Monday, May 2, 2011

Balcony Chandelier



diy chandelier

Today I'm going to be showing you my balcony chandelier.  I have been cleaning up our balcony and preparing it for summer dinners, wine drinking evenings, and stargazing nights that will begin taking place as the weather warms up.  This chandelier will bring life and party to my teeny tiny "backyard."  Oh, and it follows my philosophy of easy, quick, and budget-friendly...I spent $0 on this little diy and I'm sure you have every material in your house, too!

My chandelier is made up of eleven different sizes of string lanterns in a variety of fun colors that have been grouped together to hang from the center of the balcony ceiling.  Are you ready to see some exciting and educational pictures that depict the crafting mania that surrounded the chandelier? I thought so!

yarn lantern chandelier

This entire messy project can be summed up as paper mache with string. Notice I mentioned messy. I think this project was the messiest project I have partaken in (well, besides the oil-based primer nightmare that I don't like to think about)...so beware!  To make the ooey gooey paste, you will need to mix together two cups of flour, 1/2 cup of elmers glue, 1/2 cup corn starch, and enough water to make a thick but slightly watery paste.  Remember, the flour is what will be the main character in creating a rock solid lantern so don't water it down too much.

The next step is to hang blown up balloons somewhere where you can make a mess. I hung them from a broom that was balanced on a stool and the kitchen counter.  Here comes the very first messy step: you will need to coat the balloons with either petroleum jelly (did this for my first batch and turned out well) or cooking spray (did this for my third batch and it worked excellent).  This step ensures that the rock solid paste only sticks to the yarn/twine and not the balloon. I skipped this step on my second batch and bad things happened once it had dried.

how to make a yarn lantern

Now, grab your string/twine/yarn and start dipping into your mixture and wrapping. I found that I could put a handful of twine in the bowl at a time, swish it around, and slowly wrap without creating a knot.  I started winding top to bottom until I worked my way around the balloon, and then wrapped side to side. Feel free to wrap as much or as little as you'd like. I did a variety of amount of yarn and each lantern came out beautifully.

twine lantern chandelier

Like I said before: you will make a mess.  Even if you put down cardboard or a trash bag or your dog, splashes of ooey gooey gunk will splatter on your counters, your floor, your legs, and even your hair.

how to make a twine lantern

Now comes the hard part - let it dry for 24 hours. This does not mean 12 hours (I tried) nor does it mean 19 hours (I tried this, too).  The longer you wait, the stronger your lantern will be. When I messed with it too soon more bad things happened.

yarn lantern chandelier

After your 24 hour drying time, you get to pop the balloon! Do this outside because when you pop it, shards of dried ooey gooey hard stuff will explode like a party with confetti. The following step is my husband's favorite: use your finger or a stick or a small knife and start poking the dried crystalized goop that formed between the yarn.  Oh, and look below for a show and tell of what happens when you don't use an oily coating on the balloons. Told you - bad stuff.

how to make yarn lantern chandelier

Next, spray the lanterns with a clear protective coating; I used Rustoleum Clear Coating Spray.

diy twine lantern chandelier

In order to create a chandelier out of the lanterns, I tied fishing line to each one, knotted them together just so and hung them from a hook in our ceiling.  Holding them up in front of our mirror to see how they looked was a lot easier than getting on and off our step ladder to view the mess of lanterns, just fyi.

diy yarn lantern chandelier

I think all white lanterns would make a beautiful chandelier, but I wanted a festive feeling for our balcony so I made mine with colors reflected in our potted garden.  Colored yarn worked well but created a muted color even when the original yarn was bold and loud.  Spray painting and using craft paint worked well also and resulted in bolder colors.  The two white lanterns you see are the natural twine color. 

make a yarn lantern

One last piece of advice - make more lanterns than you think you'll need. I started with just five and they looked pitiful. I made another three but even eight didn't create the focal point I was looking for. Eleven was the magic number.

diy colored yarn lantern chandelier

I can't wait to finish up our balcony projects so we can relax and enjoy the summer from our little teeny "backyard".

Editorial Note: Here's yet another big THANK YOU to Jessica for having me over at My World - Made By Hand!


To see a list of who I regularly link to, including Today's Creative Blog, please visit  Into Our Linky Parties

51 comments:

Jessa Smith said...

I LOVE this - so cute and colorful!

~Jessa
www.jessajill.blogspot.com

Jenn said...

What an cool project... this would look great on our patio. Thanks.

Rebbie said...

So cute! I'm sure all your neighbors are jealous.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for linking back to me :)

Lindsay said...

Impressive! You did a great job!

Mimi said...

This looks like so much fun to have on a porch or anywhere for that matter! Love the colors you used too! Great job!

Little Sprinkles Of Fun said...

I LOVE IT! This is such a fun and playful light! It turned out so cute!

scrapfancy said...

This is so cute and love the colors. Great job.

Jessica said...

Wow this is so neat and original! Love the finished product.

aggieam01 said...

Ohmygoodness. Look how beautiful! It looks like hard work, but the payoff is so awesome!

Mommy Minded said...

Oh my goodness. I love this idea!


Megan
mommyminded.blogspot.com

Beth said...

Very cool, I am not up to that much of a mess right now, but maybe a good summer project for the kids:)

Rachel // Maybe Matilda said...

That is so neat! I've never seen anything like it before--really, really cool!

Rachel @ Maybe Matilda

idesign said...

obsessed with this! definitely going in the future projects file :)

Jackie
http://jaclyndesigns.blogspot.com

Lisa said...

This is so cool! So much work and what a mess, but it's all worth it when you see that finished piece!

Jill said...

Awesome project! Love that you painted them bright and summery colors :)

Jill @ JunkyVagabond

Jen @ My Own Road said...

The colors are beautiful together! Great job

Unknown said...

What a gorgeous look!! I would love it if you would link this up to my Marvelous Mess party....each week I pick one project to feature on my sidebar!! Here is the link: http://marvelouslymessy.blogspot.com/2011/05/marvelous-mess-11.html

Erin said...

Super cute - this would be fun for a nursery as well! Love the colors you used.

LrSchwtz said...

So pretty! Please stop by www.laughloveandcraft.com and link up to my Share the Wealth Wednesday Link Party! I'm your newest follower!

Kath said...

I've always wanted to try these! that's so cool.

kathryn
www.thedragonsfairytail.blogspot.com

Andrea said...

What great project. I can't wait to try this.

Abby said...

SO fun and colorful! Great idea!

Rebecca @ My Girlish Whims said...

So cute and fun!! I want to try something like this this summer :)

Thanks for linking up to Your Whims Wednesday!

Lauren @ My Wonderfully Made said...

I just love this! I'm thinking this would be a great project for these crummy, cold, damp days we're having when it's SUPPOSED to be getting warm! I bet these would look very pretty with the tiny white lites in them too! Great tutorial and thanks for all of the hints!

Unknown said...

These turned out awesome! i`ve been looking for a way to do these without fabric stiffener. Thanks for sharing!!

the cape on the corner said...

that is flippin' awesome!

Mandy Beyeler said...

Thanks for linking to Take-A-Look Tuesday - I featured you today! - Mandy, www.SugarBeeCrafts.com

Unknown said...

Fun project! Since I was a child every Easter I make large eggs using this technique, but I have never seen this project done in any other way. How creative!!!

Lindsey said...

Those turned out awesome. I had the same problem as you when making a yarn ball...I am so impatient that I didn't wait 24 hours and they completely deflated!

Would love for you to join my linky party! :)
http://www.inspiringcreationsblog.com/2011/05/friday-favorites-linky-party.html

Vanessa @ {nifty thrifty things} said...

Wow! This turned out awesome! Love it!
Thank you so much for linking up to {nifty thrifty sunday}!
I hope to see you again this week! :)
xoxo,
Vanessa @ {nifty thrifty things}

Unknown said...

I am totally inspired by this project. :-) Thanks for linking up to my Marvelous Mess party. I wanted to let you know that I will be featuring this project prominently on my sidebar for a week!! Here is the link if you want to check it out (and grab a button!!): http://marvelouslymessy.blogspot.com/2011/05/marvelous-mess-11-features.html

nicolette {momnivores dilemma} said...

This would even look great for a ceiling or naked corner...

Thanks for linking to Creative Juice. Hope to see you back again this week...

Rashmie @ MommyLabs said...

These are fabulous! Can't wait to try... :)
Thanks so much for the useful tips that you have shared at every stage of the making...

Cassie Bustamante said...

those are awesome!!!!

Anonymous said...

Hey girl...I'm so excited for you! I knew the minute I saw this tutorial that it'd be a hit! Great work...

Sisters of the Wild West said...

These turned out awesome!! LOVE the fun colors!
Amy and Emily
www.Sistersofthewildwest.blogspot.com

Holly Lefevre said...

I remember doing this string art stuff as a kid...but you took it that concept to an exceptional level - gorgeous!

Anonymous said...

This looks like a cool idea. I love all the pics from below looking up....just not sure about how it looks from a distance in daylight. Will you be posting pics of how it looks at night all light up? I mean, that is the purpose right?! Kinda key to have that pic. Thx!

P.s. - sorry for the tude....I'm new in menopause, its hot as hell here, cant run a/c due to majorlack fires all around..so hot flashes are making me a mad...mad...girl!

Farah said...

Very lovely and thanks for sharing the recipe of that batter... otherwise I though of only glue... they looked so lovely
please visit me if you can
http://craftaworld.blogspot.com/
Love
Farah

Nana Syazana said...

hi!
im nana from Malaysia.. ;)
check out my tutorial for this nest lantern.

http://nanarez.blogspot.com/2011/06/diy-nest-lantern.html

much more easy and less messy ;) i mean u can hardly see the glue..
have a try.

:D
-nanarez-

Blue Velvet Chair said...

adding to my 'must try' list! thanks for the inspiration!
michael
bluevelvetchair.blogspot.com

La-Dee-da crafter said...

This is so clever and so lovely!!!!
ladeedacreations.com

Anonymous said...

This is by far the best tutorial I've seen for string lanterns and the glue mixture is perfect. Thank you so much!

When I started running out of the mixture, I added more glue and some cornstarch to thicken and it worked well. Then, when I needed to take a break, I covered the mixture with saran wrap to keep it moist.

Peytons_mommy said...

I love this idea! I made smaller ones and put ornament hooks on them for my christmas tree. Then I made large ones and put christmas lights in there and some pointsettas inside made a wonderful christmas decoration:-)

Alex Abrahams said...

Hi Kristen, just wanted you to know I pinned your DIY string chandeliers on to PInterest and it has had so many re-pins. people love the string chandeliers! I tried it - messy process, but beautiful outcome! Thanks for sharing and inspiring.

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