You Light Up My Life!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011 at 6:44 PM 
Grab yourself a soft-drink, and make yourself comfortable.
Prepare for the details of the long-awaited chandelier project I've been pre-posting about for the past few weeks.
I've teased, "coming soon" over and over again, and for that I am sorry. It wasn't deliberate. I guess that's just what happens when a project takes longer than anticipated. Much longer!
I am hoping once you have read through this "how to" post, you'll have compassion on this blogger's soul (and her torn and tattered typing fingers that made hundreds of faux capiz strands)!
Let's start at the very beginning...
A few months ago, I was staring (enviously) at this dreamy chandelier from West Elm:
...and staring angrily at the $299.00 price tag. I wondered, why must pretty things be so dang expensive?
As much as I loved this little lady, I couldn't find it in my heart (or wallet) to take the plunge and commit. Then one day, I had a light-bulb moment, when I stumbled across a DIY'd faux capiz lamp project and realized I could probably make the fixture myself for an affordable price! (And, yes...I think there was a little bit of dancing that took place during that moment..)
And so I created a plan...
The original plan involved building a frame and drilling out the holes for some Ikea light-kits (see the light-bulb moment link above). But then one night, I thought, "there has to be an easier way."
It begged the question: What is already rectangular, and is the size that I need???
...hmmmm...BINGO!!!
At this point, using the picture frame was just an idea floating around in my head, but then came the Pinterest Challenge from Young House Love, Bower Power, Style by Emily, and Making a House a Home. They challenged creative minds everywhere to not just pin, but act instead!
It was exactly the push I needed, but I knew I had to act quickly. The deadline was just beyond the weekend, and time was already counting down!
So off to Ikea I went, and when I returned I was faced with a few challenges. First, I didn't realize that the backing and the glass would be so difficult to remove from the frame; but, I soon learned they had been stapled and glued...nice and tight!
Finally, after some stellar effort, I was able to remove both the backing and the glass.
A few weeks earlier I had experimented with the faux capiz, and I found the best way (in my opinion) to get a good look-a-like was to iron multiple sheets of wax paper together.
To add more dimension and realism, I made various thicknesses. For some, I only ironed together three sheets, but for others I ironed together four. This created various textures and opacities, and the bubbles and veins between the wax paper looked almost like real shell.
After cutting the sheets of ironed wax paper down to 1.5"x2.5", I used jewelry clasps from Michaels to make hundreds of strands of faux capiz. To get the look I wanted the strands were made at various lengths (3, 4, and 5 long).
I'm not kidding...I made hundreds...(you can read more about this process here).
Ha! They look like faux-capiz lasagna!
But here's where things got tricky...
Originally, my plan was to make the chandelier as a one-lighter. I thought this would be best because then I could use the light socket, chain, and cover from the existing light fixture.
But guess what? ...the existing fixture was very ugly...
...and so I thought I could use something like this from Home Depot to make it look prettier...
And how would that work, you might ask?
Well, in my "life is perfect" mind, I imagined the fixture could magically be held up and balanced by sandwiching the frame's backing (with a drilled out hole) between the pendant shade and the pendant socket cover.
I'll pause for a moment while you laugh..........trust me, I get it.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that this plan would have never worked, but I told you this chandelier evolved over time, right?
Well, long story, short...that led me to this disaster:
I'll let you read all about that in my previous post, but to sum things up, I quickly found my plan to use the frame's backing and the little light from Home Depot would not work. Not even if I sprinkled it with fairy dust!
Please pardon my cheesiness...it's just that now, when I look back, I can see how much of a fairytale I was living in at that time. It's like I was hoping my Fairy Godmother would come to turn this little board into a beautiful chandelier, and a pumpkin into a carriage!
And so I moved on...
But this time, I called in some recruits.
I started brainstorming with my husband, Mark, and together we drew up a few possibilities. It really helped to get another viewpoint on the project, and it increased the creative flow of ideas. We could each offer our ideas and then talk out the potential conflicts that might arise.
Eventually, with twice the brain power working on the project, Mark and I found a way to turn the chandelier into a two-light fixture.
Here's what we did...
First, we started by using the glass panel that came with the frame to measure two boards that we fit inside the width of the picture frame. Since the glass was already cut to size by the manufacturer, it made it easy to know where to cut.
Next, we drilled holes in the boards, and also cut out a large rectangle from the backing that originally came with the frame. Yep, that's right...we salvaged the piece that I thought I had destroyed on my first attempt!
Placement here was pretty important. We had to be careful to get the order right. First you place the two cut boards inside the frame (just like you would the glass), and then you place the backing right back where it originally came from.
But, in case you forgot, I had unstapled the backing, so I had to use some tacks to nail the backing back into place.
Then I measured two rows at the spacing I wanted. The backing was cut down to a 2" border, so I marked one row at 3/4", and one row at 1 3/4". Then I made little tick-marks every half-inch around each of the rows.
Once I had the markings as a reference, I used my hot glue gun to glue the jewelry clasps onto the frame backing, along the rows that I had drawn...and for the third row, I just used the edge between the backing and the frame.
To hide the wires going up to the ceiling, we used PVC riser pipe from the landscaping section at Home Depot. They were really inexpensive, and they also already had screw threads on each end. This made it really easy to attach a washer and a nut to the top and bottom of each pipe, to attach each end to the fixture.
Next, we had to figure out how to hide the hole from the existing fixture...so I made a quick trip to Savers, and found this little guy for $1.99...but a 50% off sale brought it down to only $1.00.
Once we had collected all of the pieces for our plan, I gave everything a few good coats of spray paint. For this project, I used Rustoleum's metallic finish paint in a dark finish.
To hold the weight of the chandelier, we used another cut piece of board...but first we did a test run to make sure the chandelier would be parallel to the wall. This was tricky because it was difficult to eyeball...but we did our best.
Once we knew that everything would hang straight, Mark assembled the fixture. For the light sockets themselves, we just used the one that was housed in the original fixture, and we also stole the light from the chandelier that was hanging in our breakfast nook. They were identical lights, and we planned on replacing the fixture in the nook eventually, so we figured we might as well just take it down now, but if you don't have any existing light fixtures to re- purpose, you can find inexpensive light kits at Ikea.
Once everything was assembled, we attached the board to the existing electrical box, wired everything back up, and covered the wires with the little frame from Savers, held in place by two screws on the narrow end of the frame.
(PS...I know it kinda looks like Mark is "flipping the bird" here, but he's really just holding the chandelier up. You don't really think about finger placement when you're working on stuff like this, so please don't take offense.)
Once that was done, all we had to do was hang the strands of wax paper...hundreds of strands of wax paper.
Fortunately, we decided it actually looked best if we skipped every-other hook (which brought the spacing between each strand to 1 inch, instead of 1/2"). This saved us a lot of time, and we both agree the fixture would have looked too crowded if we put all of the strands of wax paper on.
It was well into the night by the time we finished, but here are a few shots that we snapped:
It was difficult to get a good shot, but the light looked so beautiful coming through the strands of wax paper!
And just in case you were wondering, the wax paper does not touch the bulbs themselves, which means we don't have to worry about it melting...or worse, catching on fire!
Now, I'm sure you're wondering the cost break down, so here's the grand total:
$ 5.00--2 rolls of wax paper @ $2.50 each
$39.00--13 packages of Findings Jewelry Essentials (144 count) @ $2.99 each
$12.00--2 cans Rustoleum metallic finish spray paint @ $5.99 each
$10.00--1 Erikslund picture frame from Ikea
$ 1.00--1 picture frame from Savers
$ 2.80--2 PVC Riser Pipes from Home Depot
$ 1.00--1 Package of fastening nuts from Home Depot
$ 1.60--4 washers at $.40 each.
$ 0.00--2 light kits, already had from existing fixtures
$ 0.00--1 board, already had from previous project
$ 0.00--Hot glue, already had from previous projects
$ 0.00--Sweat equity, brain power, and time
$72.40--Total cost!!!!
But now that you know how to make it, you could even save some cash because I found I did not need all of those jewelry fasteners...and they were the most expensive part!
So there we go! It's finally done, and I'm absolutely in love with it! But what do you think? Was it worth the time that went into it?
I think so!
PS...Want to learn more about making faux capiz from wax paper? Click here for a video tutorial.
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Reader Comments (84)
Thanks Aimee, I've added my link!
xo, Kel
I am IN LOVE with this project!! Being a lamp freak as I am, I saw this and your tutorial and about fell out of my chair in amazement! BRAVO to you!!!!! You put in a lot of hard work on this project, and it shows :) I am sure half the world will be making their own beautiful chandeliers now thanks to you... we ALL thank you!! :)
Annie
Thanks Annie!
You are too nice! I'm hoping people can use these instructions to find an easier way to make similar fixtures. It was all one giant experiment for me, so I took some turns that cost me extra time and a few extra $'s along the way. But if I could make it again I would know how to go about it now.
Thanks for checking in!
Xo, kel
Absolutely amazing!!!! Wonderful tutorial! I think yours looks much better than the West Elm original!
That is the best DIY Capiz chandelier I have seen! I love that you went rectangular!
Wow! Thanks Emily!
I'm thinking of making another one someday that is circular, and I'm also thinking of using the leftover strands that I have to make a fixture I've the bathroom vanity. We'll see!
Thanks for stopping by!
Xo, Kel
That is unreal! I love, love, LOVE it! Wow! I would love to make one of these. I am so impressed with all the patience you had. Great job, it's fabulous!
This looks stunning! Absolutely gorgeous. I made a faux capiz chandelier for our living room and I wish I had thought to do it in the rectangle shape. Mine is just the round kind (like a larger and upside-down version of the lamp shade). I found that it was really easy to just sew my wax circles together, but I do like the look of the jump rings instead. Also for whoever was asking for tips about ironing the wax sheets, I found that if you put a layer of parchment paper on top of the wax paper layers it was really easy. That way the heat got through all of my wax paper layers (unlike when I used a towel) and I didn't get sticky wax all over my iron.
Great job though this is incredible!!
I might be able to leave a comment after I scrape my jaw off the floor. That is beautiful!
Lol! Thanks Heather!
Xo, Kelli
Absolutely 100% totally worth it! I've seen quite a few circular DIY capiz chandeliers, but yours is the only rectangular one. I like your idea of using the jewelry clasps to join the "shells" better than the method of sewing chains of them together. I'm definitely making a capiz chandelier - this weekend is going to be filled with basketball and wax paper!
Thanks Kelly! I hadn't ever seen a rectangular one either, so that's why I ran into a few bumps along the way. I'm hoping my journey with this project will give others ideas on how to stream-line the whole thing.
It was so much work at the time, but I still feel so happy each time I see it! I agree, definitely worth it!
Good luck with your project! I'd love to see how it turns out.
Xo, Kel
Wow! I think that was definitely worth all of the blood, sweat, and tears.. this turned out beautifully! I just love it! Great job girl!
This is a seriously cool project, with a great tutorial! Thanks for sharing and linking up!
followed this from pinterest. It is BEAUTIFUL!!! I actually like yours better than the expensive one! Great job!
LOVE LOVE this project. I have been in love with this chandelier since I saw it. And been holding off because I am hesitant at spending that much money. So, now a year later, how's the light holding up? Is the wax paper holding up? Any problems? thanks.
Hey Elizabeth,
You sound just like me! I was seriously would check the price on the original WE chandelier each month for nearly a year. I wanted it soooo bad, and I hoped each time that I would luck out to find it on sale so that I could justify the splurge! But then I just got too impatient...LOL!
A year later, the DIY chandelier is still the shining star in my dining room. It looks just as it did on day one, and the only thing that has come close to a problem with it has been a piece of wax paper blowing out of place when I turned on a fan. Nothing that a quick pop back into place couldn't fix. :-)
We have loved it...and we still get compliments on it by people who come to our home.
I think if we ever move from this house we'll put the old fixture back up so that we can take our beloved chandelier with us! Haha!
Thanks for checking in!
xo, Kelli
Hello! I'm in the home stretch of this project (thanks for the inspiration) and when I try to attached the wax strands to the frame's rings it rips the hot-glued-rings right off. Any tips?
Hey Liz!
Congrats on tackling this project! Sounds like very close to being finished, and I hope you'll show me how it turns out in the end. Can't wait to see it!
Is the glue itself pulling off, or is it the ring that is pulling out of the glue?
If it's the ring that is pulling out of the glue then I would ask how many rings you used to create the loop. It's something that I didn't do a great job of explaining in the write-up, but if you look really closely at my glued rings you'll notice that I used two rings to create the loop. Link two rings together, then press one of the rings entirely flat into the hot-glue. The second ring will stick out, creating the loop. This gives more surface area for the glue to stick to and it seemed to work pretty well on mine. I hope that makes sense, but let me know if you have any other questions.
If the glue itself is ripping off then I'm stumped...but we could chat more to see what might be causing this.
Let me know if that works for you.
Best of luck!
Kelli
Oh, I didn't notice that there were two rings. I hotglued (I'm pretty sure that's a verb by now) the 216 single rings on. I did opt for split rings instead of jump rings to give them more gluing surface, but alas, they do not have a dangly bit so they are ripping out of the glue lumps. So did you securely shut your jumprings at the top connecting level? I'm wondering if I just leave them open then perhaps they'll stay anyway since they are oval? Another alternative I thought of is buying necklace closures for the tops so there's no plier-ing but I'm thinking 216 of those might be fairly expensive? Any other ideas?
AWESOME! THANKS, CANT WAIT TO TRY THIS!
No problem, Tara! Good luck with yours! Let me know how it goes.
Xo, Kel
Beautiful! Just curious if you know how many strands you ended up using in the end :)
Thanks Sarah!
I don't remember the exact number of strands, but if you're considering the project I would recommend doing your fasteners (where the strands will attach at the top) first, and then make the strands. We found that 1" spacing worked really well, so if you use that to mark the location of where your stands will hang then you will know exactly how many you'll need. I'd recommend making a few extras as backups, but at least you won't make more than you need this way!
Let me know how it goes if you decide to tackle it!
Xo, Kelli