We have been working here and there on the nursery. Design is not my forte, and we are on a tight budget, so it takes me a long time to make decisions. Finally, I found a light fixture option that had was I was looking for aesthetically and in the price department. A tutorial for a faux capiz shell chandelier on Pinterest that really caught my eye, so I followed the tutorial at Freshly Picked, with a few changes.
Here is how to make your own.
Supplies
Parchment Paper
Old metal-frame lamp shade or metal basket
Wax Paper (2 boxes, cheap store brand is OK)
White Thread (1-2 spools)
1.75'' Circle Punch (I used Fiskars Lever Punch, X-Large, Circle
)
1'' Circle Punch (I used the Marth Stewart 1-Inch Punch Circle
. My one issue is it can't cut single circles, you must double up. That was OK for this project but might be a pain in the future)
Swag Hooks
(I got the set at Home Depot, it anchors right in the ceiling and will hold 30 lbs)
Total Cost- About $30. The circle punches can be pricey, watch Joann's for sales.
Total Time - I made this over the course of 4 days, it was rather tedious and time consuming. I'd guess about 10 hours. Definitely a great project to do with a friend or while watching a movie!
1. Layer 3 two-foot strips of wax paper between piece of parchment paper. Four layers is about the most I could do. Iron your stack of papers, and don't be shy! The more you iron, the more wrinkly and capiz-esque your paper will look. Remove ironed wax paper layers, and replace with fresh sheets. You can, of course, reuse the parchment paper. Repeat this for, what feels like, a thousand times.
2. Accordion fold the wax paper and punch away.
3. Strip down your lamp shade to the bare metal. If needed or desired, add an extra row of wire for an additional tier. I didn't get a 'before' shot, but this should give you an idea.
4. Now that you have your large and small circles cut out, it is time to arrange them. First you need to know what length of strips to make. I put my lampshade frame up against the ceiling, and measured from the bottom how long I wanted- about 11''. That meant I wanted to make roughly 22'' long strips, that I then folded over the frame. I used a pencil to lightly mark 22'' on my desk, and laid out a row of circles, intermixing large and small at random.
At first, I did this for each individual strip. This takes forever! To save time, once you've laid out a strip, make at least 5 piles of layered circles in matching order.
5. Then you just chain stitch sew each of the six strips, and start again.
6. As you go, you can layer the strips onto your frame. Once you finish a section, cover the top with a stripe of hot glue to keep in place.
7. Remove your previous light fixture, and hang up completed chandelier in it's place with swag hooks.
8. Step back and enjoy your beautiful new chandelier!
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Light off, in the afternoon |
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Light on, nighttime |