Pink Chandelier

I think every newconstruction house probably has - or if you are lucky HAD - one of these ugly brass chandeliers. The most likely place you will find it is overhead in the dining room. Ugh! Who ever thought these were pretty or even desireable? Well, would you belive it, I actually went out looking for one? I didn't have to look far! I found this one at the loca thrift store for only $4.50!

Why, when I just testified to how ugly they are would I look for one? Well, as you know we are renting. Our house is really nice, it really is, and I like it alot, but if I were to have one complaint, it would be that the builder - -to save money, did not put any overhead lights in the bedrooms. In fact, one of the only rooms that does have a light is the dining room and yup, you guessed it, it has exactly the kind of light I am talking about! Anyway - - our bedrooms need light! It's hard to just use lamps in kids rooms. They don't allow enough light in the rooms for them to be able to read or work on their little projects and if you had a little girl like Charise, you would know that it is much safer to have a light above instead of a lamp!! Thus the desire for a cheap, ugly chandelier! Did you know you can very easily attach a cord to the wires, hang a hook in the ceiling, plug it in and... whaalaa! Instant light without anything more than a small hole in the ceiling!

Of course, I didn't want just an ugly old brass light up there, I had to do something to it!! And change it I did! I am still going to add some custom shades to them, but I promised Kristi that I would do a post :) so I will have to post some more pictures once i get the shades done! Here's how I did it...

I started with my ugly $4.50 lamp...

covered each socket with tape so that paint would not get in there...

Sprayed it with primer....

Then...spray painted it a very girly pink!!!

Doesn't every girly girl want a pink chandelier hanging in their room? Charise loves it and shows it off to everyone! Like I said, I'm not done with it yet, gotta make those shades still, but it is going to look fantastic when it is all done!


*UPDATE*

After looking at the chandelier some more and mulling over exactly what I was going to do for shades and such and being the cheap thrifty person that I am.  I decided to go in a little different direction.  The lamp just pink was not enough for me, it didn't scream "girly!"  So I decided to check around and see what I had that would cost me nothing.  Scrapbook paper - check,  beads (given to me by my aunt as part of a complete set Christmas tree decorations) - check, crystals (picked up on clearance a couple of years ago, but just holding on to them for the right project) - check, double sided tape - crud just used all that up on another project.....thinking...., regular tape (I guess I can make it double sided the old fashioned way! - check!

I took the scrapbook paper and cut it down to fit around each of the "candle sticks" (I'm sure there is some technical name for them, but I haven't got a clue what it is).  Then I fit them around the candlestick and taped them all the way around.  Initially I just put one piece of tape along the back seam, but that popped open within a few minuted, so I just went with one piece all the way around, plus, you can't see it, so it doesn't really matter.    then I used my circle cutter and cut a circle from the paper for under each of the lights.  I cut a small circle in the center of each one (like a doughnut) then cut a slit for an opening, then fit that around the bottom of the light, using my ghetto double sided tape I taped it to the bottom, then ran a piece of tape along the seam and up over the light to securely hold it.

Next, I took all those beads (I used 4 strands of the christmas beads) and began wrapping and wiring them around the bottom of the chandelier, letting them hang down evenly between the lights.  Then I took the crystals that I had been holding on to forever and attached them under the lights and along the beads.

I think the results now scream, "girlie" and just as added proof, everytime someone new comes to our house, the first thing Charise wants them to see is her new Princess Chandelier!!

Now that I think this is girlified enough, I am going to post it in Between Nap's on the Porch's Metamorphasis Monday - - - except that I just realized that it's Tuesday - - I guess I got thrown off by Labor Day!  Oh well, jump on over to her site and check out all the other inspirational changes that people have posted!!