Woo to the hoo. We did it. We met our self-imposed Tuesday morning deadline and finished our clothespin chandelier as part of our little (completely unofficial) Pinterest Challenge (not sponsored by Pinterest or anyone else, just dreamed up by Katie B to make us stop pinning and start doing stuff that we’ve already pinned).
Here’s how it all went down. We already explained the whole Pinterest Challenge thing here, which is where we snuck in a few photos of our supplies, like this one below:
We actually didn’t end up using those three 10″ metal rings from Ben Franklin, but the rest of the stuff came in handy. So for those who can’t quite make everything out, “the rest of the stuff” is: a $4 light kit from Ikea, part of a roll of hardware cloth (aka: wire fencing) from Lowe’s, white gloss spray paint, some old wire from our craft drawer, gloves & metal snips for handling/cutting the wire fencing, and two bags of clothespins (we actually ended up needing eight bags of them in the end).
As for the $4 light kit from Ikea, it’s a plug in light kit (meant to be swagged) but an electrician friend of ours taught us that it can also be converted into a hardwired fixture by clipping off the plug part, exposing the wires within the cord, and connecting them to the wires in your overhead junction box (with the power off of course!). Then we just added a $5 ceiling canopy from Lowe’s (that white medallion looking thing that finishes things off).
Of course that dangling light kit is nothing pretty, so we got to work constructing a drum shade-ish thing out of wire fencing. First I donned my gloves and used the metal snips…
… to cut out a strip of wire fencing that was approximately 9.5″ tall (since we wanted our shade to be about 10-11″ tall when completed and we had to allow for some dangling clothespins to make it a little longer than the frame).
Then since the ring was 10″ wide, we just made a loop of wire fencing with a 10″ diameter and used craft store wire that we had on hand to bind the fencing to itself to create a nice drum shade-ish loop o’ metal squares. It was at this point that we realized we didn’t need the 10″ ring at all since the wire fencing held its shape really well (we worried it would be all floppy and wonky).
Oh and as for some details on the wire that we used to secure it, it was 22-gauge stuff. It’s actually thinner than the wire that we pictured in the supply photo up top (thank goodness for having lots of spare wire around!) because it ended up being easier to twist while still being rigid enough for a good hold.
The next obstacle was figuring out how we’d affix the ceiling mounted light kit to the wire “shade” that we were making. We contemplated a few things – like cutting a piece of scrap wire fencing in a circle to bind to the top (and then cutting a circle in the middle for the light to drop into). We even scavenged for some items to repurpose, like a kitchen splatter guard and a stove burner drip pan (the last of which almost won, since the light kit perfectly screwed through the existing hole in the bottom). But ultimately it got vetoed because it would’ve blocked too much light – and the extra hole in the top would have cast a weird ray of light onto the ceiling. So you’ll see our eventual solution in the “after” pics. Oooh, the suspense.
Next I sprayed the wire fencing with white gloss spay paint that we already had in our little basement spray paint collection. I did this for two reasons:
- we thought glossy white would work with the ceiling canopy that we added and look a little more polished (although some folks might love the industrial look of unsprayed wire)
- some metal fencing like this can have traces of lead in it, so although we weren’t sure ours did, we handled it only with gloves on waaay away from Clara (on the tile floor of our sealed-off-from-the-rest-of-the-house sunroom). Layering on a few thorough coats of spray paint is like sealing old lead-painted walls with fresh new coats of non-lead paint (which is the recommended method, as long as the old paint isn’t flaking or peeling).
Here she is all sealed/sprayed:
Then it was time to play with clothespins. Which may or may not have been harder than we expected to track down in the right size for our wire fencing.
We used eight bags of “medium” sized clothespins from Ben Franklin (snagged at $1.99 for each pack of 40) to play around with a few different “patterns” for our light fixture.
The first pattern was a straightforward row by row effect. We just clipped pins in a horizontal row and then skipped two rows below that and then pinned another row beneath that.
We also tried a more random pattern that you can see better from the inside shown on the right (we basically alternated squares for a zig-zag-ish effect):
We also tried playing around with a diagonal design, which was fun but hard to deal with at the top and bottom of the shade since there were lots of empty squares that looked kind of odd:
I call this design “The Space Invader” after the old school video game. See the shot on the right below? There are totally two space invader guys hiding in there.
Pretty much right away we narrowed it down to two favorites. The row by row pattern that we did first, and the zig-zag-ish pattern that we tried out second. So John held the shade up with the light on and both patterns facing out so we could take photos of each one and look at them together and decide. Going into it I was all about the row by row thing and John liked the zig-zag better.
Guess who won again? John. Seeing it even for a second I knew he was right about the row by row pattern blocking way more light than the zig-zag configuration. And it felt airier and less heavy so we were both gung-ho as soon as we saw it in fake action (just look at John’s excited face above). But really, we were giddy pretty much from this point of the project on. So then we just (giddily) removed the other clothespin patterns and clipped them all around the shade in our finalized zig-zag design.
We just got lucky that we had secured the wire fencing in a way that created an even number of squares around the top so our pattern could “loop” without getting awkward and having a seam. So if anyone at home is going to try this, we’d definitely recommend having an even number of squares when it comes to the perimeter of the shade.
And now for our hanging solution:
Yup, it was just more of the wire that we used to bind the wire fencing into a drum and three heavy duty ceiling hooks that we screwed nice and securely into the ceiling with heavy duty anchors (don’t want to get clothespinned to death).
Then we stepped back and high-fived for five straight minutes. We’re in love.
I bet you’re surprised we didn’t spray paint that sucker white (or ORB), huh? We even debated staining or dying the wood pins, but in the end we actually really liked the au naturale look because:
- it ties into a few baskets in those built-ins
- it makes it more obvious that it’s a light made of clothespins, which we think is part of the fun
- it glows in a sunny yellowy-tan tone whenever the light is on, which is nice and warm – and works great with the grellow walls
Isn’t it fun?
This shot from below reminds us of a sunburst mirror:
Oh and when it comes to safety, lots of lamp shades are made of flammable things like paper or fabric (or even driftwood, etc) but the key is to keep that stuff well away from the bulb (and to use cooler burning bulbs like CFLs or LEDs to be even more on the safe side). You also want to give the heat plenty of room to escape (ideally around the top and bottom of the shade if possible).
Here she is all lit up:
We think it’s one of the coolest things we’ve made to date, just because it’s so quirky and sculptural. And it’s all thanks to Katie Bower’s big Pinterest Challenge idea and two projects that inspired the heck out of me over on the eye candy capital that is Pinterest. Specifically, this project (originally from here) and this project (originally from here.
Check out the pretty starburst pattern that it casts on the ceiling:
Now for some stats (because we’re mathy like that): we used 320 clothespins (exactly eight packs) and our clothespin shade weighs four pounds.
And here’s the whole budget breakdown thang ($herdog just got twangy on ya):
- 8 packs of 40 medium-sized clothespins (from Ben Franklin): $16
- Pack of hooks for the ceiling (from Home Depot): $1
- Roll of hardware cloth (aka, wire fencing) from Lowe’s: $8
- Hemma light kit (from Ikea): $4
- Ceiling canopy for light kit (from Lowe’s): $5
- Wire for securing / hanging wire frame (already owned): $0
- White spray paint (already owned): $0
- TOTAL: $34
And since Clara is in charge of quality control in our house, here’s what she thought (btw, Burger’s reaction was aloof and unimpressed, but I bet if we used dog treats he’d be singing a different tune):
As for if it interferes with heads or flailing arms while switching laundry, this picture shows how high it actually is in the room (and thanks to it being centered in the space, it’s not right above the washer and dryer, it’s a few feet behind it in the middle of the room). We have 8 foot ceilings and the bottom of it is 16″ from the ceiling, so even 6′ tall John doesn’t have any issues with it (since the bottom of it is almost 7 feet from the ground). He even washed a load of diapers and a load of clothes just to be sure.
Can you tell we added our new shoe caddies after we shot this pic? Oops. But anyway, there you have it. A whole bunch of pictures and words about our Pinterest Challenge. And a whole bunch of clothespins.
Oh and don’t forget to check in on Katie, Emily, and Lana to see what amaaaaazing projects they whipped up (they’ll be sharing theirs sometime today as well)! A few hints: one has to do with a mirror and one has to do with a fridge…
And now here’s the part where we invite you to share all of the fun Pinterest Challenge projects that you guys have tackled in the last week (right along with us, well at least virtually with us). If you’ve already blogged about it, just:
- click on the blue “Add Your Link” button with the odd cartoon head at the bottom of this post (you might have to do some scrolling, depending how many projects are added)
- add a link to your specific blog post about your project in the url field (not your home page)
- where it says “name” write a descriptive name for your project (ex: “Clothespin Light Fixture”) as opposed to your actual name
- we’d also love if you could quickly link back over to our project posts within your own (here’s Katie’s, Emily’s, Lana’s, and ours) – it’s also nice to link to your inspiration project on Pinterest as well as to directly link to the original project/site, just so they get some love too.
And if you’d rather just link over to your project in the comment section, feel free to do that – or even add a link to a free photo sharing site like Flickr with your pics if you don’t have a blog (remember to set the gallery to public so we can all see it). We can’t wait to see what you’ve been up to! Geeked out and excited doesn’t even begin to describe it.
It looks incredible! You guys were super patient to make this one! It would be adorable in any room, but the irony of the clothespins in the laundry room is REALLY cute: ) Great job, Sherry & John!
PS. Not stalking you but I clicked over from Lana’s and got the first spot on your link ups! Hooray. Love the Pinterest challenge idea!
From a distance, you would never know those were clothes pins! Looks very West Elmy! (new adjective…)
I love it! So fun and so awesome. :)
The shot where it’s lit up looks great! So cool.
Hi Sherry & John,
I notice that you use the Rustoleum Universal white spray paint a lot. I’m about to do a picture frame project and am looking for a white paint. Can you tell me a little bit about why you choose this brand/type most of the time? Thanks so much!
We have just had luck with it because it’s high quality stuff (has its own primer worked in) and it has an easy-to-use trigger nozzle that we love. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I love the way this turned out! It’s so awesome and unique. The clothes pins are perfect for the laundry room. I had a lot of fun being a part of this Pinterest Challenge!!
I linked up… but the collection number still says 0 and it doesn’t show the link ups, except once you click on the “view/add link” you see others that have been added?
Wasn’t sure if this was acting weird or that’s how it’ll be?
Thanks for hosting, and I loveeeeeeeeeee your lamp!!!
Pamela @ pbjstories.blogspot.com
Is it working now? It seems that other projects are showing up! Hope yours is in there!
xo,
s
Can I just say that y’all ROCK?!! :) I love, love, love the clothespin light! It’s gorg.
Here’s my Pinterest challenge: http://myblessedlife.net/2011/08/diy-starburst-mirror.html
Fun stuff. :)
that’s so cute!
Looks Awesome! Congrats! I joined Pinterest because of your challenge. Haven’t found anything I want to try yet.
Love, love, love your clothes pin light fixture and now have it pinned on Pinterest. <aybe I'll try it for my Fall Pinterest challenge. Your challenge motivated me to make that fairy garden for my kids I've been contemplating: http://theweekendhomemaker.com/pinterest-challenge-a-fairy-garden
Thanks for the fun challenge & link party!
I absolutley love your light…you guys are amazing. I had sooo much fun with this challenge. Thanks for doing this! Here is my post…check it out, I even included a silly video!
http://www.fortheloveofpainting.com/2011/08/my-pinterest-challenge/
Looks awesome – well done!
WOW…AMAZING! SO FUN FOR A LAUNDRY ROOM TOO.
LORIE
Oh goodness I love it! Good work.
And mega mega good work on the whole pinterest challenge thing, you whipped a lot of procrastinating butts into gear. Three cheers for Sherry, Katie, Emily and Lana! (and John and Jeremy, the babies and Burger).
Does anyone else feel just like it’s show and tell time at school! Here was my project. It’s sort of clothes pegs themed too (although right now I’m using bulldog clips): http://annabelvita.com/postcard-frame-hanger-younghouselove-pinteres
Now just need to get cracking on the other hundreds of pins…. Roll on the next pinterest challenge!
I’ll link up to y’alls projects when I get back to my computer
It totally feels like show and tell, hah! I may or may not have woken up a bit too excited this morning.
Yay! You guys are all blowing us away with all of the fun projects! Love it so much.
xo,
s
Here’s my pin challenge. It was really fun to participate in this. Thank you!!!
Hope you like it. Clara might need one!
http://thetreehousediary.blogspot.com/2011/08/pinterest-challenge.html
PS Love the light! I’m going to that in my laundry room when I reno it next year.
That looks amazing! I love it!
You guys, that is total awesome sauce.
I made a shirt, and I’m so stoked that I wore it today. Ha ha.
http://finalclothesout.blogspot.com/2011/08/pinterest-challenge-results.html
I love it, and I am glad to see that you guys played around before deciding which pattern to go with! Too often, people only post the end results and not all the debate that goes into it! I went christmas themed for some reason, but I still love my results! http://thefirstapartment.blogspot.com/2011/08/pretty-pretty-bowls.html Now if it will only hurry up and be christmas soon!
~Blair
Your chandelier looks fantastic! The texture is amazing. I’m curious how dusting it will o. I made a coffee filter pendant and haven’t dusted it yet… I decided to make thread house numbers inspired by a pin. http://ourhumbleabowed.wordpress.com/2011/08/02/thread-house-numbers/ Thanks for the motivation!
I loved this challenge! It inspired me to finally work on the West Elm chandelier replica project that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time.
I ran into some challenges with my game-plan, so I’m still working on it, but here’s what I have so far:
http://www.ahappyplacecalledhome.com/home/2011/7/31/accepting-defeatfor-now.html
I’ll be finishing up this week. Thanks for the inspiration!
I love your light fixture! perfect for the laundry room! I just love light fixtures in general also…so that might be part of it. Here was my pin challenge! (a light fixture too…)
http://wp.me/p1mWlp-rG
We’re loving all the projects guys! Wow- amazing!! Thanks so much for sharing.
xo,
s (& j & c & b too)
That looks amazing! I love it!
It looks amazing all lit up! It sort of reminds me of that Coco mirror you were trying to track down for forever.
Oh man, you’re right! Totally reminiscent! I love that you pointed that out since we’d never notice it! Haha.
xo,
s
J & S,
Yes, this project is amaaaazing, and you deserve abundant congrats (from myself and Clara). Forgive me for stepping in as the critic here, but I’m fairly certain the opening lines to “The Circle of Life” has always been
“Pink pajamamas, pink is on the bottom. Pink pajamas, pink is on the bottom. Pink pajamas, pink is on the bottom… From the day we arrived on the planet, etc.”
= P
Hahahahahha- I stand corrected.
xo,
s
It looks awesome–especially with the light shining through it. Thanks for hosting this challenge–truly, it was the only reason I got around to doing anything productive this weekend. :)
vanessa
love the light!!!
I’m super behind the times and don’t have a blog, or flikr, but I did do my project this weekned and took down the closet door to replace it with a home made curtain. inspired by a combo of your how-to and Clara’s closet!
Great job guys!! I love it and had a great time, thanks for hosting and thanks for the motivation!! Woot, woot!!! http://jpaigeart.com/2011/08/01/pinterest-challenge/
This turned out so well! I am so so impressed!!! This is something that I can totally see in lots of different styles of homes. Bravo you guys!
Here’s my project:
http://chrislovesjulia.blogspot.com/2011/08/pinterest-challenge-robert-frost-is-in.html
inspired by the great Alisa Burke
Julia – Your painting is amazing!
LOVE THE LIGHT!! BUT NOW I CANT STOP SINGING THE LION KING AT WORK!! HAHA
<3
Kudos to you guys, I would never have the patience to do that! It looks awesome. And I love that you guys are so stylin’ the laundry room.
I totally have to admit that I wasn’t feeling this one at all, I kind of thought y’all had lost it when you were describing this, but I LOVE it! It’s fun and quirky and sculptural just like you said. Keep up the awesomeness!
SERIOUSLY awesome you two!! I love it and am slightly inspired. This is so great!
It looks AMAZING!! Luv it.. and want one.. HA!
I linked up too. Going to check more links.. this is fun!
Great job! So clever and creative and unique!
I’m #29 – love that the challenge was a great reminder to actually DIY a pinned idea rather than just ‘collect’! Thanks!
Yay this was fun :)
Here’s my Turquoise Mirror Makeover
http://www.ourlakelife.com/2011/07/26/turquoise-mirror-makeover/
Woops sorry The inlinkz wasn’t working in the beginning. I accidentally posted once in the link and once in the comments.
No worries!
xo,
s
I’ll admit that I was a little concerned when you first mentioned that you’d be making a light out of clothespin. I mean, I get the joke, it being a laundry room and all, but at first glance it almost seemed to be a bit too obvious. But I have to say that I really like what you came up with. You design is by far my favorite of the ones you showed. Great job!!
Woo to the Hoo! <– LOVE THIS! Hahah….new catch phrase.
I love how it turned out!
You know there’s no such thing as a ‘random pattern’ right? I think that’s the very definition of oxymoron!
Haha- very true.
xo,
s
This turned out fantastic!! I like your version better than your inspiration!
Loving your project! It turned out so great. I can’t wait for the next Pinterest challenge so I can participate. Quarterly right?
Yup, Katie and I would love to do it every season! I can’t wait for her to share her amaaazing creation!
xo,
s
OH MY GOODNESS – THAT IS DEFINITELY THE COOLEST THING YOU’VE MADE! It totally reminds me of a school project… but cooler.
Great job!
I love me some pinterest! We had an emergency (nothing major everyone’s fine)… that involved a Rug Doctor… so we didn’t get our pinterest project finished – I hope to finish for next time to link up with you crazy gals!
Soooooooooo fun! I’ve been limiting the amount of pinning I’ve been doing for the time being, but I can already feel the addiction start to creep in.
Your little bean always make me smile, btw.
I think it’s the best DIY fixture I’ve ever seen! You did it up RIGHT, guys! Wow….I can’t stop looking at it.
I wasn’t able to do the pinterest challenge, but I just wanted to say that this is one of my favorite posts! I love this project, and I especially adore that I can see other YHL’s reader projects! Great idea to have a pinterest challenge, Katie B!
Yay Katie! She was totally the brains behind this whole thing! Love seeing everyone else’s projects so much!
xo,
s
Wow. It’s cooler than I thought it would be. :)
Nice job.
I love your results – this is one of your best DIYs to date!
Having just moved into a new home (my first mortgage!) I decided to play with paint and add bold sailor stripes.
http://bread-n-chocolate.blogspot.com/2011/07/paint-by-numbers.html
Thanks for the challenge – already looking forward to the next one!
AHHHHH I LOVE it! You guys are so crafty it hurts. I made a mirror (well, made over a hid-e-ous mirror) for my project but my hubs hasn’t woken up yet so I haven’t been able to take a picture of it on the wall. The main house rule is no hammering while anyone is asleep. Ugh.
It looks great! Reminds me of the Artichoke light from Louis Poulsen!
May I suggest you round out the decor by creating a shadow box from socks who have lost their mates in the laundry? [Maybe something with a flip top so you can reunite them if the prodigal sock returns.] :)
Haha- such a cute idea!
xo,
s
It looks cool. I’m so glad you didn’t go with the first picture exactly. Though, from your hinting pictures I knew you wouldn’t be because of the wire.
Also, is this a candidate for the small post title ever?
Also, Sherry & John, how’s it hanging? ;)
Haha- yup, shortest post title ever I think! As for how it’s hanging, pretty good. John says it’s nice and secure. Haha.
xo,
s