Showing posts with label Crystals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Crystals. Show all posts

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Chandelier Crystals add some BLING....

Happy New Year!

Let's get the New Year started
with my latest project that adds a bit of
BLING...


A few years back I was at a drapery client's house.  As I walked through her garage I saw a very large brass chandelier laying in the middle of the floor.  I asked if she was installing a new lighting fixture and she remarked that her mother had given her the light fixture, but it was to large for her foyer area. 
She then quickly asked if I would be interested in it. 
 FREE of CHARGE. 

 All I had to do was move it. 
 I couldn't get the word YES out of my mouth quick enough!

  I didn't realize how heavy it was and how much work it would be to take down the fixture we already had hanging from the ceiling in our two story foyer. 

Here's what it looks like once the installation was complete.



The chandelier did not have the black shades.
  I found all 12 of them at one Marshalls.

Can you believe that luck?

I was doing the Happy Dance that day!

I also made a  fabric sleeve for the chain out
of some left over silk drapery fabric I had.



I loved the way the light looked
 EXCEPT...
I had always wanted crystals on a light fixture.

What's a Girl to Do?

I headed right over to the Internet and Googled
"Crystals for Chandeliers"

and HERE is what I came up with...



 3.75" Crystals with Magnets attached. 

Only TWO Problems...

1.  Each  crystal is $12.50 and I need 20 of them.
That would be $240.00!

2.  The chandelier is brass and oops...
 brass does not work with magnets.

Back to the internet.....

BINGO!



I found this wonderful site called "Cristaler". 
You can see all the wonderful things they have HERE.
These are the exact cystals I ordered.
Did you notice the price?
$1.39 Each

That's right, it only cost me $27.80 plus shipping.


They quality is amazing. 
 I was a bit worried that they would be plastic for that price.

NOPE,  all glass and the cut is wondeful.



They have a wonderful prism color.
How did I attach them?

I used a very fine gauge of brass colored wired
and wired them to the chandelier. 
 Since the light fixture is two stories up, you can't even tell. 

I also added more crystals to my bedroom ceiling fan,
which you can see HERE
 I matched the color wire to that fixture and you can't even tell that I wired them on.


I couldn't be happier!
The light reflects off the crystals a  they just sparkle.



These inexpensive crystals 
added lots of BLING


I'll be linking up to the following sites....

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Creating a Custom Framed Picture....

With the Holidays fast approaching
do you find yourself packing more "stuff"
 to do into each day?

This is my fovorite time of year, but with that comes
so many more things to add to your calander.
It's a great time to remember to just take a minute
 to enjoy the season.  If only I could remember that!

In my previous post, I said I would share with you how to take an ordinary piture and make it look like it was custom framed. 
  That's exactly what I did in my Powder room makeover.
  I found this picture at Marshalls Home Goods.  It was on the clearance rack. Yhippiee! The frame was broke, but I didn't need it.
It was the print behind the glass that caught my eye.


Don't you just love a good bargin?


Next stop Kinko's.
  I removed the print from the frame. 
 I'm sure the old frame will come in handy for another project. 
 At Kinko's I enlarged the print on the color copier. 
  It took a few tries, but I was  able to size it for the new matting.


 The botanical prints shown below hung in my foyer, until recently when they were replaced by some photos we had taken of my sons. 
 I had  recently sold these prints in a garage sale. 

What was I thinking?

 I should know by now
that eventually I would have a need for them. 

 Well, fortunately for me I knew who the new owner was.  It was a friend who is a decorator, and she had bought the prints only for the frame.  I quickly gave her a call, and asked begged
if I could have the mats from the photos. 


With a little bit of bargaining they were back in my hands.
The matting was the PERFECT color for my new bathroom.  If I had to purchase a custom mat with a fillet,
 it would have cost a small fortune.


Next step.... 
  I embellished the print with some amber colored swarovski crystals.  I purchased them at Michaels.  HERE'S what they look like. With my coupon they were less than $4.00.  I had seen this idea at an up scale home decor shop.  The 14"x14" framed picture was $180.00 and WAY out of my budget!




In this photo it's had to see how much the crystals SPARKLE!When I purchased the crystals, I also got a plain black mat that was smaller than the green mat.  I wanted to give the print a custom look so I double matted the print.  Lucky me, Micheals was having 50% off all open back frames.  In addition there was a coupon in their flyer for an extra 20%  off all framing.
 That made my day!


I added the fillet between the two mats. 
The matting matched the wallpaper perfectly.



 Final Cost: $45.90
Frame $20.00
Black Mat $2.50
Crystals $4.00
Kinko's 40 cents
Marshalls Print in Frame $11.00
Bargining with my friend to buy the mat back  $8.00

*I could have saved $20.00 by using the old frame,
but the new one looks so much better!

I'll be linking this custom framing tip to the following sites:



Related Posts with Thumbnails