My Finished Dining Room DIY Air-Dry Clay Flower Chandelier
My DIY air-dry clay flower chandelier that I made for our dining room is finished! And I’m so thrilled with how this one turned out. I kind of wish that I had saved the chandelier for last so that I could have pictures of it in a pretty room. Right now, it’s literally the only finished project in a dining room that’s still underway. But I was too excited to get to this project to wait.
Here’s how my clay flower chandelier turned out…
As a reminder, I was inspired by two different lights that I found online. The first one was this $2820 chandelier from Fovo Lighting that had leaves instead of flowers. I really liked the shape of this one…
But I wanted to combine the shape of that chandelier with the flowers from this $2199 chandelier from Lamps Plus…
To make my chandelier, I started off with this 24-inch sputnik chandelier from Amazon (affiliate link).
The first thing I had to do was bend the metal rods that came with the sputnik chandelier. So I used my 25-pound kettlebell, and holding one end of each rod with a pliers in my right hand, I grabbed the other end of the rod with my left hand and gently bent it around the kettlebell to form a gentle curve.
This is what they looked like with the curve…
I decided to screw all of the metal rods into the light before I hung the light to make sure I had the shape right. This made installing the light a little more challenging, but it was much easier to screw all of these in without having to stand on a ladder since there are over 130 of them and this process alone took over an hour.
Once I had the shape of the chandelier right, I moved on to making the air-dry clay flowers. I needed a quick and easy way to make 135 flowers that were all the same size. I could have used a scale to weigh the clay to make sure all of them used the same amount of clay, but I found a much easier and faster way to do this. I had this set of oval metal clay cutters that I bought from Michael’s.
So I used the oval that was the third from the smallest…
To make the flowers, I used my favorite air-dry clay. I originally tried using Craft Smart air dry clay from Michael’s, but that clay is too wet, too sticky, and doesn’t hold its shape before it dries. So I had to order this clay online and wait for it to arrive, but it was worth it. I find that this Creative Paperclay has the perfect consistency. It’s soft and easy to work with and shape, and once you’ve created something with it, it holds its shape. It also dries very hard and durable and it’s very easy to sand to a smooth finish.
I rolled clay out between two pencils using my acrylic clay roller…
And then I cut as many ovals out of that clay as I could…
And then I used two ovals per flower. This assured that each flower used the same amount of clay and came out the same size.
To make each flower, I started by rolling the clay into this smooth egg shape.
And then using a small pair of scissors, I cut about 1/3 of the way through the clay cutting it in half.
And then I cut each half in half again leaving me with four sections…
Then I dipped my fingers into water to which I had added some Dawn dishwashing liquid (I find this works better than plain water), and then used my fingers to press each section into a petal shape. Each petal was pretty rough at this point…
Then I used a small palette knife, dipped it in the water, and used it to smooth out each petal on top and around the edges.
It was still a little rough at this point, but I wasn’t worried about that because, as I mentioned above, this clay, once it’s fully dry, sands to a beautiful, smooth finish with 220-grit sandpaper.
For the final touch, I used a tiny amount of clay, rolled it into a ball…
And pressed that into the center of the flower.
As I pressed that into the center of the flower, the pressure also created a bit of a flat bottom on the flower so that it would sit upright on its own. And then I made sure the petals were curved like I wanted them and placed it aside to dry.
The flowers took about 24 hours to fully dry, and then I sanded each one with 220-grit sandpaper to remove any rough areas. Then I painted each one with this Artist’s Loft Iridescent Medium. I didn’t paint them or prime them first. I didn’t add this medium to any paint. I just used this medium all on its own.
And this is what they looked like when they were dry…
Before attaching them to the chandelier, I had to drill a hole in the bottom of each flower. I taped off my drill bit so that I would know how deep to drill each hole without accidentally drilling all the way through the flower.
To attach the flowers to the chandelier, I initially tried hot glue. That was a mess. It dried way too fast for me to get the flower fully on the metal rod before the glue dried, and then part of it squished out and dried and would have been impossible to completely clean off to give a clean finish. It was a mess. So I ended up using this super glue, and it worked perfectly.
It took me about an hour to attach all of the flowers, but here’s the final result.
I’m so excited about how this light turned out. I think I like this one better than my walk-in closet chandelier, and that one took much longer to make!
Mine isn’t quite as fancy as the inspiration chandelier, but mine also cost under $200 for my DIY version as opposed to the $2800 price of the inspiration chandelier.
In all, it took three packages of the air dry clay to make all 135 flowers, but I only used about 1/3 of the third package. So I have some left over that I can use for another project. And there will be another project because I’ve learned that I absolutely love using this medium to create fun projects.
Here’s a final look at what I started out with, and what I turned it into.
I didn’t get any pictures with the light turned on because I need to get a dimmer switch for the light first. I bought 25-watt equivalent bulbs, but this is a NINE-bulb chandelier. So even with the 25-watt bulbs, it’s way too bright. Once I get the dimmer switch installed, I’ll get a picture of the light turned on. So those pictures will come later as I make more progress on this dining room.
This is the second chandelier I’ve made using air-dry clay flowers. If you missed the first one, you can see it here: DIY Flower Chandelier – Finished!
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Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
Kristi, you are amazing! 🤩 I love everything that you do!
Oh my! A lot of work but clearly worth the effort. BTW, in the 60’s we lived in an apartment in L.A – it had a chandelier that looked exactly like the one you started with. We kids named it “Sputnik”. We thought it was the craziest light fixture we had ever seen 😂
It’s beautiful!
Well done!
You are a marvel🏆🎖️
👏👏👏. How did you get those bent metal rods to face the correct way once you screwed them in?? So much detail work—congratulations—I love it!
I just screwed them in until they were facing the right direction. They’re not all screwed in as tight as they will go, but they’re all screwed in as much as they need to be in order to stay put.
The chandelier looks beautiful! I didn’t know if you’d be able to bend the metal rods into soft curves and you nailed that. Have you decided on a bench to replicate? Are you going to work on a dining room project or the storage closet next?
I’ve decided to go with the scalloped bench. I was shocked, but that one got the overwhelming majority of the vote. So I’m trusting the vote and going with it. 😀 I’m going to work on the dining room today and tomorrow and try to get a couple more things done, but then I’m going to pivot to the storage closet this weekend and try to get the flooring installed. After that, I’ll go wherever my inspiration leads.
You never cease to amaze me — beautiful!
oh WOW! That’s what I said when I opened the picture of the finished light and that’s what I’m saying now. oh WOW!! Bravo
I’ve been here since the plastic spoon mirror days, and I think this light is its more sophisticated cousin! What a beautiful art piece! I hope it brings you joy every time you turn it on!
This light is absolutely gorgeous!
Wow! The chandelier is stunning! 💖 I personally think it is much prettier than the inspiration. Great work Kristi! Love and blessings from NC 🙏🏻
I agree with Angie! Love it! You have a future making chandeliers!
You are AMAZING! The light is beautiful and elegant.👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻🩷🩷
A magnificent work of art!!
….all the BEST adjectives have already been used…. So that leaves me with only……WOWZA….!
That is stunning! I wish I had your patience (and skill – lol!)
WOW, WOW, and WOW!!! This is my favorite of all your projects. It is stunning, feminine, a burst of joy. I especially love how the white flowers pop out next to the gold “stems”. And with the flowers facing OUT you get to see them immediately, like a bouquet. The perfect choice for the flower size. What a beautiful design, such an improvement from the original light. I’m sure the iridescent finish on the flowers will reflect the colors from the chair fabric, drapes, and huge wall art. I believe it will be a rainbow effect, the jewelry in the room. You did an amazing creation, enjoyed seeing it from beginning to end.
Wow that worked out Great!
I got stuck on the first, the scale of the parts. Was worried the bent rods would twist loose, to not hold in the desired angles if the screwed in.
Glad to see it worked out and now see what you were going for.
WOW…how beautiful that is…You figured out the whole project to make exactly what you wanted…your home if FILLED with unique, one of a kind, handmade by you things, and we all love your designs and execution. Who else thinks of doing this? You make us all proud, and happy to follow along. Loved it!
GORGEOUS!
How you do things, I may not understand, but what you do, I understand as it always, always turns out great! I think this is one of the best!.. I like so much more than your inspiration picture. So good, you never cease to amaze m by what you are able to accomplish! Thank you once again for your tutorials. Just so good!
Kristi, your vision and execution is totally amazing. It turned out so beautiful! You should be so proud!
Kristi-thank you for always sharing your talent. You are an amazing human❤️
Amazing transformation! I love how light and airy it turned out, and I agree with you that it’s even better than the closet chandelier. I still think a tiny touch of color in the flower center would look beautiful. That’s one of the things I liked from the second inspo picture- that teeny bit of yellow at the center to make it look closer to a real flower. You knocked it out of the ballpark!
I don’t think it will matter once she has lights in it shining on the iridesence. Imo anyway. 😁
Amazing! I am just confused about how you managed to get the rods back in the correct holes so they balanced and didn’t become wonky?
Good Job !!!
A-mazing! Everything you do.
What a delightful fun project and the finished product is perfect
How delightful! What a pretty chandelier! You are so resourceful, imaginative, and handy to be able to look at something and reproduce a beautifully handcrafted version of your own, at a fraction of the price! The only question I have is, would using frosted bulbs tone down the light?
It would, but the only frosted chandelier bulbs Home Depot had were 60-watt equivalent. Even frosted, nine of those in a light would have been like looking into the sun. 😀 I think I’m going to return these and get new 25-equivalent frosted bulbs online.
It’s beautiful Kristi!
Really like how that turned out especially for a fraction of the price of the inspiration. It’s pretty in the photos but I imagine with the iridescent paint that it’s even prettier in person.
Absolutely gorgeous! Great job! I love what you did here.
I LOVE the chandelier with flowers! So creative and perfect for the dining room. I’m going to try and see if I can make it as well as you. You are so talented. Keep going!!
Carolyn
Kristi, this chandelier is absolutely gorgeous. You are so talented! I think I am going to try making this for our dining room. Thanks so much for explaining your process. The only part I’m having trouble with is bending the rods. Did you bend them all the same amount? Can’t wait to see your finished dining room. I look forward to all your posts and I am so inspired by what you can accomplish.
Love the light. I like this one better than the closet one also.
Wow, this is gorgeous and so inspiring. I think I want to try it now… You really knocked this one out of the park. Seriously.
Absolutely beautiful. I can only imagine how pretty the iridescent flowers will look with the lights on. 😀 I think you did a great job duping your inspo lights!
I love it! Turned out fantastic.
So very beautiful!! Using the Iridescent Medium on the flowers was a brilliant idea!! So looking forward to seeing it lit after dark now! I show some of your projects to my husband, too, and he also thinks you are amazing! I will definitely show him this amazingly gorgeous chandelier!
Kristi, you never cease to amaze us with your creativity, imagination, and perseverance! I give it to you, your idea and plan worked. Gotta love it. If only I had your patience! Looking forward to seeing your beautiful chandelier all lit up, I love the iridescent color. Keep on keeping girl ~
Edit – Keep on keeping on, girl! Oops!
Ohmygosh, I love this! And I love your ideas, and tenacity! Brilliant! Very generous of you to share xxx
Once again, YOU NAILED IT!
Beautiful. I can only imagine how it looks in person.
Gorgeous..better than the 2 inspiration models
Girl! You amaze me. Where do you get the energy.
Your chandelier is more beautiful than either of the others. Great work!