Tips for Decorating a Chandelier

Sweet and Simple Chandelier Adornments
All you need to transform your chandelier is a little inspiration. Take a look at your home décor and try a few of these ideas using colors or materials that best fit your space. Even if you don’t have a standard chandelier at home you can create a brand new look for a chandelier found at a garage sale, thrift or home improvement store.

• Consider painting your fixture. They take paint very well and once you have given your chandelier a new color you can add embellishments that will make it unique. If you decide to paint, look for spray primers and paints made specifically for metals.
• Strings of beads. Bead strands will all look great whether you use strands that are long, medium or small with semi-precious, wooden or crystal beads. Use the ones that best fit your style.
• Ornament. Add larger pieces using simple wire hooks. Glass balls, crimson or pink prisms, ornaments, flowers– the sky is the limit. These accessories are so easy and impermanent you can change the embellishments from season to season or just to suit your mood.
• Outfit. There are wonderful arrays of shades available for chandeliers. They are made of suede, linen, satin, and are sometimes lined in gold or silver. They do wonders for the overall look of a basic chandelier and shades alone can create a simple and changeable improvement.

Keepsake Chandelier
One of the sweetest things in life is sentimentality. Keepsakes are the little items that we use to remember special moments. While a collection of keepsakes can be a peek into who we are, we don’t want to clutter the home with too many things.

Here is a sweet but stylish solution that offers both a sentimental and beautiful look for your home. Simply decorate a standard chandelier with tokens of love and sweetness. Pull from your keepsakes- small items with beauty and personal meaning and use them as charms to hang from a chandelier.

You can display the chandelier where it currently is in the dining room or kitchen or hang in the family room or reading nook as a useful and beautiful reminder of the sweeter moments in life.

An assortment of keepsakes could include:

Small figurines/ceramic pieces
Jewelry: necklace charms, costume pins, button earrings, baby bracelets etc.
Decorative keys
Photos in small frames
Special notes
Small cards
Vacation souvenirs
Tiny gift books
Fun key chains

Feel free to use your imagination and choose items that are truly special to you. They just need to be small to medium in size.

MATERIALS
Keepsakes
Jewelry wire
Wire ornament hooks
Wire cutters
Small hole punch (for any paper items)
A large work table surface covered with a heavy towel

INSTRUCTIONS
Preparing the Chandelier and Keepsakes

1. Clean the chandelier and remove any prisms, shades and light bulbs (if applicable). To work on the chandelier, lay it carefully on a table.
2. If you are painting your chandelier take it outside and lay on craft paper or newspaper to spray paint. Tape off any portions you do not want to paint, including any electrical contact points. Follow drying instructions on the spray cans and let dry completely before taking inside.
3. Begin to pull from your collection of objects and arrange next to your chandelier. Choose the items you are sure you want on the chandelier and play with placement and composition using your selections.
4. Pay attention to size, scale and color, but don’t worry about being cautious; this project is meant to be a display of your personal expression.

Preparing Objects for Hanging

1. Wrap or string the items with jewelry wire or attach ornament hooks to objects.

Attaching Items to the Chandelier

1. Before beginning to attach the items, re-hang the chandelier where you’d like it to stay. If you can, keep it lower for ease of adornment. If not, be sure that you use a stable safety ladder or step ladder.
2. At the key points on the chandelier structure begin to attach items to each point by neatly wrapping jewelry wire around the chandelier. Simply cut off any excess with wire cutters. Additional items can be added later, so hit all of the obvious points first.
3. Hang items using ornament hooks on the chandelier arms as well. Bend the hook around the arms to secure and cut off any excess with wire cutters.

Feel free to also add shades, ornaments or strings of beads as mentioned earlier.

Pendant Lampshades
Using simple felt fabric and a creative folding technique, you can easily transform plain lampshades into colorful centerpieces that will light up any room.

MATERIALS
Pendant lamp
Felt (1-1 1/2 yards, or 20 sheets)
Hot glue gun
Scissors

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Using your scissors, cut your felt into small circles, approximately 1-2” in diameter. The circles do not need to be perfect—you can even cut them into varying sizes to add a more textured look to your finished piece.
2. To begin adhering the felt pieces to your lamp, fold each circle in half and draw a thin line of glue down the crease. Place the piece on your lampshade and press down firmly to secure.
3. Continue adding circles, letting the pieces overlap slightly until the entire surface is filled. Allow the glue to dry, then place the shade back on your lamp.

Tip: Start with plain white felt, then use fabric coloring—available at most craft stores—to dip-dye your material to the ideal hue.

Crystal Candlelight Chandelier
Give the look of gentle candlelight without the worry of an open flame with this easy-to-craft chandelier, perfect for hanging indoors or out.

MATERIALS
Small fluted glasses
Sand
Battery-operated flickering candles
Curtain rod
Monofilament fishing wire
Crystal charms

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Pour a small amount of sand into each glass, varying the amounts in each glass for added interest. Insert a candle into the sand.
2. Using monofilament fishing wire, securely wrap each glass onto a decorative curtain rod. Use additional wire to attach crystal charms to the rod, or drop directly into the glasses.
3. Using proper mounting hardware, suspend the curtain rod above a window.

Your new piece will be uniquely yours, filled with precious memories of love and sweetness. It will become a treasured feature in your home décor that is certain to create joy and conversation for many years.