Handmade Chandelier

Paint and Plastic

• The colorful clear plastic beads that come in children's hobby kits or get tossed around as necklaces at Mardi Gras or New Year's celebrations can find new life hanging from your ceiling. Spray an old flea market chandelier white. Use as many coats as it takes to make the fixture completely opaque. Drape plastic bead necklaces around the curving arms of the chandelier, attaching them with clear fishing line if necessary to prevent slipping. Add chandelier light bulbs in the shape of candles and hang the bright bauble in a kitchen or kid's room.

No Deposit Chandelier

• Recycled glass bottles become a musical chandelier with some basic glass work. Circles of aqua and clear bottles -- or bottles of any other colors -- are cut and smoothed to make rings of glass in various sizes. The glass rings are connected with smaller metal rings so they dangle in strings of different lengths. The strings of glass rings are attached to metal hoops that surround a large glass bottle with its wide bottom cut off. A bulb in the center bottle provides light to sparkle through all the glass and a breeze moves it like a wind chime.

Cheap Crystal Confection

• Take one iron plant hanger, a few lengths of matching chain, a pendant lamp fixture and hundreds of crystal beads and turn them into your own shimmering chandelier. The real investment in this glamorous lighting is time. String crystal beads on clear monofilament, each large crystal bead separated by a smaller gold spacer bead. Tie each string of beads to the plant hanger, covering the entire circumference of the hanger with tied strings. Wrap a pretty colored ribbon around the plant hanger to hide the monofilament knots. Hook the hanger and the light fixture together with the chains and your elegant chandelier is ready to grace a dining room, foyer or bedroom.

Instant Origami Chandelier

• A large embroidery hoop or a plate-size metal ring of any sort is the form for a quirky, playful chandelier to grace a nursery or children's room. Make several dozen small origami lucky cranes in a variety of primary colors. These take some initial focus to master but once you have it, the process goes quickly. Thread clear monofilament through each tiny crane or string several together on one piece of monofilament, leaving space between them. Wrap icicle-style cascading clear holiday lights around the hoop so the uneven strands of lights hang down. One string of lights will wrap around the hoop several times. Tie the origami cranes all around the hoop by their clear strings at random lengths. The effect will be a lot of tiny scattered birds amid strings of lights. Hang the chandelier from a hook in the ceiling and run the light cord and an extension to another hook in the corner of the ceiling and down to a light socket in the baseboard.