Woo to the hoo. We did it. We met our self-imposed Tuesday morning deadline and finished our clothespin chandelier as part of our little (completely unofficial) Pinterest Challenge (not sponsored by Pinterest or anyone else, just dreamed up by Katie B to make us stop pinning and start doing stuff that we’ve already pinned).
Here’s how it all went down. We already explained the whole Pinterest Challenge thing here, which is where we snuck in a few photos of our supplies, like this one below:
We actually didn’t end up using those three 10″ metal rings from Ben Franklin, but the rest of the stuff came in handy. So for those who can’t quite make everything out, “the rest of the stuff” is: a $4 light kit from Ikea, part of a roll of hardware cloth (aka: wire fencing) from Lowe’s, white gloss spray paint, some old wire from our craft drawer, gloves & metal snips for handling/cutting the wire fencing, and two bags of clothespins (we actually ended up needing eight bags of them in the end).
As for the $4 light kit from Ikea, it’s a plug in light kit (meant to be swagged) but an electrician friend of ours taught us that it can also be converted into a hardwired fixture by clipping off the plug part, exposing the wires within the cord, and connecting them to the wires in your overhead junction box (with the power off of course!). Then we just added a $5 ceiling canopy from Lowe’s (that white medallion looking thing that finishes things off).
Of course that dangling light kit is nothing pretty, so we got to work constructing a drum shade-ish thing out of wire fencing. First I donned my gloves and used the metal snips…
… to cut out a strip of wire fencing that was approximately 9.5″ tall (since we wanted our shade to be about 10-11″ tall when completed and we had to allow for some dangling clothespins to make it a little longer than the frame).
Then since the ring was 10″ wide, we just made a loop of wire fencing with a 10″ diameter and used craft store wire that we had on hand to bind the fencing to itself to create a nice drum shade-ish loop o’ metal squares. It was at this point that we realized we didn’t need the 10″ ring at all since the wire fencing held its shape really well (we worried it would be all floppy and wonky).
Oh and as for some details on the wire that we used to secure it, it was 22-gauge stuff. It’s actually thinner than the wire that we pictured in the supply photo up top (thank goodness for having lots of spare wire around!) because it ended up being easier to twist while still being rigid enough for a good hold.
The next obstacle was figuring out how we’d affix the ceiling mounted light kit to the wire “shade” that we were making. We contemplated a few things – like cutting a piece of scrap wire fencing in a circle to bind to the top (and then cutting a circle in the middle for the light to drop into). We even scavenged for some items to repurpose, like a kitchen splatter guard and a stove burner drip pan (the last of which almost won, since the light kit perfectly screwed through the existing hole in the bottom). But ultimately it got vetoed because it would’ve blocked too much light – and the extra hole in the top would have cast a weird ray of light onto the ceiling. So you’ll see our eventual solution in the “after” pics. Oooh, the suspense.
Next I sprayed the wire fencing with white gloss spay paint that we already had in our little basement spray paint collection. I did this for two reasons:
- we thought glossy white would work with the ceiling canopy that we added and look a little more polished (although some folks might love the industrial look of unsprayed wire)
- some metal fencing like this can have traces of lead in it, so although we weren’t sure ours did, we handled it only with gloves on waaay away from Clara (on the tile floor of our sealed-off-from-the-rest-of-the-house sunroom). Layering on a few thorough coats of spray paint is like sealing old lead-painted walls with fresh new coats of non-lead paint (which is the recommended method, as long as the old paint isn’t flaking or peeling).
Here she is all sealed/sprayed:
Then it was time to play with clothespins. Which may or may not have been harder than we expected to track down in the right size for our wire fencing.
We used eight bags of “medium” sized clothespins from Ben Franklin (snagged at $1.99 for each pack of 40) to play around with a few different “patterns” for our light fixture.
The first pattern was a straightforward row by row effect. We just clipped pins in a horizontal row and then skipped two rows below that and then pinned another row beneath that.
We also tried a more random pattern that you can see better from the inside shown on the right (we basically alternated squares for a zig-zag-ish effect):
We also tried playing around with a diagonal design, which was fun but hard to deal with at the top and bottom of the shade since there were lots of empty squares that looked kind of odd:
I call this design “The Space Invader” after the old school video game. See the shot on the right below? There are totally two space invader guys hiding in there.
Pretty much right away we narrowed it down to two favorites. The row by row pattern that we did first, and the zig-zag-ish pattern that we tried out second. So John held the shade up with the light on and both patterns facing out so we could take photos of each one and look at them together and decide. Going into it I was all about the row by row thing and John liked the zig-zag better.
Guess who won again? John. Seeing it even for a second I knew he was right about the row by row pattern blocking way more light than the zig-zag configuration. And it felt airier and less heavy so we were both gung-ho as soon as we saw it in fake action (just look at John’s excited face above). But really, we were giddy pretty much from this point of the project on. So then we just (giddily) removed the other clothespin patterns and clipped them all around the shade in our finalized zig-zag design.
We just got lucky that we had secured the wire fencing in a way that created an even number of squares around the top so our pattern could “loop” without getting awkward and having a seam. So if anyone at home is going to try this, we’d definitely recommend having an even number of squares when it comes to the perimeter of the shade.
And now for our hanging solution:
Yup, it was just more of the wire that we used to bind the wire fencing into a drum and three heavy duty ceiling hooks that we screwed nice and securely into the ceiling with heavy duty anchors (don’t want to get clothespinned to death).
Then we stepped back and high-fived for five straight minutes. We’re in love.
I bet you’re surprised we didn’t spray paint that sucker white (or ORB), huh? We even debated staining or dying the wood pins, but in the end we actually really liked the au naturale look because:
- it ties into a few baskets in those built-ins
- it makes it more obvious that it’s a light made of clothespins, which we think is part of the fun
- it glows in a sunny yellowy-tan tone whenever the light is on, which is nice and warm – and works great with the grellow walls
Isn’t it fun?
This shot from below reminds us of a sunburst mirror:
Oh and when it comes to safety, lots of lamp shades are made of flammable things like paper or fabric (or even driftwood, etc) but the key is to keep that stuff well away from the bulb (and to use cooler burning bulbs like CFLs or LEDs to be even more on the safe side). You also want to give the heat plenty of room to escape (ideally around the top and bottom of the shade if possible).
Here she is all lit up:
We think it’s one of the coolest things we’ve made to date, just because it’s so quirky and sculptural. And it’s all thanks to Katie Bower’s big Pinterest Challenge idea and two projects that inspired the heck out of me over on the eye candy capital that is Pinterest. Specifically, this project (originally from here) and this project (originally from here.
Check out the pretty starburst pattern that it casts on the ceiling:
Now for some stats (because we’re mathy like that): we used 320 clothespins (exactly eight packs) and our clothespin shade weighs four pounds.
And here’s the whole budget breakdown thang ($herdog just got twangy on ya):
- 8 packs of 40 medium-sized clothespins (from Ben Franklin): $16
- Pack of hooks for the ceiling (from Home Depot): $1
- Roll of hardware cloth (aka, wire fencing) from Lowe’s: $8
- Hemma light kit (from Ikea): $4
- Ceiling canopy for light kit (from Lowe’s): $5
- Wire for securing / hanging wire frame (already owned): $0
- White spray paint (already owned): $0
- TOTAL: $34
As for if it interferes with heads or flailing arms while switching laundry, this picture shows how high it actually is in the room (and thanks to it being centered in the space, it’s not right above the washer and dryer, it’s a few feet behind it in the middle of the room). We have 8 foot ceilings and the bottom of it is 16″ from the ceiling, so even 6′ tall John doesn’t have any issues with it (since the bottom of it is almost 7 feet from the ground). He even washed a load of diapers and a load of clothes just to be sure.
Can you tell we added our new shoe caddies after we shot this pic? Oops. But anyway, there you have it. A whole bunch of pictures and words about our Pinterest Challenge. And a whole bunch of clothespins.
Oh and don’t forget to check in on Katie, Emily, and Lana to see what amaaaaazing projects they whipped up (they’ll be sharing theirs sometime today as well)! A few hints: one has to do with a mirror and one has to do with a fridge…
And now here’s the part where we invite you to share all of the fun Pinterest Challenge projects that you guys have tackled in the last week (right along with us, well at least virtually with us). If you’ve already blogged about it, just:
- click on the blue “Add Your Link” button with the odd cartoon head at the bottom of this post (you might have to do some scrolling, depending how many projects are added)
- add a link to your specific blog post about your project in the url field (not your home page)
- where it says “name” write a descriptive name for your project (ex: “Clothespin Light Fixture”) as opposed to your actual name
- we’d also love if you could quickly link back over to our project posts within your own (here’s Katie’s, Emily’s, Lana’s, and ours) – it’s also nice to link to your inspiration project on Pinterest as well as to directly link to the original project/site, just so they get some love too.
And if you’d rather just link over to your project in the comment section, feel free to do that – or even add a link to a free photo sharing site like Flickr with your pics if you don’t have a blog (remember to set the gallery to public so we can all see it). We can’t wait to see what you’ve been up to! Geeked out and excited doesn’t even begin to describe it.
Lesley says
The clothespin chandelier looks so great in the laundry room! Love that you made a “pin” chandelier for your PINterest challenge. I’m definitely storing this idea away for once the hubby and I are settled.
Ericka says
That is so awesome and PERFECT for your laundry area! Makes me wish I had a laundry nook! My laundry is in my hallway:(
Leslie Ann says
Hmmm. I’m not sure how much I like the fixture in the pictures where the light is off… but it looks really cool in pictures where the light is actually on!
Question: If you guys started drying your clothes outside (maybe even a lazy way, like on your deck: http://hipsterhousewife.com/post/7762811985/how-i-built-a-clothesline-on-my-deck), would you grab a couple clothespins off the light fixture? It would be cool if this lamp is full-functional, just like you ‘youngsters’ hung your ironing board for decoration AND functionality.
Leslie Ann says
Or maybe I should be asking if John might borrow a couple of pins off the shade… I think it might be a tad high for Sherry :P
YoungHouseLove says
Ha! It’d definitely have to be me grabbing them. Though we’d probably opt for taking them out of the glass jar on the shelf, since they’re a bit bigger and probably more functional.
-John
Brooke says
Very very cute! I’m totally stealing this one! I did have one question though. I don’t live near an Ikea and was wondering if you can buy the lighting kits at Lowes or Home Depot? Oh and BTW… I’m so joining the challenge next month!
YoungHouseLove says
We haven’t had much luck finding them at Lowe’s, Home Depot or even craft stores. They tend to just sell the lamp kits to make a table lamp, which you could try using instead maybe. That’s why we’ve come to rely on Ikea. But if anyone else has more intel than us, please share!
-John
Jen @ Domesticated Nomad says
I just bought lamp supplies at Lowe’s. The only “kit” they had was for a table lamp and the only color of fixture was brass with white cord, which I didn’t want. But, they had all the pieces you would need to build any kind of lamp, just separate parts to buy individually. This might be nice if you know what you are doing, but it it’s your first time (like it was mine) it was a bit confusing and annoying. I bought more than I needed. Figures.
jodi says
wow!! you guys did a great job. it looks fantastic! and i’m super excited to go exploring through everyone else’s projects. so fun!
Trish says
Love the light, perfect for the laundry area… but Clara takes the prize for cuteness!!
Ariel says
lovely job!!!!
Jennifer says
So fun, I love the chandy light you created.
I linked up our herringbone wall that we painted after seeing a picture of one on Pinterest.
Hooked on Hickory says
at first i was optimistic on how a clothes pin chandelier was going to look. seeing the rows had me feeling 50/50. but the way you utimately did it, is just awesome! it looks so good you guys! made me a beliver today. ;)
ashley
Roshni says
Just amazing!! And, I love some of the links too… such cool ideas!!
Erika says
Wow, your clothes pin light fixture turned out amazing! Thank you so much for hosting such a fun link party. I can’t wait to check out all the fun projects everyone did…pretty sure I won’t get much accomplished today ;)
Lisa @ Life is Crazy Beautiful says
Yours is better than your inspiration fixtures. LOVE it!!
LARY says
How awesome! It looks great! I really love it!
I already shared the link on your Facebook page and in the little blue box but had to share it here too cuz a I’m just too excited about this whole challenge thing!
http://www.larysubero.com/wp/?p=2258
I had one of my wisdom tooth taken out on Friday but I couldn’t let that stop me from being part of the challenge hehe
Hope you guys like it!
Megan says
Wow, I love it! To tell you the truth…I wasn’t so sure about the whole idea when you first mentioned it but you’ve changed my mind :) It looks adorable in the laundry room. Great job!
Lanie says
LOVE it so much! It is so perfectly fitting for that room, warm and unique. Nice job guys!
Megan says
Hi! I read your blog everyday and today is one of my favorites!!! LOVE the clothespin fixture and some of the other reader’s challenge creations are awwweesome. I have done zero work today :)
Emily says
I want to pin this project and try it. I love it so much! Thanks guys, as always you are amazing. Your projects look amazing and user friendly at the same time.
Laura says
I was just mentioning to my boyfriend the other day that we need to fashion some kind of chandelier or lighting fixture in our bedroom, which is woefully dull. I’ve already forwarded this to him.
Also, Clara is just so darn cute. Such a little personality! Love her, and how she’s always laughing and smiling. :)
Anna Blount says
Love the new chandelier, perfect for the laundry room. Just finding this site and beginning to love it, thanks for your hardwork; starting to think my house can more easily be refinished than I thought. Thanks again.
Marilyn says
You guys never cease to amaze me! I LOVE this!
heather says
I posted mine, but the photo didn’t take for whatever reason. So, despite me wishing I made a crocheted blue monster head rug, alas I did not do something that awesome. So just in case something is up with the link as well, here’s the link!
http://www.likeacupoftea.com/son-of-a-pinterest-challenge/
meghan says
love it!!! Did you have to glue the pins at all? How do they keep from moving around and looking silly?
SO awesome guys!
YoungHouseLove says
They just clamp onto the wire (while going half-through-it) so it seems to hold them in place.
xo,
s
Katie says
Wow it looks brilliant!
Don’t have a blog or website so no link for me but I promise I did start! However discovering a leak under the bath kind of hijacked the weekend so the frame for the bathroom mirror is assmebled but not painted, but starting is the main thing right? Some canvas art planned next …. :)
Skooks says
This is the kind of thing that makes me wish my laundry lived in a cute room instead of in the unfinished basement. Way too low of ceilings down there to pull this off, but I pinned it anyway because I LOVE IT!
I couldn’t pick just one project so I made a little roundup post of all my recent Pinteresting projects.
http://www.skooksplayground.com/2011/08/pinning-is-winning.html
Diane says
Funky and fun. Perfect for a laundry room. : )
Felicity @ Our Little Beehive says
I’m sure someone has already mentioned this, but just in case they haven’t, the wire you’re using is also known as “rabbit wire”. Just in case a reader is walking around a local hardware/farm/etc store and is having a hard time explaining what they need :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- love it!
xo,
s
YoungHouseLove says
Woah- you guys are blowing us away with all of the awesome projects! Thanks so much for sharing. We’re perma-smiling over here.
xo,
s (& gang)
Lonely Wife Project says
Bravo! I recently attempted the bubble chandelier and I think it’s the last DIY lighting project I’ll ever do ;) Not easy. yours looks gorgeous and perfect for the space.
http://thelonelywifeproject.wordpress.com/2011/06/01/diy-bubble-chandy-results/
Danielle@Newlyweds Paradise says
Can I just say how much I love the idea of linking up others ideas from the pinterest challenge! So fun to click around!
Melissa Mix says
That is a lot of money for an ugly (in my opinion) DIY lamp. DIY projects are supposed to be cheap.
Nikki Kelly says
This seems a little rude. Have you never seen the movie Bambi?
kelley says
holy moly! it turned out amazing! I like it better than the ones you pinned for inspiration!
Melissa says
Love the new light fixture! What a neat idea. I love how the light hits it. Your laundry room is coming together so nicely!
http://pinterest.com/pin/70815358/
I took a stab at this pin! It turned out great and is the perfect way for us to store towels in our master bathroom…since it is kinda far from the linen closet.
You should do monthly Pinterest challenges…just saying :)
Pasc says
Hi, I just wanted to say how nice it is that you 2 put so many pictures of your work in progress when you are doing a project. I get excited every day to read your blog but most of the time your new post comes up while I’m at work. Even if I’m doing a desk job, it’s nice that I can just scroll down and look at all the pictures and then when I get home I read the entire post.
Have a great day!
Pasc – from Canada
Donna Jean says
the light looks awesome!
also, my 13 1/2 month old, david, really enjoyed the video of clara and kept asking me to play it again. he was very sad when i told him for right now (after playing it for him 3 times!). he thinks she is very pretty :o)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, Clara sends David a nice big drooly kiss. She’s flattered.
xo,
s
Alanna says
Successful frame painting for the Pinterest Challenge! http://alannaface.blogspot.com/2011/08/pinterest-challenge.html
Kevin M says
Light looks great. And you have some creative readers. I’ve written down about 8-10 to-do items from the pictures above. Thanks guys.
Devon @ Green House, Good Life says
Love it! What I don’t love? The “starburts” pattern on the ceiling. (Typo. Once that’s fixed, I’ll love EVERYTHING about it. Especially how you tackled the challenge to stop pinning and make something by…pinning some more!)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- thanks for the typo tip. Off to fix it!
xo,
s
Emily says
How cute :) I love the pattern on the ceiling too.
I think it’s funny you made something Pin-related for your Pinterest Challenge.
Leigh Anne says
I got a late start (figuring out polygon calculations is tough!), but I’m working on DIY-ing the octagonal mirror from your OBX adventure: https://www.younghouselove.com/2011/07/obx-thrifting/. The boards are cut and secured, and I plan to distress and stain the wood like you all did for your console. Here’s hoping it turns out as good as I hope it will!
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo! That sounds awesome. We’d love to see pics or a link when you’re done!
xo,
s
Liz says
Absolutely love!! I just checked pinterest and your DIY clothespin chandelier is ALL OVER it!! hahaha awesome job.
Darcy says
WOW!!! I love your chandy! My absolute favorite thing though is the pretty sunburst pattern on the ceiling when its lit!!! SOO pretty!! I wasn’t so sure about it when you first described it (however loved the idea of a clothespin chandy in a laundry room = soo cute!!) I love it way more than I expected and way more than the inspiration pics!! Great job you guys!
Tracy says
Wow! It looks amazing and you are so talented!! Thanks so much Sherry for always being so humble and kind to anyone and everyone with questions, comments, etc. I know it takes a lot of time/patience and I think it’s awesome that you guys provide so much inspiration for others. THANK YOU and as always, wonderful job!
Melly says
It’s beautiful!
Suzanne says
Oh man, I seriously think you guys could take a week vacation and I’d be just happy with this post! Awesome!
Erin says
Looks gorgeous! Way to go!
Sarah says
I don’t have a blog, but I did participate in the challenge. This was such a great idea cause it actually motivated me to complete and finish a project with a deadline. :) Plus I love seeing what everyone else did too. My Chevron curtains: http://twitpic.com/5zersb
YoungHouseLove says
IT’S SO AMAZING TO SEE ALL THE AWESOME PROJECTS YOU GUYS ARE SHARING! Sorry to “shout” but we’re just totally in awe of everyone who joined in. So much fun. Thanks again for sharing the eye candy!
xoxo,
s (&j & c & b)
Kahli says
I love it! If I didn’t live in an apartment I would totally do this in my dining room or hallway :(. Great job you two!
Sarah says
Your light fixture is AWESOME. well done! Thanks so much to you guys for posting this challenge! I’m not sure if it was more fun to actually do the challenge, or see all the awesome things people have created. Both I think. There are soooo many more things that will get pinned thanks to this! :)
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com says
You guys rocked it huge this time! Totally love the clothes pin idea for laundry room. And y’all make it look so effortless! Thank you for sharing Clara’s view as well – me and the Husband enjoyed watching her “baby talk” :)