Start with a wire hanging basket. Spray it and its chain the color you choose. I used the color 'nutmeg' by Rustoleum. Buy 10 ft. of white 2 wire cord and a white plug. I got mine at Home Depot. They connected them for me so I had what is called a 'whip'.
Then purchase a lamp socket. Mine was black so I stuffed newspaper inside and spray painted it white. At Home Depot they will connect this for you as well.
I got lucky. The guy who helped me at Home Depot was SO helpful. He helped me find the pieces I needed and helped me customize anything that wasn't exactly right.
Buy a washer and some plastic connectors, too.
The guy at home depot filed the washer so it fit exactly inside the 'top' hole and then we super glued it in place. Make sure you do a line of super glue along the top and the inside. Once that is complete you can spray paint a touch up coat OR spray paint for the first time.
Strip the ends of your wire and stick inside the plastic connectors. Using a lighter melt the plastic until it is sealed. This will help it to be safer and keep the connectors on. Then unscrew the little screws on your socket, put the round ends of the connectors on the holes and then screw your screws back in. Don't forget to buy a light bulb making sure your wattage isn't too high. I went with 25 watts. Perfect for my project. Soft light that won't melt the plastic.
NOTE: I am NOT an electrician. I had the Home Depot electrical guy do everything so I wouldn't electrocute myself. Be careful!!!
Put the end of your socket up through the hole and then use the washer to keep it in place. The chain can be used to hang your chandelier. It is a good idea not to rely on the cord to hang your chandelier. It's better to use the chain and just drape the cord up over the ceiling hooks to get it out of the way. Doing this insures that your chandelier will hang level.
I couldn't find any 'crystals' at the craft stores so I bought a strip of trim that had them on it and just cut the bits I needed off. I kept the fabric of the trim for a little later in the project.
Using a cricut machine set on 3 and 3 1/2 (NOT real dial size) with the 'Wild Card' cartridge I cut birds from one side of the paper and the back side so I could have them double sided with the print of the paper I like showing on both sides.
Using various beads that coordinated I made three crystal hangers that I hung off the place the chain used to connect. I embellished my birds once they were cut out.
I also added a little 'bling' at the bottom of the string that I hung my birdies from. This weights it down and adds a little embellishment. With the birds 'open' put a glob of Tacky Glue and then stick your birds together over the thread. This seals the thread in and glues your two sides together.
Do as many on a string as you like/ as will fit. Mine each had four birds. I hung them from every-other curlicue so they wouldn't be too dense.
When I was done I felt it was a little plain so I glued (with tacky glue, I figured hot glue couldn't hold up to extended heat from the light bulb) some fringe around the bottom and around the socket (note: the fringe on the socket is the fringe leftover from where I got the crystals).
I added some tulle around the hook to disguise the hook a little.
1 comment:
How fun is this?!? You created a real focal point rather than just a typical light.. very whimsical!
And I appreciate your info on wiring. I had NO idea Home Depot would help with something like this.
Thanks for linking up to SNS!
FJ Donna
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