Am Try project: chandelier

Showing posts with label chandelier. Show all posts

Sunday, February 23, 2014

THE CRYSTAL OCTOPUS jens chandelier

Most who read my blog and follow my adventures

already know I love working with wood but I also enjoy working with other vintage finds.

The other thing I am very proud of is the ability to take a friends needs

and desires and create it for them.

A very good client and now close friend has been seeking just the right chandelier.

It had to be large in diameter yet shallow in height for her lower ceilings.

The right one was just not available no matter where we looked.

So I told her to leave it with me and Ill see what I can do.

That is where the monster octopus road side chandelier came in.

This thing had so many arms and was in such disarray I could never quite count how many
arms there actually was. Finally when I started to take it apart I got the count of 21.

I have worked with lamps, chandeliers, and general light fixtures for many years and understand

they really are just bits and pieces of a jigsaw puzzle but together in a pleasing form.

You can mix and match all sorts of parts together.

I started with the center of the octopus which had 6 arms and began adding

decorative bits top and bottom. Its trial and error what will look good so

I continued rebuilding my jigsaw puzzle over and over till I found the pleasing shape I wanted.

Once she was built and painted came the many long hours of adding wonderful sparkling crystals.

I drilled holes for hanging hooks and hand tied beads in just the right places.

I only manage to do about 2-3 chandeliers in a year because

they take countless hours to fiddle with.

I would not show my friend the final look through emailed photos because I wanted to see

her reaction in person and getting a pictures of a chandelier that

actually looks as good as it does in person is difficult.

She said "Im so jealous, ... but its mine and I cant wait to get it home"

It really is a masterpiece and so beautiful in person. I hope I have taken the right photos to

share with you so you can see for yourself.

Sharing with:
Primitive and Proper

PEARLS FOR A CHANDELIER chandelier beading tips

This time around Im using pearls to bead a chandelier.

I want to drape it with tonnes of beads and in the hopes it looks stunning but you

wont find it finished here. Ive only been working on it a couple hours and they

take a long time to finish.

I want to offer some tips as I know one or two of you want to try this yourselves.

Organize your beads, these little suckers like to bounce all over the place.

Anticipate if one slips out of your fingers where will it fall to.

I use a shaggy rug underneath to catch them rather then listening to beads

bounce their way under the furniture or down the hall for Georges feet

to find in the dark of night on his way to the bathroom.

Keep track of how many of each you have so youre not short before you string that last bead.

Trial and error I figure out the look I want by holding different patterns of

strung beads up to the chandelier before finally committing and tieing it off.

I have a hook in the ceiling where I hang my chandelier to work on.

I use a long piece of chain so I can sit in my office chair while working

at a comfortable height.

The chandelier can be raised up when Im not working on it.

When ever I have some spare time in the evening I can sit

down string some more beads while listening to what ever

George has decided to watch on TV.

I also have a hook out side where I can hang the chandelier

to be painted.

Heads up for all those local followers and subscribers

George has decided this Saturday we are having a

His 2 daughters are coming to visit soon and we need to lighten the load around here.

I still have quite a bit of *stuff* hanging around from years ago

that needs a new home as well as time to clear out many

furniture pieces that Im never going to get to.

Ill post more about it over the next days.