line
• Tape or ceiling hook

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Sources and Citations

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