Category: Rustic

The Bling Branch - Tree Branch Crystal Chandelier

11/20/2015

We have spent most of the past few months working on our deck, but it is finally finished and now it is time to decorate! I knew I wanted something that had some sparkle to hang over our outdoor dining table and after numerous ideas I decided to finally turn this branch into something (I had been saving it for something special!)

Here is how we took this sad stick and turned it into a beautiful centerpiece for our deck!

Materials

Miscellaneous:

Tree Branch
Glass Votive holders (From Amazon)
Hanging Crystals (From Amazon)
- 15 Pack Crystals
- 10 Pack Crystals

Craft Store:

Looking Glass Spray Paint
White spray paint primer
Split Rings (for jewelry making)
Jewelry Chain
Two sets of jewelry pliers

Home Improvement Store:

(4) large eye bolts (rated for the weight of your branch) - Example
(20) Small eye bolts/Screw Eyes

Polyurthane spray paint
Drill and Drill bit for large eye and small eye bolts
Fine Wire (for hanging- make sure it is the correct weight rating)
Swaging Tool (Home Depot)
(4) Furrell's to match wire (Home Depot)

Steps

Step One - Find a lovely branch. It must be Lovely.
Saw off the ends and any offshoot branches so it is a nice clean shape
Use a dry scrub brush to gently work off any dirt of debris

Spray branch with several coats of primer and then Looking Glass paint

Determine where you need the primary hanger hooks to go
I did this using the incredibly scientific method of lightly holding the branch with my thumb and index finger from each hang until I got a good feel for the center of balance and then played with it until it sat how I wanted it and marked those spots with a Sharpie
Using those marks, I drilled holes for the Eye Hook and screwed those in

Flipping the branch over I used a ruler to evenly space where I wanted the glass votive holders to go.
I marked those spots with Sharpie and drilled small holes, then screwed the little eyes into the wood
After I knew where the votives were going I used the ruler to space the eye's for the crystals around them

Now that that basis of the chandelier was finished I just had to hang the votives and crystals
I staggered the length of the crystals for the casual look I wanted (and this also allows me to tweek the length so keep the crystals from banging into one another I attached the crystals to the eyes using the split jewelry rings
Most of the votives I used the split jewelry rings to attach directly to the eyes but a few I used the jewelry chain to let them hang a little lower for that staggered look

Time for hanging!
I didn't want to hang this with a standard chandelier chain (though you can if that is the look you want!) I wanted something a little more industrial and a little less "there" so opted to go with a aluminum wire rope swagged together with a furrell
Unfortunately we didn't get any picts doing that but here is a good video that shows the whole process (except we didn't use the "thimble"). It's really easy but you do have to have the Swaging tool

Here is is hung and complete! I need to get some photos with the candles lit, it is really pretty!!

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Shelving Decisions

12/11/2014

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I really want to get shelving squared away in my living room. I have so many nick-nacks and mischellani that I want to have out. Not to mention those are the things that add character and warmth to a home. So I have been scoping things out for a little while and am starting to get a good idea of what I want them to look at. Here are some of my inspirations!

CatK's Pintrest board Industrial Living Room Shelving.>

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Mason Jar Chandelier

6/8/2014

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I wanted to take a minute to post one of my favorite projects. Unfortunately this stayed with my last house when we sold it, so now all I have left are the pictures :( But I will be making more lights soon and make sure to have full step by steps for them!

I had a bunch of Ball regular mouth Quart and 8oz crystal cut jars left over from our rehearsal dinner and I had been wanting to turn them into a light for our pool table for a while, so here is basically the process I went through. I am trying to be as detailed as possible but I don't have a lot of the actual lengths etc anymore.

Materials

(6) quart size Ball mason Jars
(4) 8ox crystal cut Ball mason jars
(8) candelabra sized light sockets with cardboard cover
(8) threaded nipples
(16) washers

(16) screw nuts
brown electric wiring
Enough poplar wood for ceiling box based on your dimensions
wood stain
Decorative furniture tacks

Prep

Based on the size of the pool table I decided I I wanted to go with 6 of the quart size Ball jars for the primary light and then also 4 of the 8oz crystal cut jars for a little more bling
We spent some time looking at the pool table and determining where my husband thought would be the best placement of the lights and wrote down all of those measurments.
Now that I knew the dimensions of the box I wanted on the ceiling my husband and I made a wooden box to the measurements we wanted using poplar wood (since it takes stain SOO nicely.
I wanted a plank effect so used three poplar planks as the "top" of the box. I made sure to sand the inner edges of each of the board to keep that "planked" effect so they didn't blend together.
We attached the outer two top planks, making VERY sure the middle board would fit.
Then we stained the whole piece a deep cherry to go with the other furniture in the room.
I used upholstery tacks with the tack portion cut off to superglue over the screw holes for a more finished look
I measured the distance from the ceiling to where I wanted the lights to hang and subtracted the height of the mason jar from that to know how much cable would need to hang from the base. To this number I added the length of the wood box we had built to make sure I had enough cable
From HomeDepot, I got 8 candelabra fixtures
I spray painted the metal rings and lids of the mason jar, the cardboard covers for the light sockets and the threaded nipples an antique bronze color
Drill holes in each lid the size of the threaded nipple
I cut the wire to the correct length and then began assembling

Assembly

Wire light socket
Run cable through threaded nipple
Screw nipple into light socket
Using a lug bolt and washer on each side screw the lid securely onto nipple
Slid screw top ring over lid
Feed cable through holes on ceiling mounting box
Mount junction box in ceiling box
Bring so wires into the junction box and tie together with one cable out to attach to the ceiling electric box
Attach wooden ceiling box you built to the ceiling and wire up
Replace middle panel and screw in place putting decorative tacks over screws
Voila! you are finished!

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Author

I love beautifying my home, including renovations, projects, and handy tips to make life a little easier
~ CatK

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The Bling Branch - Tree Branch Crystal Chandelier

Materials

Steps

Shelving Decisions

Mason Jar Chandelier

Materials

Prep

Assembly

Author

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