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I made an outdoor chandelier for our new pergola, and it was pretty easy to do. You will need:
Here is what I did: 1. Turn the wire edging upside down, so the curved parts are facing downward, and form the wire into a loop the size that you would like your chandelier. Cut the wire to size, leaving a couple of loose wires on the ends. Use the loose wires to wire the circle of edging closed, trying to match the pattern as much as possible so it all blends together somewhat invisibly. 2. Using lighter-weight wire, wire the punch cups to the wire edging. These will hold the individual tea lights. Use the wire cutter to cut the wire as needed, and the needle-nose pliers to wrap the light-weight wire around the heaver wire tightly. I wrapped the wire around the handle of each punch cup, then around the “belly” of the cup to the other side. 3. Attach each of three pieces of chain to the top of the chandelier’s ring, equally spaced so that you can use them to hang the chandelier. Use the individual chain-screw links by unscrewing one, slip the end of the chain length inside it, and then screw it closed around the top wire ring of the chandelier. Repeat with the other two chain lengths. 4. Attach all three of the chain lengths together with another single screw chain link. 5. You are now ready to hang the chandelier. You could put a heavy hook into the wood where you want to hang it, but we chose to instead place a chain loop around the top beam of the pergola, and hang the chandelier from that. Use individual chain screw links to attach the chain around the beam, and then to attach the chandelier to the chain loop. 6. Add a tea light to each punch cup, and light using a long-neck candle or fireplace lighter that will reach inside the punch cups easily. 7. Enjoy! The directions are more complicated than the actual making–this is really super simple to make! Give it a try–having outdoor lighting adds so much to your seating areas, and allows you to use them even into the evening hours.
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