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!
