DIY Capiz Shell Chandelier {Fave projects repost}

This is one of my favorite projects I have done in my home so far and for our birthday celebration, I thought I’d share it again for those that may have missed it last year! Hope you enjoy my tutorial on how I made this Capiz Shell Chandelier for under ten bucks!!!

I got this wild idea that I could make my very own chandelier for my Master Bedroom after seeing some pretty amazing ones here and here.  Not to mention, save myself about $100-200!  
When I saw how close the real capiz shells look compared to the wax paper shells, I knew this would be the perfect touch to my bedroom! I almost like the look of the wax better! AND the wax paper shells aren’t fragile and noisy when hanging!
Here’s how it all went down…

You’ll need:
2-3 rolls of wax paper
about 42″ of parchment paper
scissors
iron
hot glue gun/glue
2-2.5″ circle punch
old lamp shade
optional:
sewing machine
spray paint
First, remove the old fabric from your used lampshade (get one from a thrift store for a couple bucks! – you can find super ugly ones for super cheap that will work perfectly.)  Spray paint the frame of your old lampshade if you want. I sprayed mine white.
1. Make a parchment paper and wax paper sandwich. Parchment paper is your bread and 3 sheets of wax paper is your PB and J. I used  ~18″ sheets of wax paper and 20″ sheets of parchment paper. 
2. Lay your paper sandwich on a flat surface
3. Iron on low setting – this melts the 3 sheets of wax paper together to make one fatty piece of wax paper. 
4. Remove your parchment paper and repeat, repeat, repeat. You will need lots! I probably did like 8-10 18″ sheets. 
Next, I cut my wax paper into 2.5(ish) strips. Mine is a 2″ punch from Hobby Lobby. I got it while it was on sale for 50% off. I think it ended up being like $3-4 after the discount.
BIG GIANT TIP!!!! When punching your circles out, do FOUR strips at a time. if you do less.. your punch will do this to your wax paper. 
Total nightmare. Seriously.
I then separated my circles into a muffin pan. I used 8 circles per strand for the top tier and 6 circles per strand for my bottom tier. 
Then, sew (or hot glue) your circles into strands.  I loved the look of the stitching down the center of the circles as a sewed them so I just ran mine through my sewing machine. I put my tension at 4 to sew through the paper. It worked perfectly!  I used the video on Freshly Picked to show me how to sew them together.  
Finally, hot glue your strands to your lampshade and hang it up! I hung mine right over the existing fixture using these hooks available at Home Depot. I already had some on hand. 
Then stand back and admire! OHHHHH my HECK I love love love it! Even my husband came in our room and saw it and said “Babe! That is AWESOME!” I may or may not have had a big juicy giddy smile on my face! It’s perfect for this room! YAY!
Such an improvement to your typical builder grade light fixtures!

Love like crazy sign tutorial coming soon! 🙂
Like my new mustard yellow wing back chair!? That’s a new find! 
Alright my bloggity friends! What do you think!? Like? Love??
I think I need one in every room! lol!
See my full master bedroom post here.

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6 Comments

  1. Pingback: Pinterest Challenge – DIY Capiz Chandelier. AKA DIY Nightmare Project! | atightsqueeze

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