So, I decided to tackle a little something I’ve been calling my “floater friend” project. My workspace, well, it tends to get a bit cluttered, you know? I had this tiny little air plant that I really liked, but it just kept getting buried under papers or knocked about. It needed its own special spot, somewhere up and out of the way, but still visible.
My first crack at this was, let’s be honest, a bit of a flop. I thought, “How hard can it be?” I found a small, thin piece of leftover wood from another project. My grand idea was to use some of that super strong double-sided sticky tape to fix it to the side of my computer monitor. Bad idea. Really bad. It held for maybe an hour, just long enough for me to forget about it, then crash! Luckily, the plant was okay, landed on a soft pile of mail, but the “shelf” was a no-go. That tape was definitely not up to the job, or maybe the wood was heavier than I thought.
I wasn’t about to give up, though. I still wanted my little plant to have its elevated perch. I started thinking, it needs to be really lightweight, almost like it’s not even there. That’s where the “floater” idea really took hold. I was rummaging through some old craft supplies, and I found a sheet of clear, fairly stiff plastic – the kind you get from packaging sometimes. It was thin, super light, and best of all, transparent!
Here’s how I went about making the actual “floater friend” this time around:
- First off, I cut a small rectangle from the plastic sheet, about the size of a coaster. Used a sharp craft knife and a ruler for this, trying to get the edges neat.
- Next, I took a nail file – yeah, a regular nail file – and just gently smoothed the edges where I’d cut. Didn’t want any sharp bits. It’s not like I have a workshop full of tools, so you use what you’ve got, right?
- Then came the “floating” mechanism. This was the bit I was most excited about. I decided to use fishing line because it’s strong and practically invisible. I poked two tiny holes near one edge of the plastic rectangle, about an inch apart, using the tip of my craft knife, very carefully.
- I threaded a length of fishing line through these holes, tied a knot to make a loop, kind of like how you’d hang a tiny picture frame.
- For the anchor point, I used one of those small, clear adhesive hooks. I stuck it on the underside of the shelf that’s already above my desk. These hooks are great because they don’t damage surfaces and they’re pretty unnoticeable.
- I then just hung my little plastic platform from the hook using the fishing line loop. I had to fiddle with the length of the line a bit to get it hanging level and at the height I wanted.
And you know what? It totally worked! My little air plant now sits on this clear platform, seemingly suspended in mid-air. Because the plastic and the fishing line are transparent, it really gives off that “floating” vibe. It’s out of the way of my usual desk chaos, gets good light, and I can see it all the time. It’s a simple thing, this “floater friend,” but it makes me smile.
Honestly, the second attempt was way easier than I thought it would be, once I had the right idea. It just goes to show, sometimes the simplest materials and a bit of tinkering can get you exactly what you need. No fancy tools, no complicated plans, just a bit of plastic and some fishing line. Pretty pleased with how my little “floater friend” turned out, and my air plant seems to like its new view!
