Rustic Lantern Transformation

I have a bit of an obsession ....  I LOVE transforming items from their intended purpose - into something completely different!!  

I can will look at a wire trash can and think,  this would be so cool as a light..  "I would just need flip it upside down and drill a hole in it.  I will need a light to hang in the middle and then Voila!  I have a new light!

I just see it...

That's one of the reasons I started this blog, was to help inspire others to see the diamond in the rough...  And to create their own decor using their imaginations and VERY LITTLE cash!!

Which can translate into a One Of A Kind piece!

Here is a (terrible) pic of my old hallway lights..  Another GOLD light - shocker!!  There were actually two of these awful lights on my main floor.

 I have always had a hard time going to a lighting store and looking around and thinking WOW that is the light I have To Have!  I just never like what I see - unless it is like $1000 and in the Restoration Hardware catalog - and that's just NOT gonna fly!!

I also DON'T like having things - that "Everyone Else" has.  I like being DIFFERENT!  ☺️. So having unique stuff in my home FITS me...  (It just does)..

So, after a year and a half of looking and looking for the perfect fixtures for my hallways, I was at Hobby Lobby and came across this rustic lantern.  It is just a lantern that you would put a candle in and set it on the floor.  I just fell in love with it immediately.  I thought THIS is IT!  This would look awesome in my hallway!  FINALLY!

Oh - I want to mention that I got this on sale for 50% off - so it was only $28!!  BOOM!!

BUT, how am I going to do this...???

I first started by taking this hideous light down...  (DO NOT FORGET TO TURN OFF THE BREAKER IN THE FUSE BOX FIRST)!!!  

After I got it down, I started examining it and realized it was just held together by screws...  SO I got my screwdriver out and started unscrewing the fixture...  I got the glass off of it and when I did that, I realized that I could just "dangle" it down into the lantern.  And that I did not need to purchase a NEW light to hang down inside it - SCORE!!

So I got my handy hubby and his ENGINEER-BRAIN to help me make this work!!  He told me it was do-able, so I went to work painting it!!

Went to my go-to spray paint Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze....  and painted the chain, the base of the light and the cap.  (Don't forget to tape off the wires and where the light bulbs go.)

We unscrewed one side of the lanterns rope and looped it through the large EYE screw that I purchased at Lowes.   Once we got the rope through the EYE screw, (which we had to take the screw off the lantern to do) we made a large knot....  AND before we we tightened it, we intertwined the light and chain through the knot.

***I wanted to add, that I replaced the white plastic candle columns with new ones that I bought in a 2 pack from Lowes.  I measured them and we cut them very gently with a fine tooth mini saw.  I want to ENFORCE this, DO NOT USE a compound mitre saw to cut plastic, or anything with quick heavy force!!!  It will crack, explode, etc...  I learned this the hard way!!!!

My husband then got up on the ladder and hung it up.

I LOVE the rustic look and the fact that no-one else has a light like this.  I also love that this entire fixture only cost me around $40 - total!  Since I used the existing light I already had, a can of paint I already had and a pack of new plastic candle covers (which you get in the lighting section of Lowes).  So for both fixtures I spent $80!  You CANNOT buy a SINGLE light for that!

You can make lights out of about ANYTHING!!  Seriously!  I have found that out by just experimenting with items I bring home...

***If you do not have any experience with installing lighting - enlist the help of someone that knows what they are doing...    Fires and electric shock are NO JOKE!  Luckily Mr. Not too Shabby knows how to do pretty much everything around the house!

Do you have a project where you have used an unconventional item for something else like this one?  If so, post below in the comments!  I would love to see it!  Help inspire me and other readers who love chic decor, but have a shabby budget...  

Check out my next post...  On how I turned a huge garage lantern into a cool bathroom light fixture for $6!  And re-decorated my whole bathroom for about $100!  Faucets, fixtures, decor and all!

The New and Improved Yarn Chandelier

Oh - this light!!  I have a LOVE/HATE relationship with this light!  I LOVE the way it looks!  I LOVE that it gives this room the much needed TEXTURE it was so desperately lacking!  I LOVE the ambiance that it gives to my dining room.  But, I HATE how much time this took and the frustration that came with this project! 

Let me start from the beginning of this projects "story"....  

Here is my inspiration for my light....

I thought this light was really cool looking!  I liked that it could be BIG, UNIQUE and I could do it on a BUDGET - holla !  So I went to the Hobby Lobby and bought a few different types of yarn...  Big thick yarn, and small thin yarn - even sparkly yarn..  Once I decided which one to use I gathered my materials and got ready to start - my first attempt that is......  

Material List:

*Yarn of your choice - get 3 just in case you want more depth (different sizes, colors, textures)

*Disposable table cloth

*Disposable paint tray (Dollar Tree has them for $1)

*Fabric Hardener (I used Stiffy) 

*Yoga Ball (I used medium size)

*Light fixture (I used the HEMMA fixture from IKEA)

*Chain and Cap for ceiling (possibly from the fixure you are going to replace) - just paint it - I did!

*Paint to paint chain and light (I used Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze)

*Light Bulb (sounds silly, but I forgot it first time - SMH)

*An old (or new) 3 strand hanging plant pot chain

 LOTS OF PATIENCE!!

First, get out your NEW Yoga ball - or lets admit it, you just pulled that one out from that cabinet next to your DVD player...  SO then - dust it off....  Get your yarn and STIFFY out - (giggle giggle) - and lets get to work.  (DON'T FORGET YOUR TABLE CLOTH TOO).

After you lay out your table cloth, get out your supplies.  Lay out your paint tray (this is to work with the fabric hardener and let you get your yarn "wet".  The "Stiffy" is simply liquid glue.  I learned to unroll a good bit at a time to work with - because it gets tangled easily and "Aint Nobody Got Time for That"!  I learned that I needed a starting point (from my first attempt) so I added a crochet ring.  I taped this to the top - using the yoga ball plug as the middle starting point.  This comes in handy later.  Tie the 1st yarn to the crochet ring and wrap the yarn around the ball.  Wrap and wrap all around, and around and around in everyway possible!  Always wrapping around the crochet ring.  This is key because when it comes time to deflate the ball, because you are going to need a way to take the yoga ball out of there....!!  

Once you have applied your yarn - you need to allow this to dry for up to 3 - 7 days!  I know...  Its hard!  And its even harder to keep curious kids away from it as well!!  

This is the pic of my first one..  Which was ruined by my 3 yr old..  But I realized I didn't take any pics of the 2nd one.  But this is how it will look once the yarn hardens..  

IKEA LIGHT - HEMMA Light fixture
**Make sure you buy the correct one you need.  Are you going to wire it into the ceiling/wall?  Or
do you need a plug in fixture?

I needed one that I could wire into my ceiling so I chose a hard wire.

Here is the light assembly from IKEA.  I thought that my INSPIRATION PIECE was cool, but was to simplistic for a dining room.  I didn't like that you could see the light bulb, so I wanted some sort of shade in there to make it look more elegant - I suppose...   But this fixture is cheap looking, but I needed something that would fit INTO the my crochet ring.  ***Make sure when selecting a light fixture to go in your "GLOBE" that it fits into the crochet ring!!!!***  So, to make this lamp shade look more expensive, I took the chain from the GOLD chandelier off and painted it with my goto Rustoleum Oil Rubbed bronze and the cord as well.  I also removed the plastic IKEA cap and used the GOLD one from my chandelier and painted it Oil Rubbed Bronze as well.  I thought this gave it more elegant effect as well.  

Once that was ready to go...  It was time to deflate the ball...  Oh this part sucks!!!  Seriously!  Do it slowly and use a butter knife to push it off the glue soaked yarn as it deflates...  

***I ended up using an old hanging plant chain (with 3 chains) to hold it while I worked on it.  This was very helpful and I ended up using it on my final design...

Once you get the ball out, you will probably need some of your left over yarn to wrap around the crochet ring to "finish" where you had to cut the string to get the ball out.  This is really a learning experience and it is hard to explain here...  Once you get the hole ready for your light, its time to hang the light. 

To keep costs down, I have cheap labor...  XOXO - The hubs is very handy!!  He practically finishes all of my projects for me!  He is the BEST!!  Thank goodness I married and engineer!!

 Like I said, I ended up using my old plant chains to hold the globe centered and attached it to my chain - which I threaded my light fixture cord through.  So basically the IKEA light fixture and chain are the only part attached to the ceiling.  My yarn globe is attached to the chain hanging from the ceiling with the old plant chains....  Make sense?  I hope so...

You can see here, The larger ring is the crochet ring.  The smaller ring is the old lampshade I put on the light.  I wrapped yarn around both to give it a more finished look.  You can also see the plant chain and how I painted the cord, chain and cap.  

And there you go!!  Now you have a beautiful  and UNIQUE light in your home!  Everyone that sees it - just raves about it!  Its one of a kind and you can make it as bold or neutral as you like!  

I know that a lot of people feel as though they don't have TIME to be creative and do these types of projects...  

But I do!!  I have the time!!

Let me help you be creative!!  And to strech every dollar!

Thanks for reading!  Post any questions or feedback below!