Chandelier Tutorial

As promised, here is the tutorial for the chandelier I made to go with my new ceiling. It was very simple!

In the classifieds online I found an old brass light fixture. I was not in love with the brass but the shape was perfect! It was $15.00. I totally think I over paid. I probably could have found a better deal but I was in a hurry. . . because I am impatient. Plus I wanted to be able to have the chandelier done when I revealed the ceiling.

I took it outside and hung it from a tree so I could paint it. I might be crazy, but now I totally want a chandelier for my tree!

Krylon is my FAVORITE brand of spray paint. And I got this kind because it says metal AND "no sanding or priming". Gotta love that!

I sprayed several thin coats. If you try to do thick coats of paint it will run and you will have drips everywhere.

Since it was pretty cold I brought it in and hung it inside to dry. I then started on the beads/jewels. I bought a ton of options knowing I probably wouldn't use them all. But since I didn't have a certain design in mind I wanted to make sure I had plenty to choose from.

I ended up only using the mardi gras necklaces and one pack of the tear drop shaped beads.

Here is how I wired the beads that hang from the center of the chandelier.

I made a round part for the last pearl on the string to fit through. The the twisted part got wrapped around the string just above the last pearl. I cut off any extra wire.

Click on this picture to see what I mean.

Then I cut a wire that was long enough to go around the center of light. I attached these jewels to that wire and wrapped it around the center of the light.

Some of the necklaces were cut into 6 equal strips. I used wire the attach the first pearl to the bottom of the "arm" and then I wired  the last pearl to the top of the "arm".

I wired 2 necklaces together so it would be long enough to drape . They got draped across the skinny part of the arms. Each time the arm and the necklace touched I used wire to hold it in place.

Once everything was wired into place I took it outside again to spray paint. I wanted it to be all white. I forgot to take a picture of it before I painted the jewels. It looked alright except you could see the wire. Now it blends right in!

In total, with the paint, wire, and beads ( I returned what I didn't use) it cost just over $11.00. Add that to the $15.00 of the light itself and you get one cheap chandelier! Not too shabby.