DIY Fabric Chandelier

Before getting engaged, I rarely ever looked at wedding things for two reasons; one: I didn't think I would be getting engaged any time soon, and two: I knew my mind would change on the things I liked by the time I actually got engaged.

I knew I would eventually marry Patrick, but I thought he was going to wait a lot longer before proposing. We dated for two years before getting engaged, but it was a SLOOOW start. He really shuffled his feet at the beginning of the relationship, and I expected nothing less when it came to our engagement. But low-and-behold, he proved me wrong, which was a very nice surprise. So once he popped the question, I punched my time card in on Pintrest and every wedding blog out there and didn't clock out until a week or two before the wedding. I knew I wanted a soft, "vintagey", story book wedding, but figuring out how to put it all together was the challenge. 

The first project I completed (with the help of a my roommates and a couple friends) was two fabric chandeliers. Patrick and I hadn't booked a venue yet, nor did I know if I was even going to be able to use them, but I loved the idea so much I just had to do it. 

We had an AMAZING photographer. If you're in middle or east TN, you should definitely check out Jessie Holloway Photography. 

I knew we were going to have to pay quite a bit for a few things for the wedding, so to keep the budget intact, I Goodwilled and yard saled all of our decorations. The chandeliers were among the cheapest of my thrifty finds. 

The only items you need to make these is fabric and a cooling rack. 

I realize fabric can get very pricey, so I bought a couple different sets of sheets in coordinating patterns (including fitted and pillow cases) and lace curtains at Goodwill. I think the most expensive set was $5, which is cheap when you think about how many yards of fabric you get in a set of sheets. And, luckily, I found two cooling racks in the same Goodwill trip, which cost me ninety-nine cents a piece. 

This project is so simple that I broke it down to three easy steps. 

1. Using sharp fabric scissors (I learned the hard way), cut 1"-2" strips in all of your fabric. To give you an idea of how much fabric you need to make two chandeliers, I used about half of the fabric in the three sets of sheets I purchased (I used the remaining fabric in other wedding projects). After cutting the strips, you need vary the lengths, so leave a third of strips long (lengths vary depending on where you want to use it), cut the other third an inch shorter, then the last third an inch shorter than that. I went back once I finished the chandeliers and trimmed it up to make it look loose and undone. 

2. Next, take one of your long strips and wrap it around the ends of your cooling rack, tying it in a simple knot at the end.

This just disguises the fact that you're using a cooling rack. 

3. Lastly, beginning in the middle of the rack, tie the longest strips of fabric in the middle and work your way out with the shortest strips obviously being on the ends. In order to hang your chandelier, take the left over strips and braid four long, even ropes. Tie these in the corners of the rack, then bring them together and tie into a strong knot.

(Optional)

To give it some texture, braid some more of the strips of fabric together and tie in random places around the ends of the rack. 

I think these chandeliers fit perfectly in the downstairs cellar of The Knoxville Botanical Gardens. The gardens fit everything Patrick and I imagined our wedding to be: quirky, woodsy, and quaint. (More on that in a coming post)

The chandeliers are still hanging in my closet at my parents house. I think they will look great in a guest room, office, or my personal favorite...nursery. 

Chalk Paint Recipe + Projects

Besides collecting quarters in order for my husband and I to wear clean clothes, another hobby of mine is to buy cheap items at yard sales or thrift stores and give them a second chance at life. 

In the past year, I've noticed a trend on Pinterest that I loved: shabby chic, country, rustic furniture. I'm sure there's a condensed name for this style, but I've yet to learn what it is.

Here are a few of my favorite examples:

                                     
                                                    

I loved this look and had to figure out how to do it myself. So my research began. I realized that all the pieces I really liked were painted with chalk paint. But here's the kicker: Annie Sloan is the only company (that I know of) that sales this by the gallon, and it's about $40 a can. No thanks! As I continued to look, I stumbled upon a few recipes to mix this stuff up myself. After reading review after review I decided on this one:

You can find Plaster of Paris at Home Depot or Lowe's for about $7-$8, and will last you a lifetime. I've used this recipe several times and haven't even put a dent in my carton. So it's a good small investment. 

There's oh so many perks to using chalk paint.

• It doesn't leave brush strokes.
• It sands down easily.
• It leaves a rustic, matte finish.
• It drys quickly.
• AND you can just slap it on with a foam brush.

Have I convinced you to try it yet?

If you're considering painting a piece of furniture, you more than likely don't need a gallon of paint, probably not even a quart. My best find so far are the Valspar color samples that you can get at Lowe's for $3 or $4.

You can choose any of the hundreds of paint selections, and they'll mix it up in this 8 ounce container for you. Even if you buy two of them to complete a project, you're still coming out way ahead than if you would've bought a quart. 

Since I usually just use one of these at a time, I adjust the recipe for it. Thanks to my good friend, Google, I learned that 8 ounces is a cup, so I just half the recipe. If you haven't noticed, 5 is not an even number, so just use 2-3 Tb of the Plaster of Paris. No need to be exact here people. We're not mixing explosives. This step is very important! You need to completely mix the Plaster of Paris and water together in a bowl before you add the paint or else it'll be very clumpy. Then I just take a plastic container (recycle the container you get from your deli meat) and combine the paint and mixture. Easy enough, right?

The only con about chalk paint is that you typically have to paint a 2-4 coats (depending on the look you're going for), but since it drys so quickly, it's really not that big of a set back.

After you've slapped on all the coats to your liking, take a medium grit sand paper and let out all your frustration. In my opinion, to make a piece look more natural, you should only sand the parts that would naturally get warn: the corners, edges, places that might get used/touched most often. 

Lastly, if I'm painting a piece of furniture, I'll generously rub Mini Wax all over the piece with an old cloth. I'm not really sure what this does besides protect the wood. I've just been instructed to do this by a few bloggers, so I obey. 

Here's a few pieces I've redone using my chalk paint concoction:

I found this ratty side table at the same dump as my kitchen table. 

These frames were quarter yard sale finds.

This was another yard sale find for $1. It was an ugly gold and red color.

You can read about this project here.

I found these botanical prints at Goodwill. The frames were an outdated brass, so I just slapped some chalk paint on them to bring them to this millennium.

I hope this has been informative and that I've at least motivated you to finally get to that project that you keep putting off. So, get to it already!

My Dumpster Kitchen Table + Tutorial

Patrick and I got married last June and combined all of our belongings into a tiny apartment. We didn't quite fill it up if that tells you what I had to work with. Though we were stocked with all of the kitchen utensils and gadgets under the sun, thanks to wedding gifts, we were lacking in the furniture department. So, I went shopping for a kitchen table and chairs. WOW! Do y'all know how much a new table and four chairs cost? Let's just say it was a little out of our budget. I stumbled upon a great antique store in SC and found two super cute chairs. I knew I wanted a rustic set with mismatched chairs, so I wasn't too concerned that I hadn't found a table yet. 

Here's where it gets good. 

A couple days later, I was driving down the path to our apartment building and looked over at the dumpster. Low and behold, a small round table and chairs was sadly sitting waiting for a generous soul to save their lives before they were shaved into wood chips. And boy oh boy do I love the price of FREE!

Luckily, it was in good condition. It was just straight out of 1996 with the light wood top and super dirty white legs. 

The chairs were HIDEOUS! That is red, glittery vinyl fabric you see there. I only picked up one. (Which I later regretted. I wish I would've got the other. Silly me.)  

                                         

First, I cleaned up the table as best as I could with Clorox wipes, then applied a white wash to the top (1 part water to 1 part white paint). I'm not sure if this step was necessary, but I just felt like the top needed some kind of binding agent before I stained it. 

Next, I wiped on Mini Wax Wood Finish in dark walnut (a personal favorite). I just used a piece of old sheets I bought at Goodwill. I still use those sheets as drop cloths. 

This was after one coat. {I'll explain how I painted the legs in a moment.} It sat like this for a few days until I decided I wanted it darker. So then came the second coat...

Perfect. This was at our tiny place in SC. The yellow velvet chair is one of the two I bought at the antique store. 

So onto the legs. 

I DID NOT have the patience to sand down that awful white paint in those crevices. I read a lot about chalk paint, and learned that it goes on without sanding the furniture first, you can rough it up with sand paper easily, and it doesn't leave any brush marks. Sounds like a winner to me! Boys and girls, chalk paint is expensive. Way too expensive for me to buy a gallon just to paint four table legs. So I went back into research mode. I found a recipe to make my own chalk paint and ran with it. {I'll post about my chalk paint ventures in the next few days, so be looking for it soon!}

So basically, I just mixed up my chalk paint and slapped on a few coats. When I say slapped, I'm not exaggerating. Since it doesn't leave brush strokes, you can literally just throw it on until you've covered up the piece to your liking. I used a medium grit sand paper to rough up the edges to get that rustic look I mentioned earlier. 

Since I finished painting the table, I found a fourth chair at a yard sale for $3 and painted and recovered the two chairs I found with inexpensive clearance fabric I found at Hancock fabric.  

For my total:

4 Chairs: around $85

Table: FREE

Fabric: $6

Paint: maybe $10

This totals:  $101 (Not too shabby for a dining set!)

Here's the finished project nested in our new place in Maine.

           

I know, I know...I need a rug to go under it, but it's hard to spend that kind of money on something knowing I'll only be here for a few more months. So, I'm waiting to buy the detail pieces until we have a more settled home.

Anyways, I just love it!