DIY Chandelier

Hi my name is Rachelle and I have a Chandelier addiction. Can you be addicted if you've never had one?

This was what used to hang in my living room:

Oh sweetness. That is hideous. 

Something had to be done. I had seen chandeliers online and in antique stores going for $150+...way over my teeny budget. What is a DIYer to do? I think you know. I knew that I wanted one with a fairly classic shape. It has been my mission every time I go to the B (thrift store) or the ReStore to find a chandelier with potential minus the hefty price tag. This is what I came up with:

Don't be alarmed. There is a happy ending to this story.

One of the best things about this beauty? $5. That's right. Now one thing that I would recommend before you put a bunch of time and effort into making over your ugly duckling of a chandy--make SURE it works. I'm not quite speaking from experience (I was lucky) but I will tell you I almost had a heart attack from the anticipation as it was being hung. Like oh-goodness-what-if-i-just-spent-all-that-time-and-valuable-spray-paint-on-this-POS-and-now-the-darn-thing-won't-work type of heart attack. The kind where you hold your breath. But TA-DA!

Joy of all joys, it worked. Now here's what I did-

:: Gather supplies
             :: Chandy,
             :: spray paint
             :: wire (whatever gauge you prefer)
             :: cheap-o pearls ($.50 @the B)
             :: crystal looking beads (Hobby Lobby $5 (except they were 50% off God bless HL) so $2.50)
:: Wipe the thing down.
:: Put tin foil in the sockets to avoid getting paint on them...don't know if this matters, but I didn't want to chance it.
:: Spray Paint!! I used Krylon's Coral Isle. Perfection.
:: Prep your little dangle-y things (that's what she said...excuse me, I have been watching quite a bit of The Office lately). I threaded 4-ish beads on a wire and curled both ends of the wire into a circle to hold them on. You'll need as many of these as there are arms + 1 for the center. I made the center one with more beads.
:: Cut your pearl strands (mine were about 12" each)
:: Wire the pearls to the arms, and then to the middle (each Chandy is different, so it's hard to tell you how to do this part. Use your best judgement. I just made it up as I went along)
:: Add your little dangle-y crystals, and Voila! Cake easy.

And there you have it, folks.

P.s. Has anyone ever told you how hard it is to take a picture of lighting? I had about 80 pictures that turned out like this before I got a good one:

Have any of you done something fun with lighting lately?

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