This is the second project of my decorating marathon that I have finished!!!  Yeah - I think I may make my T-Day deadline.  Of all the projects I have been working on this one excites me the most.  I created exactly what I envisioned. I want this room to be neutral, casual, yet elegant.  I mixed old and rusty with a little bit of upscale – crystals. I just love the contrast of the two.   

Before

A builder grade fake brass chandelier - yes, Fake! 

I wanted to transform it into something more to my style.  I didn’t remove the fixture. I worked on it right where it was hanging from the ceiling. I taped around the cap that meets the ceiling and painted it the same way I did the rest of the chandy.

A little glimpse of the After

I started by sponging on some oil-based gloss brown paint that I had on hand and then on top of that I used textured spray paint in Rustic Umber, but did not apply it in the ordinary spray painting way.  I loved the color and the texture this paint offered and could not find something else so I sprayed it into a plastic pan and dipped a sea sponge into it to dab on to chandelier. This way, the coverage was random.  Once that was dry, I then dabbed on Decor Arts craft paint in Rich Espresso and let it dry.

Then I layered on two different shades of white – one was a gloss white I had and the other an off white called Bleached Sand from Americana using bits of an old sea sponge.  I kept layering the browns and the white until I liked the finish which looked textured, pitted,  and rusty.  It took me a few days of dabbing every so often.  Skipping drying time, it probably took about 45 minutes total.   After quite a bit of layering the paints, it just looked right.  Trial and error, just keep adding layers – you can’t add too much.

Once I liked the finish, it was time to add some sparkle as a contrast to the old rusty look. I gathered florist’s wire, Gorilla Glue, a Dremel Rotary Drill, a pointy drill bit, wire cutters, and a pair of  jewelry making pliers.

I bought crystal beads at Michael’s. They normally sell for $5.99 each, but if you wait for a sale you can get two for one.  I used two different size beads.  I needed 108 larger crystals and 90 smaller ones.

To create the crystal drapes around the chandy, I marked the chandelier with a marker where I wanted the crystal beads to hang.   On my chandelier, I made a hole on the inner edge of each candle cup, with a matching hole on the top section of the chandelier.

Once I had the placement marked, I used my Dremel drill and the pointy bit.   I drilled holes in my newly painted chandelier.  I first used a straight drill bit, but that just bounced off the metal when I tried to drill.  The pointy bit went right through very easily.  The metal got hot, but it only took a second to make each hole.  I was thinking it would be harder and had told my hubby I might need his help, but I didn’t.  You should probably turn off the power unless you won’t be anywhere close to the electrical wires.

I strung the smaller beads on florist wire and threaded one end through the candle cup and tied the wire into a knot.

I then threaded the other side through the hole in the top section of the chandy. I pulled it taut and then made another knot.  I trimmed the excess wire with wire cutters and put a dab of Gorilla Glue on each knot to make sure each string of crystal beads would be secure.

For the crystal beads that drape around the arms, I used the larger beads.  I did one section at a time (one arm to the next).  I strung 18 beads onto the wire and then tied it around the bottom of each candle cup.

I wrapped the wire under and over to make sure the string of beads were secure and then cut off the excess wire.

I then made 5 – tiered drops to add to each arm.  I placed three big beads and one tiny one on a jewelry making endpin.  I used the pliers to make a closed hook at the top. 

 I then threaded each one onto wire and wrapped it around each arm of the chandy.

Then I dabbed the exposed wire with Rich Espresso from Decor Arts using a tiny paintbrush to hide the wire.  The bottom little accent on the chandy looked like it needed something so I added a tiered drop to it.  There was nothing to wire it to so I flattened the closed hook end against the bead.  I then hot glued it to the bottom.  This might not last forever, but if it does fall off I can simply hot glue it on again.  (Wire and hot glue are two of my favorite decorating materials)

Remember the before?

After

I also made a fabric chain cover for my transformed chandelier.  You can find out how I accomplished it in this post – How to make a Chandelier Cover.  I didn’t use Velcro for this one, I just stood on a ladder and sewed it right around the chain.

Two more projects in this room and then I will be ready to serve Thanksgiving dinner.

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Tagged as: Before and After Decorating, Decor Arts Craft Paint in Espresso, DIY Decorating, Dremel Rotary Tool, Gorilla Glue, How to paint a brass chandelier