DIY Chandelier with Fairy Lights

We moved to our current house in December and though it had light fixtures, the living room was missing a central light source. So I thought - Why not have fairy lights in the living room :)

I love fairy lights. I think they are just magical. I've always had them in my Craft Room. You can see them in this post I wrote a few years ago:  Craft Room They were the flickering type which I think are lovely outdoors. Indoors the non flickering type looks better. I could only find them recently.

My first idea for the chandelier was to wind the lights around a hula hoop and hang it. The Hula Hoop might have been too big for the space available. I decided to go ahead with what I already had - a large embroidery hoop. With some wire, a few chains and 10 metres of fairy lights this turned out to just like what I had in mind. Its very light too.

Here's how I made it

You will need:

An embroidery hoop (mine is 12 inches in diameter)
3 chains ( each measuring 12 inches) - Mine are from my store : http://thehappyhandsstore.com/Metal-Hardware/Metal-Purse-Chain-id-457034.html
Gold Spray paint
Wire (I used some that I already had. I have them from the time when I used to make stocking flowers) You could use thicker wires too.
Fairy lights - the non flickering type - 10 metres

1. Remove the inner ring of the embroidery hoop. The outer ring will be the one onto which the chains will be attached. Mark 3 equidistant points on this. Insert 3 keychain rings into the ring.

2. The wires that I used are pre-cut into lengths of about 20 inches. Holding the inner and outer ring at a distance of about 3 inches wind each length of wire around the rings securing it by twisting. Since the circumference of the inner ring is less than that of the outer ring the wires will not be perfectly straight. I decided I could live with this imperfection and continued :)  Ensure that there is enough space in between the wires for the roll of lairy lights to go through later. Also the keychain rings should be at the 3 points that were marked earlier.

3. Once the frame is done spray paint it along with the chains. I used gold. Let it dry completely

4. Wind the fairy lights (starting with the end) around the lower ring first and then wind it around the upper ring. Leave enough length to wire it to the ceiling.

5. Attach the 3 chains to the key chain rings.



I then called the society's electrician to help fix the chandelier. He cut off the plug and then wired it to the ceiling. Once we switched it on we were speechless for a few moments. It looked so beautiful!! Even the reflection on the tiles! Everything looks so festive when these lights are on.

And like with any DIY project there are thoughts to make this better/different:

1. You could use white paint instead of gold to match the colour of the wires of the lights. I think it'll look lovely.
2. You could  hot glue ice cream sticks instead of wires to make a frame

This chandelier story does not end here. The electrician who helped fix this wanted to make one for his house. I explained how I had made this and he asked me if I could get him an embroidery hoop. I did and am looking forward to seeing how his turns out. I should be able to put up pictures of his version soon.