String Light Crafts

Chandelier Crafts

For a fairly quick and inexpensive alternative to a real chandelier, you can create a cluster of light on your own using string lights. Get an old chandelier fixture from your local thrift store, or you can scour the free section on Craigslist. Wrap a set of white lights around the bottom of the fixture and around the perimeter so most of the surface area is covered with the lights. If you put the strand on a dimmer, you can also regulate light intensity. For a rustic look without the chandelier, grab a large bundle of branches from outside, and hang them upside down from the ceiling, wrapping the lights in them. You can also spray paint them white, black or silver depending on your decor.

Flowers and stringed lights look lovely paired together. Pick a faux flower with few petals and plastic parts to work with. Remove the center of the petal by hand or with craft pliers. Poke a single light bulb on the string through the back of the flower so it sits directly in the center. Repeat this for each of the lights on the string, and you have a garland of radiant flowers for your patio or teen's bedroom. You can use a similar technique with egg carton flowers. Each cup is cut so it's shaped like a tulip. Paint the cartons, or leave them brown. Poke a light through each, and you have a string of eco-friendly tulips.

If you don't mind spending a bit more time and like working with your hands, you can add elegant and shimmery objects to a plain string of lights that can completely transform them. Thread thin wire through crystal gems of various sizes in your favorite color. Make the wire about as long as your light string, garlanding the jewels with smaller pieces of wire wrapped around the main one. When you're done, carefully wrap the wire around the light string, and the light will reflect off the crystals for a burst of shimmer.

String lights make wonderful supplies to create back-lit art. Poke clusters of holes in a white canvas in two to three areas, trying to make them various sizes. Clump the lights behind the canvas for what looks like a canvas of stars. You may have to fidget with the lights until they radiate evenly. You can also play with shapes like a Christmas tree for a holiday piece.