Handmade Butterfly Chandelier

My sister had her eye on a Butterfly Chandelier for her new baby girl, and I chirped in with “oh don’t buy that, I can make one”.  Well three months after the arrival of sweet Bella I still had not made it and decided I would just buy one, only to find it was sold out.  So down to the local craft store I went to conquer Bella’s butterfly mobile, and I am so glad I did because it turned out so cute.  Here’s the how to:

Butterfly Chandelier

Supplies:

• Large Ring – I bought a 19″ macrame ring
• Large butterfly paper punch, or any shape you want
• Sturdy paper (I used a shimmery white card stock)
• Invisible thread
• Jewelry wire
• Wire cutters
• needle

Start by wrapping two pieces of the jewelery wire around the ring, forming an + as shown.  Once you have them on you can tighten and straighten them.

I used 10 pieces of 8.5 x 11 card stock to punch out enough butterflies (107), but the amount you use will depend on the size of your ring and punch.  First I will explain the measurements then explain the assembly.

• 16 threads on the perimeter of the ring all measuring 12 inches long.  These all had 4 butterflies.
• 4 threads for the first row in measuring 15 inches long.  These all had 5 butterflies.
• 4 threads for the second row in measuring 18 inches long.  These all had 6 butterflies.
• 4 threads for the third row in measuring 21 inches long.  These all had 7 butterflies.
• 1 thread for the center measuring 24 inches long. This had 8 butterflies.

If your ring is bigger, I would add an inch to all these measurements for every inch it is bigger, and vice versa if it is smaller.  I wouldn’t add more butterflies, just space them a little more, or vice versa.

To thread the butterflies you will want to take each thread and tie a tight triple knot at the bottom.  Then thread a butterfly on with the needle so it falls onto the knot. Moving onto the next butterfly you will want to tie a loose knot (you need it loose so that the knot cannot slip through the hole from the needle) about 2½ inches from the first knot and then thread another butterfly that will rest on the knot, and so on, until you reach the final butterfly which should be about 3 inches from the end of the thread leaving room to tie it to the ring.  I tied them on as I went and ended with the center.

Then I tied three very long pieces of thread to opposing sides of the ring for a way to hang it.  I tied a final knot with the three long threads about a foot and a half from the chandelier to stabilize it, and used the remaining length to hang it.

It took me the length of a movie to make and only a few “what have I gotten myself into” sighs, before I was looking at a whimsical little creation.  I then took it to sweet Bella and told her I had better see it hanging in her dorm room one day.

I hope these instructions made sense, if you have any questions leave them in the comments and I will answer them there.

**update***  Here is a link to the butterfly punch I used for this project, I found mine at Roberts Crafts and used a half off coupon.

Shared this with the very cool Tidy Mom’s Luvin’ it Friday party.