How to Make a DIY Capiz Shell Chandelier

Well, folks....break out the bubbly, because I've accomplished one of my first goals for 2012. I've officially replaced the spaceship light fixture in my entry. 

Remember what it looked like before?

BEFORE

I always figured it would be awhile before I could tackle this project. I don't know....I guess I always assumed that when you multiply the height of the 2-story ceiling by my desire for "awesomeness" the resulting product would equal "more money than I have."

BEFORE

One day, I was innocently perusing Pinterest and discovered this post from Design Sponge. I immediately sent the link to Adrienne, my design soul sister and an avid DIY-er herself (seriously, the girl is handier with power tools and lumber than most dudes). She gave it her stamp of approval and suggested I go with real capiz shells, instead of the wax paper faux-shells the blog recommends. I was sold. The only remaining obstacle I would have to overcome was convincing Brian that this was a GREAT idea.

{squirming}

I knew this chandelier was a bit more "old Hollywood" than he typically preferred. But, like a bull in a china shop, I shoved my laptop under his nose and waited.

Brian: "Hmm. Looks nice."

{ok, that's good but not necessarily the green light to move forward}

Alison: "Oh, and we wouldn't have to rewire a new light fixture. I can just remove the flying saucer part and attach this to the existing fixture. No need for scaffolding."

Brian: "SAY WHAT? Let's do it!!"


{Squeeee!!}

As you can see below, the frosted saucer-y thing is attached via three hooks, allowing the base to pop right out. Score! By the way, can anyone guess what project I was working on when I took this "Before" picture? Here's a hint.

BEFORE

I purchased a 20" diameter hanging basket from Home Depot, and used an old clothing rack to hold the basket. The inner liner went bye-bye.

In order to make the basket match the existing fixture, I gave it two coats of brushed silver spray paint. 

Two coats layer.....voila!

Once the paint dried, it was time to start attaching my ribbon. I cut 9" length pieces.

Using a hot glue gun, I folded the ribbon around the basket wires and secured them with a drop of glue.



I kept adding ribbon....

.... and more ribbon...

...and even MORE ribbon, until the entire fixture was full. 

Side note -- you could actually stop here if you wanted. The basket looked great with just the ribbon. You could use wider ribbon to make it feel fuller. It would make a great light fixture this way, or you could even use it as a mobile in a nursery. 

Once the ribbon was attached, it was time to start hot-gluing my shells on. I  overlapped the shells on each strand by about a quarter of an inch, alternating two shells and then three shells.

By the time the first layer of shells was done, I was positively giddy.

As is normally the case with my projects, my boxer, Aybee, was head of the creative committee. And here is my now-obligatory doggy picture. Look at that sad face...Don't you want to just cheer her up?

More shells were attached....

...and even more shells. Although this seems fairly tedious, it actually went by rather quickly. The only delay was caused by the darn company that was sourcing my capiz shells.....they delayed my last order by about three weeks because they "were closed for a trade show." Um, thanks for letting your paying customers know in a timely manner!

Anywhooo....the last of my shells finally arrived last weekend and I was able to finish my chandelier. All in all, I used just shy of 500 shells, in case anyone is curious.

I lugged our ladder out from the garage, and officially swapped out the fixture. If you're trying this at home, make sure you have a helper who can be an extra pair of hands for you. At one point, Brian even climbed up the other side of the ladder  to steady my capiz fixture while I attached it to the existing structure.

                     





































And here she is, folks!

What an improvement from the old fixture! I'm so happy with how this turned out. Every time I walk by it I just stop and smile. When all was said and done, this project cost about $120. For reference, here's a smaller capiz shell chandelier (which actually wouldn't even work in my entry because the cord length is too short) that I found at Target ON SALE for $352.49:

Needless to say, I'm feeling pretty darn good about my DIY chandelier! :)

What do you think? 

Cheers!!

PS. I'm participating in the following link parties:

 

http://www.thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/