A Touch of Sparkle

I picked up this rusted cast iron chandelier about a year ago at one of my favorite antique malls back home in Ohio. I love it! I pulled out all the dirty old wiring and broken sockets, and now it sits on the antique wood desk in my living room.

I can just imagine it hanging from a low branch of an old oak tree in a country garden, over a little french bistro table. Just like something you'd see in a magazine...



Photo from the book "Found Style" by Amy Butler. I have this book and I highly recommend it!



I love all the ornate details done in such a rustic material... the perfect blend of rustic elegance. But want to know the secret?

I added the sparkle!

Just a few days ago, I found an old cut glass lamp at an antique mall for just $7. It was a little dingy and chipped, and truthfully not really my style, but it had five perfect teardrop crystals hanging from the base. And with 5 graceful cast iron arms just waiting for a touch of sparkle, it was the perfect find!

Secret number two? I didn't quite how to attach the lovely crystals once I got them home (tiny little wires and no holes in the hefty cast iron), so I rustled up some brown embroidery floss from my cross-stitching supplies and tied them on!

Impatient decorating at it's finest!

I think if I ever wrote a book, that's what I would call it - "The Impatient Decorator". It would be full of ingenious decorating tips and projects that require absolutely no waiting. No trips to the hardware store or craft supply shop for the "proper" equipment or supplies... just cheap and creative ways to get things done whenever the inspiration hits, with whatever you have at home. That's my specialty... I once got the urge to make a pillow out of a vintage feed sack I had on hand, and I sewed the whole thing up with a paperclip and twine because I didn't want to wait to make a trip to the store for a tapestry needle. I'm like the decorating version of Macgyver :)

Here's a sneek peak at another Impatient Decorator project I did recently...

But I'll save the details of that project for another post... Just because I'm impatient, doesn't mean you have to be!