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DIY Rock Candy Chandelier

DIY

Laurie’s DIY project this week is another great example of taking something very ordinary and transforming it into something absolutely beautiful and unique. Can you believe those are just bits of rock candy strung on a piece of wire? Oh, and don’t you love how Laurie referred to it as “natural bling”…

What You’ll Need

Rock Candy Strings

Bailing wire (I used 16 gauge) ( 1.5 inches for each)

Seam binding or ribbon (about 10″ for each, 1/2″or so wide)

Wire cutters

Scissors

Hot glue gun and glue sticks

Resources:

Rock Candy can be found at stores selling bulk candy. It can also be ordered through online resources like Oh, Nuts and Candy Warehouse.

Seam Binding can be purchased at any fabric store. There are also a lot of vendors on Etsy selling it too.

Bailing wire is available at any hardware store.

Directions:

1. Begin by using your wire cutters to cut 1.5 inch lengths of wire. You’ll need one per crystal. (see figure 1)

2. Bend your wire into a “Shepard’s hook” shape. I bent mine over a pencil to make a nice curve. (see figure 1)

3. At the very end of one of you rock candy strings, put a generous glob of hot glue. Stick the end of the hook into the glue, and hold until it has cooled. If it wiggles a bit, add another dab to secure it. (see figure 2)

4. Cut a length of ribbon, about 10 inches long and tie a knot, then a bow around the wire at the top of the crystal. Trim your ribbon tails.

5. Hang your completed crystals anywhere that needs a little sparkle; on bare branches in a vase, from a tree, in a floral arrangement, from garland or an arch. If you’re feeling extra crafty, construct an armature and hang the crystals from it like a chandelier. (see pic below)

A Tip:
If you have a lot of short candy strings, you can join them together using hot glue to make longer strands

What it cost:

Rock Candy – $5 a pound (I bought 1.25 pounds, and got about 25 strands)

Bailing Wire – $3 for a 50 ft spool

Seam binding – $.25 – .50 per yard (from most Etsy sellers)

Project created by Laurie Cinotto