DIY Chandelier/Hanging Lights

I was thinking of little ways to spruce up the setting for a proposal. I knew the overhanging tree’s at the proposal location needed a little something special. Kendall loves chandeliers, not sure if you’ve noticed that yet or not, so I wanted to create a make shift chandelier to hang from the trees (that I could transport via my plane flight).  I was in Lowes, and came across these cute, glass lampshades. I started to envision what I could do with the lampshades to create this chandelier type effect without having to buy one that I couldn’t transport effectively. It only required a few items and it’s affordable. To be quite honest, it wasn’t my best work but hopefully it gives you an idea of what you can do with lamp shades and battery candles. If anything I hope it inspires your creativity.

Step 1: Gather your supplies. (5) Glass Lampshades, (1) Sproul of Wire, (5) Battery Operated Tea Light Candles, (1) Hot Glue Gun, (1) Scotch Tape, (1) Wire Cutter, and your chose of decorative ribbon. Note: I found my lampshades at Lowes for $2.99 per shade.

Step 2: Place battery operated candle inside lampshade and use scotch tape to hang candle facing down inside lampshade. The candles are lightweight so tape works just fine. You can even use your hot glue gun on the candle for extra hold.

Step 3: After the candle is secure, practice forming your wire around the lampshade and cut the excess wire. Then hot glue gun around the rim and press the wire to the glue until dry. It should be completely sturdy so you can lift your chandelier piece by the wire only.

Step 4: Now it’s time to decorate the rim and cover up the wire with your choice of decorative ribbon. As you did with the wire, glue the ribbon around the rim and hold until dry.

Step 5: Repeat steps 1-4 for all your chandelier pieces. Now that the structure of your chandelier is complete, you can use your extra ribbon to adorn your chandeliers or leave as it for a delicate look. I played around with a few different looks.

Step 6: When it came time to hang the chandelier/lantern pieces, we used clear fishing line and ribbon to hang from the trees. I also added some clear crystals to enhance that chandelier look.

It’s a fun project and you can re-use them and re-decorate them with various ribbons depending on the occasion. Have fun!

Love,