Geometric Copper Pendant- Tutorial

Have I mentioned how much I love this light?  I am super excited to share the tutorial for how to make it because, well, I'm a giver.  BUT, also because it is fairly simple project that looks way more complicated than it really is.

For the record, I did not enjoy geometry in school.  Angles and the pythagorean theorem…blech!  I'm not ashamed to say that I am geometrically challenged.  I do, however, know that this light is made up of a bunch of equilateral triangles…ba-bam!!!
{Thanks Ms. Grisenti.  See I was listening.}
Anyway, I share this with you because my approach in assembling this project may seem a little haphazard and, well, more complicated than it should be.  So hopefully you can follow me.

Here's what you need to get started:

*22 gauge floral wire {found at any craft store}

*tube cutter {found at any home improvement center for about $7}

*1/4 inch copper refrigerator tubing {I found this tubing at the Home Depot...about $18 for 20 ft.}

I started by cutting 30, 6 inch pieces of of copper tubing.  Note:  If I were to make another light, I would probably increase the length to 7 or 8 inches.  I wouldn't say the pendant is small, I just think I'd like the next one to be a little larger.  Anyway…

This step is the most time consuming {and possibly painful}.  Using the tube cutter is not difficult, but after repeating the process thirty times your fingers will be, well, dead.  This is good task to pass on to the hubby, especially this weekend as it is mother's day and he can't say no. 

 Happy Mother's Ya'll…by the way!

Once all your pieces are cut you can start assembling.  I began by making a triangle.

And continued to make triangles

Until I ended up with this…a pentagon-ish type shape.  Just…you need five triangles!

Then I started adding triangles around the pentagon.

And ended up with a star.

Then next step was connect the tips of all of the triangles with a piece of tubing.

Here's what it will look like after.  It's nearly done.  

You should have five pieces of tubing remaining at this point, which you will attach individually to the five bottom joints of the structure.  Be sure to leave some extra wire coming out the end of the unattached side of the tube for later use.  The arrows in the photo below better indicate which joints I'm referring to.

You can see in this picture where I attached two tubes to the joints and then to each other creating a triangle.  Continue adding tubes and attaching them to the point of the triangle.

Here's what it will look like when all five tubes are attached and secured at the point.

The structure itself is now complete.

At this point, I was scratching my head as to how I would attach the structure to a lamp kit.  Ever the DIY'er I utilized something I have readily available at my house…cardboard.

I set the light on top of the cardboard and traced out one of the triangles.

Then I cut it out slightly larger than the tracing.

I opted to use a lamp kit from Ikea {they cost about $5}.  I centered the socket on the cardboard and traced around it.

And cut it out and made sure it fit snuggly on the socket.  This cardboard piece will become the support for the light structure.

I used some of this

To paint to cardboard and light socket copper so it would blend in with the light.

If you look closely at the picture you can see how the structure is resting on the cardboard.   I actually added some hot glue to to the top of it so it wouldn't slip around.  You may be wondering how a flimsy piece of cardboard is supporting the weight of the light, but surprisingly the light isn't all that heavy.

And then just sit back and admire your handiwork!

Here's a side by side of the inspiration light and my DIY version.

I ended up making two pendant lights and spent about $20 for each.

* $28 for 30 ft. of copper tubing {one light requires approximately 15 ft. of tubing}

* 2 lamp kits from Ikea at $5 each

* 22 gauge wire about $2

...for a grand total of $40!

And a third of the cost of the original.  Happy Mother's Day to me!!!

And again, a Happy Mother's Day to you too!!!

DIY Mantle...mini tute

I decided it was probably a good time to finally post a mini tute on my diy mantle.

I cannot begin to tell what a difference my awesome, chunk-a-licious mantle has made in my family room. Immediate coziness I tell ya. Everytime I see it, I am so proud to think that I made it with my own two hands...well with Studly's two hands, technically. We've gotten som many compliments from our friends and family. It's funny to see the look of utter shock and amazement on their faces when we tell them we did it ourselves. And I'll tell you right now, if a couple of nerds like us can do it...so can you.

Before attempting, we got a quote on having someone build one for us. The guy we talked to quoted about $300, and that was just for the supplies. I don't think that included the labor. Still, not too expensive, when you are talking about adding a permanent fixture to your home, but ever the penny pincher, I knew there had to be a way to build it for cheaper.

Then I came across this picture over at The Lettered Cottage and it was love at first sight.

No seriously, I have a picture of this mantle taped up next to one of David Beckham.

I have yet to profess my love to Palmer's, but I will someday, when I work up the guts. I love these two. They are seriously talented and inspiring. I always find tons of ideas and inspiration when I visit their blog. You should seriously check them out.

Imagine my elation when I learned that they had built their mantle for $82 {$82 Fireplace Makeover}. I was beyond excited. Not only was their's way more awesome, it was also way more budget friendly than any of the prefab ones I had researched. After reading through their post a couple of times I was convinced that I {well, Studly} could do it too. It took a little convincing...a little batting of the eyelashes at whatnot, but the old man finally conceded.

Which FINALLY brings me to the reason of this post...a mini tute.

It's hard to do a full tutorial on this subject, simply because there are so many variables {the amount of wall space, the size of the fireplace insert, etc.}, but I'll do my best to make it understandable.

Before we could start building our surround, we had to move our fireplace insert and tile around it. We chose a brown granite tile. This is where a chunk of our budget went. We spent about $60-70 on tile. It is not recommended to build a wood/mdf surround directly up against a fireplace for obvious reasons...fire hazard. So, if you don't already have a buffer around your fireplace, well then, you'll need to make one. Once done, you can move on to the the surround.

The wall where our fireplace insert resided was totally blank, so we had a lot of room to work with.

We decided on builiding a fairly good sized surround...about 7ft wide by about 5ft tall. {Most standard fireplace surrounds are about 60 inches tall.}

We started by constructing the "legs" of the surround. We did this by building a three sided box. We used premade 3 1/2 inch sqare, mdf molding which we cut to {approx. 55 inches}, then used another piece of mdf board which we cut down to {15 inches by 55 inches} for the front. You should now have box that extends out 3 1/2 inches from the wall, and stands 55 inches high.

Next, we moved on to the "skirt" of surround. We constructed this by cutting a piece of mdf down to 50 1/2 inches wide by 15 inches tall {the width of the legs is equal to the height of the skirt, make sense?} I might also point out, that fudging on your measurements is okay. Studly just sorta built and measured as he went along. Sometimes the way it is written on paper, doesn't always translate to the actual building. That's okay. That's what decorative molding and caulk is for. Here's what the surround should look like now.

Then, using more of the 3 1/2 inch mdf moulding, we cut it down and used it to "dress up" the surround. We started with the skirt and them moved to the legs. A "real" carpenter would miter all of these cuts, but Studly is a beaker salesman and I am domestic goddess, so we just used straight cuts...remember our good friend caulk.

Here's the part where our good friend SANDABLE caulk comes in. We filled in all of the joints we didn't want noticed, then sanded our keisters off.

For the actual mantle, I used pine boards, which I used to make a five sided box. The front piece of the mantle measured 83 1/2 inches wide by 7 1/4 inches high {which at the lumber store apparently means 8 inches}. The top and bottom of the mantle measured 83 1/2 inches by 6 inches, and the two sides measured 7 1/4 inches {or 8inches} by 6 inches. I nailed the pieces together using a nail gun. To give the mantle a rustic/reclaimed look, I took a hammer and aul to it. Dragging it around in rocks works well too. I distressed my boards before I assembled them, but you could do it after too. Then, I stained the mantle with a lucious, dark stain. After it was dry, Studs and I mounted it on top of the surround.

After we nailed on the mantle, I realized that the surround still didn't look finished. So, I went and got some 1 1/2 inch mdf moulding, which I put around the bottom of each leg and along the top of the surround to cover a small gap between the mantle and surround.

And finally...voila!


{sorry for the crappy, grainy pic. I couldn't find the cord to my camera, so I had to use a pic from my phone.}

I will admit, the painting, caulking and sanding was the most tedious part of this project. It was actually really fun to see our mantle come together right before our eyes. All in all, we ended spending about $150 to build our new mantle and surround. That also includes the tile. It required a little time and some elbow grease, but it was totally worth it dontcha think?

Teacup clock tutorial

I mentioned in my teacup lamp tutorial that I made a teacup clock awhile back. I've had several people ask me to post my tutorial on making a teacup clock. And I am happy to oblige.

The love affair began when I came across this picture by happenstance.

I thought it was pretty amazing. I loved the idea of using old tea cups and giving them a new purpose. Then I looked at how much the puppy was selling for...$350. Ouch!!!
I knew that I could make a clock that would be just as attractive and better yet personalized to my liking, for a fraction of the price. So I got to work.

I will apologize now for the lack of pictures. I made my clock several months ago...before this blog was even a twinkle in my eye. Hopefully you'll be able to understand my intructions. If not, please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Here's what you need:
4ftx4ft piece of underlayment $6 (available at any home improvement store)

12 cup and saucer sets (I spent around $25 total for all of mine)

1 clock movement and hands (you can buy movements with or without hands. I bought a kit without as I already had hands I took off an old clock. Price will vary depending on brand and size of hands...somewhere between $5-$15)

paint/stensil/stamp (or whatever you want to use to decorate your clock)

Epoxy $4 (make sure it's for glass and porcelain)

A couple nuts and bolts

Photo wire

I went to my local thrift store and purchased a majority of the cups and saucers sets. (I found one set at TJ Maxx and two at Tai Pan...a local interior decorating store).
I purchased a piece of half inch thick underlayment for the base of the clock. (Note: underlayment is not the best quality wood. It splinters. But, because I knew the clock would be hecka heavy after gluing all of the tea cups and saucers on, I wanted the board to be as thin as possible. Plus it was cheap...six dollars for a 4x4piece. If you want something a little better quality that's totally fine, just bear in mind the weight of the completed piece.)

I marked the center of the 4x4 board and hammered in a nail. (I don't know about you, but I don't own a compass large enough to accomodate a clock of this size, so I had to improvise.) I cut a piece of string 27 inches long (note: the actual diameter of your circle base will end up being twice the length of the string...so, my clock base ended up being 54 inches, or 2 1/2 feet in diameter. It is completely up to your discretion how large you decide to cut your circle (I placed my cups and saucers on the wood prior to cutting it and measured to come up with the number 54 inches...not very scientific, but it works.)

Then, I tied one end of the string to the nail in center of the board and a pencil to the other end. Pulling the string as tightly as I could, I traced a large circle on the board.

I removed the string and nail and cut the circle out with a jig saw.

Next, I drilled a bigger hole in the center of circle to accomodate the clock mechanism.

Here's where you get your creativity on. Paint and/or decorate your clock face to your liking. I chose to paint mine a light, turquois-y, blue color with black and cream accents.

I found a foam stamp at Michael's for $1.99 and used it to decorate the center of the clock

and around the border.

After the paint was thoroughly dry, I glued my teacups and saucers on (I layed all of my dishes out first before gluing, to make sure I liked the way everything looked).

I left them to cure for twenty-four hours.

Then I mounted the hanging wire to the back. It's really important that you prepare your clock with something stong enough to accomodate the weight. I had my stud muffin drill two holes, on either side of the clock...at "10" and "2" (Please note that I purposefully waited to drill the holes until after we had already glued on the plates and cups. It would have been easier to do it before, but I wanted to make sure the holes would be concealed by the saucers so we did after they were glued on).
We screwed a heavy duty bolt into each hole and secured it on the front with a nut.

Then we tied/twisted the wire onto each bolt in the back.

Finally I mounted the clock mechanism to the back and affixed the hands.

I popped a battery in the back and watcher her tick.

I ended up spending approximately $45 to create my personalized teacup clock, compared to $350 for the original. It took a little patience 'and a little work, but it's totally worth it, dontcha think?

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