...crystal beaded light bulb cover tutorial

hello my dears!!

has it really been a whole two weeks since my last post?!?!

W-O-W

just like that

~ poof ~

oh, where do the days wander to...

do you suppose a tutorial would make up for it?

hhhmmm?!

here are the supplies you will need to make one

light cover

*10 crystazzi 6mm round crystal sets

(each set has 14 pieces)

in your choice of colors

mine were a mix of clear and ab

i purchased these at Michael's

*  7 crystazzi 4mm round crystal sets

(each set has 17 pieces)

in your choice of colors

* 1 spool of 24 gauge silver beading wire

* a pair of round nose jewelry pliers

* a pair of jewelry wire cutters

 

the light bulb i wanted to use had an iridescent finish on it

so for this crystal cover 

i used a mix of clear crystals and ab crystals (iridescent)

for some added whimsy.

here is my pattern

ready to begin?

step 1: cut a piece of wire about  24" in length

this will be what i will call, your "anchor wire"

quite simply,

it is the wire to which everything is attached to

step 2: cut 6, 16" individual pieces of wire

step 3: start your wire as i have below.

thread a small crystal bead on the anchor wire,

then take a piece of your 16" wire and bend that over your 24" anchor wire

thread one of your larger crystal beads

 over BOTH wires to secure it to your anchor wire

repeat this entire process for all your  16" lengths of wire

so it looks like this

step 4: from this point, treat each wire as it's own

and thread on 5 smaller crystal beads to each wire

like so:

step 5: now add 10 larger crystal beads to each wire

step 6: add 1 more small bead to the bottom of each wire

step 7: to finish each wire off,

use your round nose pliers to make a loop

 on each crystal strand end like this

you should end up with something that looks like this

step 8: now we are going to finish of the "anchor wire"

grasp each end of the anchor wire

and bring both pieces of wire together

step 9: thread a large crystal bead onto BOTH wires

(just like you did when you first started)

pull the wire close to the top like so

step 10: again, just like you did the previous wires,

add 5 small crystal  beads to each of the wires

and then 10 large crystal beads

and 1 small one at each end.

finish each end with your rounded nose pliers

step 11: your crystal strands are complete.

 now we are wiring all the strands together

 about half way down,

to start forming the light bulb cover

like in the photo below

  

pick one of the beaded strands to begin

and place a piece of  16" wire under it about half way down

now fold over the right side wire

then the left side

simply pull the two wires until they are secure on the crystal strand

and move on to the next crystal strand,

repeating the cross over wire steps

stringin',  stringin', stringin',

keep those fingers stringin'

my bad!

i just gave my dog a rawhide chip and was already singin' it!!

lol!!

when you are all finished

you should end up with something resembling a crystal wig!!

hahahahhh!!

but seriously ~

doesn't it look like one?!

i bet Cher would love one:)

at this point,

i took my desired light bulb and placed my crystal wig on it

and simply secured each wires end

onto the strand next to it to complete it

step 12: stringing the bottom

take a  14" piece of wire,

 and make a round loop on one of the ends

like i have done here

slip the wire into one of the crystal strands looped bottoms

and then thread a small bead on

then another crystal strand

then a small bead

repeat until all crystal strands are anchored to that wire

when you reach the end

that's it!

you need to leave one end free

to be able to wrap it around your light bulb base

it doesn't need to be really long,

about 2" or so is enough 

all that is left

is for you to put it on your light bulb

and

 ~ viola ~

your crystal beaded light bulb cover is complete!!

oohhhh

ppurrr-ty!!

 my chandie floor lamp

looks glamorous with it's new

iridescent crystal cover!

or should i say,

illuminated?!?!

and how about you, my dears?

are you inspired to give this a try for your pretty lamps?

i'd love for you to share how your turns out if you do:)

sharing this tutorial with:

brambleberry cottage's: time travel thursday

common ground's: vintage inspiration

french country cottage's: feathered nest friday

romantic home's: show and tell friday

the charm of home's: home sweet home

rooted in thyme's: simple sweet fridays

here's to elegant illumination!

...swoon worthy...

...hello loves!

as promised,

today i am sharing things i'm crushin' on at the moment

two,

to be exact

most of you probably know how i feel about dru's hand spun art yarns

found in her etsy shop ~ petit bones ~

but if you don't know,

let me just tell ya' as simple as i can

i.

adore.

them.

in fact,

if you were to ask dru,

she may say that i have a slight obsession

about her beautiful hand spun yarns!!

lol!!

but,

i can't help it,

they are that beautiful

one spin, is NOT enough!!

~ swoon ~

just wait until you see the start of my new collection

~ sea spins ~

oh. my. goodness are they fabulous

but that's for another post

today,

it's about ~ her nest ~

and perhaps,

you may spy in my nest...

this most lovely neck adornment by diane

from her etsy shop ~ sacred heart design ~

is it not gorgeous???!

oh yah,

i'm crushin' hard on these...

put them together and

voila!

instant glam!

wouldn't you agree?

i asked diane if she were going to make a few more...

as i have a few more nests to adorn

ha!!

she assured me that new ones would be arriving soon:)

i admire them so...

sharing this with:

common ground's: vintage inspiration

french country cottage's: feathered nest friday

romantic home's: show and tell friday

here's to beautiful ~ nests!

...angel cloth

...hello enchanted ones!

would you like to see what angel cloth looks like?

did you know that there was such a thing?

i didn't!

and i have worked around fabrics all of my adult life...

i studied textiles in college

and even managed a Jo-Ann Fabrics store, once upon a time.

fabrics have somehow,

 always been a part of my life in some way or another.

every year,

when making out my christmas list,

i try to always create a most special gift

for my dearest, bestest friend

who also just so happens to be my mom,

(absolutely no pressure there!)

a gift,

unique and one of a kind 

a gift,

that is spun from my soul

and that is the best part of who i am....

this year,

my muse has delighted in making what i like to call,

angel cloth!

it has taken me weeks to gather all of my supplies

of the most beautiful fibers you could imagine

from all over the world!

silk, lace, wool fibers, crystals, pearls

the technique i used is known as "nuno felting"

and

i

am

h

o

           o      d

           k  e

          

it is like working with cotton candy...

delicate, ethereal and light

layer upon beautiful layer

it is not a creative project for the faint of heart

but,

a labor of love...

i was so intimidated by the process

that it took me two weeks just to read and re-read

and then read again, all that was involved!

i tentatively took the plunge and gave it all that i had!

and now,

well ~

now,

 i.  am.  transfixed upon it!

it has captured my creative heart

and i feel like the dancing girl in the red shoes...

LOL!!

it is like a nuno felting factory in my studio...

and in the kitchen

and in the hallways...

i can't stop!!

can you blame me?

isn't it just oh-sooooo-lovely??!!

i love the strands of silk fibers running through the wool.

and you know how i simply adore embellishing things full tilt,

so hand sewing tiny sparkling crystals,

glistening rhinestones,

dreamy pearls and iridescent sequins

were not out of the ordinary for this angel cloth!

noooo sir-reee!

my muse has caught me by surprise with this endeavor

and i couldn't be more thrilled!

what you are viewing in this post is a scarf

and a wrist cuff adornment...

i am mesmerized at the softness of them

they are lighter than air...

i wonder if angel's ethereal gowns could be made from cloth such as this?!?!

hhhhmmmmmm....

i still have some silk and wool fiber left,

what do you think i should make next???

perhaps a bowl,

to stash my nuno fibers in?

i would be interested to hear your thoughts...

~

sharing this post with:

Common Ground's: Vintage Inspiration Friday

French Country Cottage's: Feathered Nest Friday

Freckled Laundry's: Air Your Laundry Friday

Romantic Home's: Show and Tell Friday

2805's: Potpourri Friday

here's to spun angel cloth!