DIY Chandelier

When I first saw this chandelier from West Elm I was in love. I have one of their chandelier's in my dining room that was a birthday present, but I didn't really have the budget right now for this one, so I thought the next best thing was to try it myself. After seeing this tutorial, I knew I could at least give it a try, and I'm really glad I did. Here's how I created it:

Materials:
- 1 box wax paper
- 2 sheets of parchment paper
- (1 1/2") hold punch
- a wire lamp shade or planter (I used a hanging plant basket that I spray painted white)
- fishing line
- wire

Directions below.

Step 1: Cut wax paper 14-16 inches long and put in stacks of (5) sheets.
Step 2: Cut 2 pieces of parchment paper about 20 inches long each.
Step 3: Sandwich 5 sheets of wax paper between the parchment paper and iron together. Wax paper will stick together and become one hard sheet. Repeat with additional stacks of wax paper until you have at least 10 hard sheets.
Step 4: Use 1 1/2" hole punch to create shells.
Step 5: Place a drop of glue (I used my favorite: Martha Stewart's decoupage glue) at the end of each shell and connect until you have 5 in a row.
Step 6: Cut a piece of fishing line about 8 inches. Add a drop of hot glue at the top of the row of shells and place the end of the fishing line in glue.
Step 7: Tie row of shells to the top of chandelier.
-Repeat until entire top row is filled.
-Add a row of wire midway around the planter and continue with additional row of prepared shell strands.
- Add a last row of wire on the bottom of the basket and repeat with last row of prepared shells.

This DIY takes a LONG time; about 6 hours total. But, with a few good movies you can definitely get through this!

Good luck!

ETA: To hang the chandelier, I used 4 hooks similar to these, only in white. I found them at Home Depot with all the other nails and screws, but I'm guessing any hardware store will have these.