How to Make a Paper Chandelier

Everybody wants to enjoy the opulence of a fine chandelier, but not everyone can afford to buy one. Still, others are at the mercy of apartment landlords who are less than thrilled about a large, heavy light fixture taking down their ceiling. If you want a chandelier for decoration, and don't need it to also serve as a light fixture, a paper chandelier is your perfect solution. They are lightweight, and unlike traditional chandeliers, can come in any color or pattern. Making your own can be a little tricky if you're a paper crafts novice, but with a little practice and patience, you'll have a chandelier that will be the envy of everyone you know.

Things You'll Need

• Card stock or other thick paper Scissors Thin fishing line Sewing needle Glue stick or paper-safe craft glue

Instructions

1. Draw your plans. You will need to draw or purchase your own chandelier patterns or stencils. Because of the popularity of paper chandeliers, free patterns and stencils are hard to come by on the Internet. I have included, in the resources section, several example paper chandeliers, and one example of the kind of pattern you need to create for yourself. You need to create a pattern for what you want one arm of your chandelier to look like, and one pattern for the in-between, or filler pieces. Each piece needs to be designed to fold in half at the base for assembly.

2. Trace and cut out your patterns. You will need at least 4 of the large pattern pieces and 16 of the small filler pieces.

3. Fold each piece in half at the base. This will create a series of V-shaped pieces.

4. Glue one filler piece, folds facing the center, to one side of the arm piece. Repeat this on the other side of the arm piece. This should give you a piece that looks somewhat like a "W" with an arm in the center, and two filler pieces coming out of the side. Repeat this for all the arm pieces.

5. Glue a filler piece to each of the filler pieces attached to the arms. You are slowly assembling a chandelier that will be circular with all points (folded edges) meeting in the middle. Glue your four pieces together to close the circle.

6. Use a hole punch to make a hole in the top of your chandelier. Thread fishing line through it and hang it.

Tips & Warnings

• Try using contrasting colors for the arm and base to add a dramatic effect.

• If your chandelier is heavy, you may have to reinforce the hole to prevent your chandelier from tearing when hung.

Resources

• Paper Chandelier Example 1
• Paper Chandelier Example 2
• Paper Chandelier Example 3
• Paper Chandelier Example 4