DIY // CHANDELIER TRANSFORMATION

Well, hello there, sugarpies! How goes it? I am currently mid-Diet Mt. Dew and listening to some very loud Megan Trainor and burning a fabulous pomegranate & cedar candle. Now, doesn't that just sound like the loveliest thing ever? 

Anyhoozle. I had a love/hate relationship with the chandelier that came with our dining room. It was like, "Oooooh, look at the chandelier! It's so sparkly and chandelier-y! Who wouldn't love this chandelier?" But, what I think I meant was, "Thank God it's not commercial/generic/warm toned/all-the-things-I-don't-love."

The longer it hung there, the more I tired of seeing the dead bugs who were stuck down in the hardware. Not what I'm trying to look at while I eat. And it was just so .... clear. Plus, the more I saw all these magical beaded chandies online, the deeper in love I fell. Cause, you know, my style is kinda Jungalow, pattern-mix, old-meets-new, happy jumble-ation. You do know what I mean, right? {If you are like, 'What in the blue blazes is she talkin' about?' you can check out my decor obsessions on Pinterest.} 'Kay, good. And these peeps? Love 'em!

Justina Blakeney - The Jungalow

 Edie Wadsworth - Life in Grace

Jamie Meares - i suwannee/Furbish

 So, here is what I was workin' with before:

 The thought of destroying it felt wrong for about two minutes. But, once I got some fresh bright spray paint on the scene, all doubts were GONE. 

At first, I was going to keep the octopus arms and just paint it and add some beading, but I kinda felt like I was poohing out on what I really wanted. But, once I dropped a few of the arms and broke them, that decision was made for me. Don't you just love when that happens? So, here's what I was left with: 

Since the chandelier originally had five small bulbs, we had to change out the socket in order to accommodate two bulbs in the center. I also painted all the "guts" white because I knew that you would be able to see through the beading a little bit. After a bit of brainstorming, and time on Pinterest, I decided to upcycle an ugly lamp shade I already had for the beading portion of the project. I ordered my beads from Shipwreck Beads. To be honest, I just did some measuring and guessing and guessing and measuring and then some finger crossing about how many beads to order. This whole project was 1500 of the natural colored beads, and 150 of the teal ones, and I only had a dab left of each when I was done. 

I opted to use wire (I used floral wire, but beading wire would be thinner and more flexible). To me, this was the more sane method, because I could create a loop on each end, and keep the beads from coming back off and getting all over the place, and generally causing me to lose my ever-loving mind. 

 I would do ten strands or so, and then wrap them onto the upside down lampshade frame as I went. For the first strand, I just decided on a pattern with the green beads and made sure I'd have enough to complete as many strands as I needed. (1 strand = 3 natural, 1 teal, 17 natural, 1 teal, 3 natural, for example)

Using wire as opposed to string also allowed me to just wrap the ends instead of having to tie a million times.

Once I was done with the beading, I knew I wanted to wrap something around it to hide the exposed wire ends. I had originally planned to use the natural twine featured in the photo above, but once I got to this stage, I wanted something a little more colorful. So, I took some old fabric I had (green with daisies), and cut it into long strips about 1" wide, and just wrapped them around until all the wire was hidden. I just tied the fabric strips off as inconspicuously as possible.

 Once I was satisfied with how the lamp shade looked, I used the same wire to attach the inside of the shade to the metal disc with the circular holes in it (shown in the third photo). This part took some trial and error, because you want to make sure that it's level and not hanging lopsided.

These wires are the primary support for the lamp shade. However, to add some green color pop to the top portion, I tied some strips from the lamp shade frame to the chandelier trunk, as seen below. And, then, finally(!!), the finished project:

I paid about $40 for beads. 

I think we paid less than $5 for the new bulb sockets.

I already had:

 - wire

 - fabric

 - dangling crystals

 - lamp shade frame

 - white spray paint

 - blue spray paint

 - bulbs

I say, win! I am still not tired of staring at it. And it's so much more 'us'! You have to feel comfortable in your space, folks! I think some peeps thought I was nuts for "ruining" the chandelier, but I couldn't stand the sight of it one more day. You gotta do you at yo' own house, y'all! 

Have you done a chandelier DIY? Please share a link below!!! I'd love to see!

Y'ALL COME ON IN! // THE 'MUDROOM'

We finally got our hooks hung! {That sentence sounds weird, right?} So, we had this lonnnnnng 2x4 that was already black and all patina-y looking, but it was too long for this wall, and I ended up deciding I didn't want it all the way across after we got the cubbies up. Sooo, we chopped it down and hung it to the left of the dresser.

We cut the 2x4 down to a shorter length, then I hit it with the electric sander to distress it some. We'd already gotten some random mismatched hooks from the flea market, so we half measured/half eyeballed it, and attached those.

The actual board is screwed into the walls into the studs. Since this is a basement with paneling walls, we decided to just go the more secure route and attach it to the studs, especially since this will stay put for awhile since it serves a "mudroom" purpose.  We knew early on after buying the house that we wanted to create somewhere that "caught all the incoming/outgoing" that happens on a daily basis. With the cubbies, the drawers of the dresser, and these hooks, I feel like everything has a place, and is easy to grab quickly.

We are both pleased with how it turned out! Do you have a system at your house for managing all the stuff that you need to grab & go?

Also, new stuff up in the etsy shop, y'all!

Happy Happy Wednesday!!

DIY // FABRIC FRINGE GARLAND

Hello there, shugpies! Happy Wednesday, riiiight? Party in the house! Wednesday is my work-from-home-get-stuff-done-marketing day. It is 1:24 pm and I am in my PJ's. I have had a good bit of Diet Coke. Anyhoozle, one of my to-do's for today was this here garland. You see, I have an obsession with vintage linens. I find it extremely difficult to resist buying them. Even when they are stained. Or when they won't fit any of the beds in my house. Yes, even then. Because I just know they have some kind of magical life left in them, you know? Welp .... I give you Fabric Fringe Garland ... made {mostly} of vintage linens. It's totally easy.

1) cut fabric into strips that are about 1.5-2" wide, and about 2 feet long. 

note: it's important that the fabric look the same, or almost the same on both sides

2) Knot the fabric over your string/rope

 {I used thick string, and doubled it up}

You can tie a knot, or you can do what I did ... which has a name, I'm sure, but I couldn't find it. 

#bloggeroftheyear But, you fold the fabric in half, forming an upside down U shape behind your string, then you loop the tails of the fabric back through the space between the arch of the U and the string so that your fabric is secured around the string. Then you tighten. Got it? Good. You can probably look closely at the picture below and know what I mean. I also did two strips of different fabric at once/in one knot throughout most of the garland in order to add some texture.

3) Just keep tying until the garland is as full as you'd like. 

I didn't do any sort of pattern, but I did try to do pieces spread out about the string, and then fill in the gaps as I went so it looked balanced and I didn't have too much of one fabric/color in one spot.

Ta-da!

Tons of uses: 

Shower/Party Decor

Photo Backdrop

Dorm Room Decor

Child/Nursery/Teenager Room Decor

Decor Anywhere! {let's get craaaaazy!} 

Depending on the color scheme, this could work for a number of holidays or events.

If you want to do a dog photog session, you may want to lower your garland to his level. Tons of awkward negative space going on here.

If you like, but you're not feelin' crafty, check me on Etsy!