Spooky Chandelier

I know, it doesn’t make sense, but I’m bananas for Halloween. I think it is so fun. And when I saw this picture {via Curious Sofa Diaries}:

You see how I HAD to make these. Okay, now showing these make mine look a little wimpy, but here’s the deal: I scoured Craigslist and wasn’t willing to drive 40 minutes for a $20 chandelier to make this work. I’m too cheap and too busy. So I created one out of balsa wood and cheesecloth.

The best part? You can store mine easier!

Neener neener. I can take mine apart and stuff it in my storage box {I’m making a big deal out of this because I’m suddenly embarrassed at what mine looks like in comparison to these super-cool ghosty chandeliers}.

So, here’s what I used:

  • 2 pieces of balsa wood from the craft store {about $1.60 each}
  • 1 pkg. cheesecloth from fabric store {about $5}
  • black and white spray paint {hopefully you have something close to this left over from other projects}
  • hot glue
  • twist ties {you can use string or zip ties, or…}
  • chain from the hardware store
  • 4 battery operated tealights

Here’s how I did it:

Clear out four containers of baby food, pudding, applesauce, or similar container. I saved these from my baby’s breakfast and dinners, and the way he eats, it didn’t take long. But I also like the idea of getting chocolate pudding cups, popping in a movie and getting your containers that way.

I trimmed them to make them shorter {and a little wavy}, glued them to the ends of the balsa wood and spray painted them white {you see four sticks here because I made 2 chandeliers… I used the container lids for one of the chandeliers}.

And while you’re at it, lay out the cheesecloth and spray paint it unevenly with the black to get a ghosty look, and hit the chain with both black and white.

Shred the cheesecloth by ripping it to get those cool edges, and hot glue to the sticks, leaving them open in the middle so you can connect them.

Mark the center of the two sticks, stack them, and use twisty ties or string to connect them. I used the chain in five pieces so it would hang evenly, using twisty ties for this part too.

BOO!

Angel Chandelier

wings3

wings

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This is my West Elm Chandelier that I like to decorate for the holidays. This year, I used my new angel wing tree decorations from Pier 1 tied with Whitney’s Divine Twine {you need to buy this stuff, you can use it for EVERYTHING}.

I decorated with bats for Halloween, and tree branches for Christmas last year.