Let Your Light Shine - Ikea Chandelier hack

 What can you do with a swag hook?

There was a dark corner in the bedroom that called out for a some kind of light. Since the prior owner had already screwed a swag hook into the ceiling, it seemed right to hang a small chandelier. So I started looking and found all sorts of beautiful chandeliers that would have been perfect except for either the price (I am a bit of a cheapskate) or the need to be hard-wired.  I wanted a light that could be swagged with the cord running down the wall behind the curtain and then plugged into the outlet.  "Why not just hire an electrician and wire the ceiling?" asked a well-meaning friend.  Did I mention that I am somewhat of a cheapskate and an electrician was not in the budget.

Since I couldn't find anything suitable, my thoughts turned to finding something that could be added to or altered.  One challenge was the swag hook, it was screwed into the ceiling not into wood. I didn't want to move it and put another hole in the ceiling. The hook had a small anchor but I was not sure how much weight it could hold.  A crash in the night would probably give me a heart attack.

So, a friend and I decided an Ikea field trip was just what we needed.  Lots of great chandeliers - right price and right size but all the ones I liked needed to be hard wired.  Then I spotted a modern looking fixture.  It was lightweight, made of white plastic covered wire with small lights all the way around, great size and only $19.99. Biggest issue - my bedroom is not at all modern. My furniture is of the antique variety, flowered quilt, etc. so the modern looking chandelier just wouldn't fit.

Suddenly, a light bulb went on.  I could add flowers, beads and hang some old chandelier crystals around the edge.  Of course the packaging on the Ikea fixture said not to attach anything or alter it in any way.  But the lights were LED and not going to get hot, I wasn't messing with anything electrical so I decided to go for it.  Disclaimer - if you copy my chandelier, I take no responsibility for your house burning down.  

Here's the final project:

Close up view:

I wove some pink flower stems and gold & pink bead stems through the fixture and then placed the crystals around the edge. Originally I wanted to hang more crystals from the chandelier but since they are genuine crystal (saved from an old chandelier) they were pretty heavy.  In this case less had to be more.

This chandelier adds ambiance, just enough light to brighten the corner and fits in nicely with my romantic type decor.  It has an on and off switch, so to be safe I only have it on when I am in the room.  So far so good...

Just a Bird in a Guilded Cage - Jewelry Display

What can you do with a bird cage?

The obvious answer is keep your bird in it.  Don't have a bird?  Don't want a bird? Here's an idea:

A bird cage is a great way to display your jewelry.  My jewelry was in tiny zip lock bags and stashed in a large jewelry box with multiple drawers.  Everyday I would rifle through the various bags trying to find the pieces I wanted to wear. I couldn't remember what was in each drawer and if I pulled them out far enough to see inside the drawer would fall out.  Frustrating.

Helping a friend unpack, I got the job of putting away her jewelry which she displayed on a metal flower-shaped wall decoration.  Very cute and you could see all of the beautiful bracelets, necklaces, etc.  So now I was on a mission to find something similar for my house.  Off I went to Home Goods, one of my favorite field trips.  Of course, they had nothing similar so with my problem-solving hat on,  I went up and down every isle (somebody has to do it) trying to conjure up the perfect jewelry display item,  Several items made it into the basket and the same items went back on the shelf on the next trip around.

Then I saw a gorgeous standing bird cage and my creative juices started flowing.  How could I use it?  I loved that it stood on it's own, nothing to hang and it would take the space of the old jewelry box.  It was more money than I wanted to spend but I could see it looking beautiful in the bedroom and I was really tired of looking so it came home with me. 

The necklaces and earrings that closed I hung on the horizontal wires that ran around the outside.

For the bracelets, I cut two 1/2 wood dowels so that they were long enough to span the cage and glued some scrap black velvet on them. Voila - bracelet perches.  If you used a smaller diameter dowel you could have ring perches.

 View looking down from the top:

The bottom of the cage was wired and I was afraid things would fall through so I covered a circle of cardboard (actually 2 half circles to fit the diameter of the cage) in the same black velvet and put it in the bottom of the cage. Then I added a circular glass relish plate with dividers, the kind you put pickles and olives on.  This was the perfect place to put post earrings, pins, etc.

 View looking in through the cage bars:

Here's the finished product.  It looks great and I can see all the pretty jewelry, enjoying it every day even if I am not wearing it.

Although I purchased this metal decorative cage, with patience you could probably find one at a garage sale or thrift store or just turn out your bird and claim its cage!  Have fun.