DIY Chandelier

I really wanted a chandelier for my front entry. 

I was craving a little bit of girly glamour :) 

Here's the catch...I just really didn't want to spend the money on one. There are some beautiful ones out there, like really really gorgeous ones, but really, would they give me the same satisfaction as this little beauty that I threw together with my bare hands? ;) And sweat...and maybe a few tears. Well, glass teardrops, that is. 

There's something very satisfying about making things. Why is that? Maybe it's just me. I especially enjoy making things out of junk. (Does dollar store stuff qualify as junk?) :)

But seriously...Isn't she cute?

I wanted it to look a little eclectic and not too perfect. Besides, it makes it easier to put together if you're going for a sort of "rough" look!

Ok....this is how it was done. 

I started with a somewhat cute, but way too small, glass light fixture that happened to be hanging there already. I removed all of the little glass teardrop/chandelier parts and got down to the bare bones.

Then I rigged up a hanging basket frame that I bought at the Dollar store for, you guessed it, $1.

These are the lovely glass pieces from the original light fixture.

And these are some beads that I found for $2.99 and strung onto some plastic wire. (Pain in the butt!)

I forgot to take some pictures of the vintage necklaces that I used, but you can imagine them....the kind you see in thrift shops and garage sales. I used all sorts of pearls, glass beads, etc.

I sort of just strung them up and wrapped them around, and attached them to the top glass piece of the old light fixture (it so happened to have little wire loops all around it). 

Then, I hung the original glass teardrops all around on the necklaces and there you have it....

all done.

(I'm still considering adding some wispy ribbon pieces to the inside of it, so that the light is more filtered, but that's for another day)

For now, it's a sparkly, twinkly little piece of vintage loveliness :)

As lovely as this little 'bundle of junk' turned out, if I'd known there were beautiful chandeliers like this one pictured below for such a crazy-cheap price, I might have saved myself the bother and just ordered one ;)

Crystal Chandelier $88.00