Dollar Tree Chandelier
I've always wanted to make my own hanging chandelier for my porch and I found what I needed at the Dollar Store.
I headed out to my local dollar store and I picked up some of this plastic garden fence.
I was able to pick up four of these plastic fences for $1.75 each.
Next, took an old tomato cage and cut off the top portion of it, leaving just the bottom ring.
Then I took a piece of welded wire mesh that I had leftover from another project and I cut it to fit inside the ring.
To secure the mesh in place, I bent the wires around the outside of the tomato cage ring.
For the corner areas where it didn’t quite fit, I took a pair of wire cutters, cut off the excess, and then bent it around the wire so that it's attached to the tomato cage.
To get the fence pieces ready, I broke off the pegs that stick in the ground. The fencing is really lightweight plastic, so it was easy to bend and break off.
Then I took my first piece and using some zip ties, I tied it around the tomato cage, making sure that the zip ties were pulled nice and tight.
I added zip ties every couple of inches to make sure the fence was secure around the tomato cage.
When I got to the end of a fence piece I added on another piece using the guide holes to click it into place.
At the very end, I had a small opening where the two fence pieces didn't quite meet. To fill this gap, I broke off another piece of the fence, worked it in with zip ties, and connected it the same way.
Once it was all connected and zip-tied on, I painted the entire piece with some white spray paint.
After it was fully dry, I added a little black wax to add some dimension so it wasn't so flat looking. It helped to give the piece the look of rusted wrought iron.
Next, I took battery-operated fairy lights and I worked them around the outside of the chandelier. My lights were wired so I was able to wrap them and they stayed in place.
To add some light to the center of the chandelier, I took a battery-operated puck light and secured that with zip ties to the top of my wire fence mesh in the middle. That gave me two options then for lighting when I want to use this chandelier.
Finally, I wanted to add some beauty and a more decorative finish so I added some faux white branches around the top of the chandelier. I used the same zip ties to keep them in place. Since this is going outside, I used plastic greenery so that it will withstand weather and temperature.
This is my finished chandelier outside under my porch. It is a covered porch, so I'm not worried too much about the rain. I really love the beauty and elegance that the chandelier adds to my porch.
It is low enough that I can reach from the ground to change the batteries or turn the puck light on and off. If I was going to hang it in a higher space, I would probably get a puck light or battery lights that can be controlled with a remote to make things easier. For me though, this works for my space and I am so happy with how this turned out.
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VERY creative. Love it! So clever
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Very nice!
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This is a must do project! It is just beautiful, and you are so creative. I do have a question; it appears you used the long wire of the tomato cage to hang it; I’m wondering how you attached them & made it able to hang?