Paper Butterfly Chandelier

The Rosners have entered Project Abigail Grace's Nursery....and it is in full swing.  We have the crib, the dresser, the changing table, the rocker, a chandelier, and the bookshelf.  Now we have moved on to decorating her room as sweet and girly as possible.

I fell in love with the Pottery Barn Kids Butterfly Chandelier.  However, it is no longer available.  I found a few on etsy.com that were pretty, but just couldn't justify spending $50 plus on this.  So, I decided to make it.  I found a few blogs where this was "copycatted" (thanks to pintrest.com).  I made some small changes to make this the right size for her room.  I headed to Hobby Lobby and spent only about $15 on supplies.  Over the course of about 4-5 naps, it was finished!  There were a few moments early on in the process where I said to myself "You have got to be kidding!!"  Between the mathematical calculations of how many butterflies, how many threads? How do you thread a needle with invisible thread? How do you not go crosseyed while threading a needle through glass beads?
But in the end, it all worked out perfectly!!  So here is the process!

Supplies:
Butterfly punch
White cardstock
White jewlery wire
Invisible thread
White ribbon
Metal ring 14 in
White spray paint
Clear glass beads
Tweezers

 

I punched out about 100 butterflies b/c I wasn't sure exactly how many I would need. 

I created a cross with the jewlery wire inside the ring.  This will allow the rows of butterflies to be hung at various distances.  I then spray painted the ring white and let it completely dry.

Now came the measurements.  These mobile chandeliers come in all sizes.  I chose a 14 in diameter ring so.....
the outside of the ring held 8 threads of 3 butterflies
the middle cross held 4 threads of 5 butterflies
the inside held 1 thread of 7 butterflies
You can use more or less....add too or take away.  It is up to you.

With Marc's help, we tied 4 white ribbons to the ring and brought them all up and tied them in a knot.  I attached it to the shelf inside Abigail's closet to allow it to hang and make tying the threads easier. 



To thread the butterflies, I used a needle and invisible thread.  I thread 2 glass beads with a butterfly in between.  This will keep it from sliding down the thread.  Because the thread is so thin, you have to double or triple the thread through to keep it tight.  Don't get too caught up in the measuring of the string...cut your thread long b/c you can always manually slide the butterflies to spread them out.  They should be approximately 1-2 inches of separation between each one. 


After your butterflies are threaded, you tie them to the ring....I used double or triple knots....and even had to use a tweezer to help tie the knots. I found it easier to attach a thread to the ring after each thread was completed.....they tend to get tangled pretty easy.

Here is the final outcome....




Next will be attaching it to the ceiling above her crib.  You can either find a stud or use a drywall screw.  I'll post final pics once her crib is in it's exact/permanent place.