Tutorial: Arachno-Danglers

What is it they say? If you can't beat 'em, join 'em right? Yeah that's it.

Inexplicably over the last few years, spiders in large numbers (yes, actual real-life spiders) have taken up residence in our house. So much so that if I pass the vacuum today, thereby sucking up all the webs and presumably destroying all the spiders, by tomorrow the webs will all be there AGAIN in the very same spots as though I were merely a ghost and my work, only a dream. It's almost like my vacuum was the local arachnid hotel. A place where the construction crews assemble, have a nice rest, watch some satellite TV, only to start their home-building activities again in the morning. What is going on, I ask? Has an advertisement gone out via the web decreeing that our house is some sort of land of arthropodic opportunity, a place where eight-legs can live in peace and harmony, where house flies abound, and nooks meet crannies in the most advantageous way? Have they all decided that my little house is where they are going to converge for the duration? If so, I don't understand why.

Having said that, there isn't much I can do about it. I don't believe in pesticides and I point-blank refuse to vacuum more than once a day, not to mention that I don't have a constant desire for rain.

So I've decided in the spirit of Halloween, to accept and even embrace the little buggers, and make even more of them. That's right. I made more.

Here's how...

TUTORIAL: Arachno-Danglers

You will need:

• Plastic bottles (If you don't have any, don't buy them. Go out on a treasure hunt like I did here or ask your neighbours if they have any to donate!)
• Exacto knife and a pair of scissors
• String
• A drill and tiny drill bit
• Black acrylic paint
• Small paint brush
• Fishing line
• Large sewing needle
• Newspaper to catch the paint drippings

1. Using your drill, make 2 little holes on either side of the bottle opening.
2. Drill 1 little hole in the very bottom of the bottle.

Referring to the photo below:

3. Using an Exacto knife, cut your bottle in two where the curved top meets the straight cylindrical part of the bottle.
4. Paint the inside of both pieces. To paint the cylindrical part, I dumped a little paint inside and swished it around until the whole inner surface was black. The other piece, I painted with a little paintbrush.
5. Let any excess paint drip out onto newspaper.
6. Let the paint dry.

7. Once dry you can cut the cylindrical part as shown in the photo below (yours is painted). Yes, our spider has more than eight legs. He has mutated. Be kind; we're all different.

8. With the piece right side up, bend the legs back and fold them near the top. Fold them again at the "knee".

9. Take the small top section and cut it as shown to make eight legs (yours is painted).

10. Fold the legs back. Add knees if you wish. I made some with knees and some without.

11. Using the sewing needle, thread some fishing line through the drill holes to make hangers.

See? Your arachno-danglers are ready to sway on the breeze!

There goes the happy family now!

Enjoy, and have yourself a wonderful day!