Young House Love

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How To Make A Ribbon Chandelier

After admiring various ribbon chandeliers in baby stores, catalogs, magazines, and even over on Pintrest, I decided to try my hand at one for Clara’s closet. Her closet is actually big enough to become a little reading nook when she’s a little older (I have visions of making her a beanbag for chillaxing on the floor with a book). And I love that the closet has its own light but it’s one of those fugly bare bulb ones that you tug on a piece of string to turn on and off. So I thought a happy little ribbon chandy could pretty things up.

Clara%27s Chair Corner

So I spent $2 for an embroidery hoop (with a 10″ diameter from Ben Franklin) and used some white spray paint and a box full of old ribbons that I already had (I save them like gift bags to recycle them ’cause I’m cool cheap like that).

Ribbon Chandelier1

So the total project cost was just two dolla. Holla. (Yup, that’s the second holla I’ve used today- and yup, I’m counting).

Anyway, first I went outside and spray painted my big metal embroidery ring thing with white paint on a piece of cardboard. While it was drying I went through all of the old ribbon scraps that I have and picked out the ones I wanted to use. Then I popped back outside to flip my ring over with a stick so I could spray the other side.

Ribbon Chandelier2

Then it was back inside while it dried to cut 16″ lengths of ribbon from all of the ones I picked to use. Here are most of them cut and ready to glue to my drying ring (I still had a few more hot pink ones to be added to the mix). Oh and I should note that I wasn’t exact about my cutting at all. If I wanted to use a strand of ribbon that I could almost get two lengths out of, I’d cut it in half (even if each piece was only 14″ instead of 16″). Yeah, call me Loosey Goosey. Wait, that sounds bad. Don’t.

Ribbon Chandelier3

Here’s where I’d show you a few photos of me and my handy glue gun as I glued each ribbon to the now-white-and-dry metal embroidery hoop. I just curled it over the top and glued the ribbon to itself in the inside of the hoop and worked my way around the top, just gluing each ribbon in place next to the other one with about an eight of an inch of space between them so they didn’t get all up in each other’s area. And I burned my fingers approximately fifteen times, which might be why there are no photos. But it was worth it. No pain, no gain. Sidenote: I accidentally typed “no paint, no gain” at first, but upon thinking about it, I also believe that’s true.

Here’s the bare bulb we’re dealing with in Clara’s closet. And I only realized as I took this photo that we never switched it out for a CFL. Probably because we never actually turn it on, but still – shame on us. It has been rectified. And the old bulb betta recognize. I’m in a weird mood today, huh?

Ribbon Chandy4

See those hooks on either side of it? We had those in the ol’ tool drawer, and I thought they’d come in handy for stringing up my ribbon chandy. I was going to use fishing wire but I couldn’t find it so I went with white string (you know, sewing machine string?). Wait I mean thread. Anyway, it worked like a charm.

Chandy5

I just made four loops of white thread at four even intervals around the ring and looped them up over the two hooks so they sort of pulled from four points and stabilized the hoop o’ ribbon. Here’s what I was left with:

Chandy6

Cute, right? When Clara woke up from her nap I couldn’t wait to hang it slash show it to her. She loves it. And that my friends (as Martha would say) is a good thing. Oh and I totally should have ironed the ribbons before gluing but I was feeling lazy. I figured I can always take it down (it’s just hanging on those little hooks) and iron it if the urge ever strikes. Not that I’m counting on it. For now I look at it like wavy hair. There’s a place for it.

Ribbonchandy6

See that cute pink ribbon with the bunnies on it? It’s from this Easter basket we made her a while back. Memories. Oh and note that the bottom of the ribbons are random and staggered and some are cut at an angle or dove-tailed (is that what it’s called or did I make that up?). I went with the keep-it-casual approach.

As for how it looks from the rest of the room, I love how it just sort of peeks out from behind the curtain like her bright little dresses. So you don’t really know what’s going on until you get closer…

Ribbon Chandy7

… and peer up to see those fun little ribbons.

Chandy8

So there you have it. A $2 project that the ceramic animals in Clara’s closet get to enjoy (they’re up there because they’re breakable and now that Clara is toddling around they were in constant peril on her dresser and side table- so up they went. And yes, that’s a framed photo of Burger. Clara’s quite fond of him.

Chandy6

Oh and when I showed John he said “how’s it hanging?” and I said “har-har very funny” and he said “no, I’m asking you a question- how is it hanging from the ceiling?” and I explained it while trying not to wet myself. Maybe you had to be there though.

Ribbon Chandy9

Anyone else making things out of ribbon? Or dressing up a bare bulb in another way? Tell $herdog all about it.

Psst- Don’t burn your house down! Many lamp shades are made from fabric and paper, so ribbon is cool. Just make sure it’s not even close to the bulb (and definitely not pressing against it). Our 10″ hoop offered lots of space for the heat to escape, and using CFLs helps too since they burn cooler than the regular guys. In some places exposed bulbs in closets aren’t even to code (glass domes are recommended, which could still be covered with a fun little ribbon chandy to dress them up).

Comments

  1. Sarah says

    I may have been known to raid the dollar bin at Michael’s and take every last ribbon spool to add to my every growing collection ;) I have seen ribbon wrapped wreaths that look so polished and pretty. I am thinking I may tackle on of those this holiday season.

    Reply

  2. Lauren says

    I was playing the “holla” drinking game with this post. Thought for sure you’d add a Holla Holla Holla at the end. It’s fine though, I PROBABLY shouldn’t be drinking at work anyway.

    Reply

  5. Jess says

    So cute!! This would be perfect for hanging over my Stella Beans changing table. She would finally have something to look at besides the ceiling.lol

    Reply

  6. Lindsey says

    I’m dying right now……..that is the cutest thing I have seen in a long time….almost wish I had a baby to do that for…..almost….

    Reply

  7. Denise says

    Soooooo doing this in my laundry room. Just as soon as I paint the backside of the doors!!! Love your ideas!!!! Keep ’em coming.

    Reply

  8. Mel says

    I’ve been looking for a cheap, yes, cheap because I am, idea for a naked bulb in my bedroom. Thanks to you, I think I’ll ORB a ring and hang strands of beads this weekend. Thinking of staggering the lengths for a wavy design. Sadly, I don’t have a bead strand collection, but I’ll make do.

    Reply

  10. Cheryl M says

    Cute … with a capital C.U.T.E.

    have you thought about getting a new pull chain?? maybe one of those fake crystal ones from Home Depot??

    it’d cute it up even more!!

    Reply

  11. Erin C says

    Very cute for a little closet re-vamp! More importantly, I love being in those weird moods… which it seems like you were in the post! Its good to let loose, be a rebel and not iron and let the weirdness shine bright! Love you guys :)

    Reply

  14. Amber says

    Such a cute idea! May have to steal this one for my craft room closet. By the way, when we moved into our house and switched all our bulbs to CFLs, we totally forgot all of the closets. We just left them though since they’re only on for a few seconds each day if at all. We’ll switch to CFLs when they burn out. And I was totally laughing at the “How’s it hanging” discussion. My husband and I do that sort of thing all the time- so funny!

    Reply

  15. Jenna says

    I was kinda surprised to see the word ‘fugly’ in one of your posts. I mean, you guys know what that stands for, right? YHL can always be counted on to be super classy and not to use language like that. I don’t know, it was just kind of jarring to see from you guys.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Sorry- I’m in a weird mood. It means freakishly ugly, right? That’s what my mom taught me. We’ve used it before here, here, and here and also do the whole asterisk thing sometimes (like this infamous post about my sewing machine). We’ve never actually typed a curse word though. Our moms read this.

      xo,
      s

  17. Jamie says

    I made one of those with rainbow crepe paper to hang in my living room in place of an overhead light. It’s so much fun to see it hanging, and it fools the eye into thinking there is an overhead light.

    Reply

  19. Andrea B says

    I love it! Actually, I’m a wee bit jealous of Clara’s awesome closet. So now I’m currently thinking of all the ribbons I’ve save (yep, I’m cheap like that, too) and that I probably have an embroidery hoop somewhere … and … hmmm … would my husband let me decorate up the office closet lightbulb? ‘Cause I’m totally gonna copycat this idea.

    Reply

  20. Rachel says

    So cute!!!

    I save all the fancy ribbons from Christmas presents. Maybe I can make a Christmas-y something this year with our leftover ribbons.

    Reply

  21. Callie says

    I don’t think you need to iron (the wrinkles will probably fall out eventually anyhow), but if your OCD grabs ahold of you and you suddenly feel inspired/possessed to de-wrinklify, I was just thinking it might go faster with a flat iron–you know the kind you use on your hair. You might not have to even take it down if the cord would reach. Anyhow, just an idea that popped in my head.

    p.s. I’m not making fun of any OCD like tendencies. My own type A personality is pretty intense too. It’s endearing. (or so I tell my fiance)

    Reply

  22. Amy says

    HA! you ARE in a weird – but funny! – mood today…must be all this ridiculous heat! Is it as bad in VA as it is in PA? (haha, that rhymed too) :)

    Reply

  24. NicolaDreams says

    I love the wavy look, but to save taking it down to iron, just run a hot hair straightened over the ribbons in situ. I do it with hair ribbons in the morning and it works fine! xox

    Reply

  25. Beth C says

    Awesome idea! I’ve been trying to come up with a cheap, easy way to dress up the lights in my closet–but I think I’ll try it with strings of beads instead of ribbon.

    Reply

  27. Autumn says

    I had ribbons rather than flowers at my wedding hanging vertically from behind the arbor whichh we used as an alter! Teal, purple and lime green. It was awesome!

    Reply

  32. kendal says

    Love it $herdog! You crack me up.
    I wouldn’t have ironed it either- i hate ironing. :P
    Great idea for putting it in a closet too- you’ve inspired me to make one of these for my side of our master closet…

    Reply

  34. SK Bryan says

    So darn cute!!!love it for 2 buckaroos. My daughter is on a pom squad and we make spirit sticks using large dowel rod & large hooks on both ends. Each game a parent sends a new ribbon to tie on the large hooks so by end of season both ends are tied with all sorts of darling ribbons. Each a little different.

    Reply

  35. Marie says

    Total ribbon cuteness. Here’s a little thing I learned while getting ready for church one Sunday. Did you know that you can iron out satin and various other ribbons by giving them a once over with a flat iron? I also did this once with a sash on a friend’s wedding dress. I don’t use product so the ribbon glides through and look like new afterwards.

    Reply

  36. michelle says

    everybody is so concerned w/ ironing!!! I have a spray bottle w/ water that I “iron” clothes with sometimes, you wouldn’t have to take it down even!

    Reply

  37. Jen says

    I haven’t read through all the comments, so I don’t know if anyone already suggested this, but I have figured out a lazy solution to ironing things like this: my flat iron for my hair! Asuming there’s an outlet somewhere (Um, and that you own a flat iron) around the closet, you can just put it on the lowest setting and run it down each ribbon, or even two at a time. (I do this all the time on the hem of my pants when they come out all wonky from the dryer!)Then you won’t even have to take it down. :)

    Reply

  38. Maia says

    I made a birthday banner from pretty patterned cardstock and pasted the letters onto white ribbon for my daughter’s 1st birthday this past week. I actually got the idea from the one you made with fabric for Clara. Thanks for the great ideas!

    Reply

  39. Kerry says

    Love it! You did such a great job Sherry… I laughed when you said you keep ribbons… I pretty much keep every scrap of ribbon that comes of a gift or purchased item, and it’s already come in handy quite a few times! Why not? :)

    Reply

  40. Kristal says

    OMG…totally love that idea. I hope you guys will be blogging for years to come because this childless, non-married, renter is just a ring and a couple of years away from being a home owning, married, baby mama…and I would love to use all your ideas in my future home! :)

    Reply

  42. Monica says

    random question – why did you hot glue the ribbons instead of sandwiching them between the two parts of the embroidery hoop?

    love it – wish I had somewhere to do it!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      That would have been smart. Also, using the right term would have been smart. My hoop was just a solid metal ring. Nowhere to sandwich anything. So maybe it’s not an embroidery hoop after all? Haha.

      xo,
      s

  43. Jennifer says

    HAHAHAHA you said fugly. you had me laughing for several minutes. Oh, and then I got to the “How’s it hanging” part and laughed for another few minutes. NICE.

    Reply

  45. Jen says

    Have you guys done any reading about CFLs, kids, and mercury? I broke a CFL on my toddler’s carpet and was surprised to find out some states recommend replacing the carpet if you do that. The US government recommends throwing out any clothes that a CFL breaks on … when I read that, I took the CFLs out of my son’s ceiling fixture and closet. We can’t afford to replace his entire wardrobe if I break another one! They make some that are lined in plastic so they won’t break, but I just put 60-watt incandescents in there for now.

    (http://www.energystar.gov/ia/products/lighting/cfls/downloads/CFL_Cleanup_and_Disposal.pdf)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yeah, we did read about that a while back. Scary stuff! We just handle them very carefully but still prefer to use them whenever we can. If Clara ever gets more rambunctious and start throwing things around in her nursery we’ll definitely switch it back out until she outgrows that wild woman phase. Haha.

      xo,
      s

  48. Corrie says

    Cute Sherry! Nice way to dress up those boring bulbs. We have them in our basement, and I curse them every time I see them, but somehow I think it would look silly for me to make pretty ribbon chandys (I save and reuse ribbons too) for our nekkid basement bulbs since the basement is damp, unfinished and basically just an 88 year old storage slash laundry space. :o)

    On the other hand, I DID just do a little ribbon project myself…well, fabric and ribbon. I made fabric covered cork boards with ribbon trim for my boyfriend’s twin nieces’ 10th birthday. They turned out way cute, and the colors actually kind of match Clara’s room! Though Clara is still a bit young to make use of a cork board, I blogged about ‘em here if you feel up to checking it out!
    http://housemadeblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/if-youre-feeling-board.html

    Reply

  49. Amanda- Hip House Girl says

    Cool idea! I’ve seen some DIY “capiz” chandeliers (really you use wax paper or something) that are along this same line. I think it would be fun to experiment with different sizes of loops and distances between them.

    Reply

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