Sweet Little Metal Floral Chandelier Lamp Light

I found a box with broken chandelier and lamp parts, and while most of the parts were relatively modern, there was a small metal chandelier tier with flowers on it that looked older and quite unique. I assume it was a part of a bigger lamp at one point but perhaps it broke and someone took it apart. The paint was dirty ivory...probably had been white at one point, but it was yellowed and covered in dust. Some of the flowers were broken off, but I thought it was so sweet...and knew it could be revived and fixed up into a working lamp once again. Challenge accepted!

Step 1: Clean It Up...and Paint It Up!

Here is the "before" pic of the metal lamp part I was fixing and repurposing. The first thing I did was remove all of the metal flowers (there were a few still attached) and clean up the whole thing using disinfectant wipes and a magic sponge to get as much grime off as possible. Then, I painted it all white with metal spray paint ( with the prime + paint type for metal.) Tip: light mists of paint and several layers ensure even adhering w/ no clumps or drips - so take your time step way between the layers for it to dry well before you go back again with more paint. When one side is well done, flip it over to do the other.

Step 2: Brightening Up the White Flowers With a Pop of Red

Next, I carefully painted the inside of the flowers a bright red with a small paintbrush. After a few layers, when that was dry, I sprayed them with a clear satin mist spray paint to "lock it in."

Step 3: Painting the "stigma" of the Flowers and Creating Replacement Ones

Each flower was attached to the chandelier with a metal "stigma" that doubled as a nut to secure the flower to the frame. But since two of the flowers were no longer attached, I was missing 2 "stigma" nuts. I found 2 small nuts that fit the thread on the chandelier ends, and I using 2 part epoxy, I sculpted new stigmas to attach to them - the two part epoxy, Magic Sculpt, is a 50/50 putty mixture of two different materials that, when mixed together, create a chemical reaction and start hardening. You have about an hour to work with it once you have mixed the two putties together, then you sculpt/shape what you need and let it sit for about 6 hours for it to become hard. Once I had all all 6 stigmas (the real ones and the replacement ones I created), I painted them all black.

Step 4: Preparing the Electrical Wires and Attaching the Lamp

Pass the electrical wire through the chandelier tier opening BEFORE attaching the lamp mechanism. Remove the cover from the light bulb housing area to expose the connecting points. Loosen each of the screws on the sides of the light bulb housing so they are still attached but further out, then set aside. Then, you will need to use wire strippers to cut and slide off the casing to expose the tips of the electrical wires. Once they are stripped, shape them into a "J" shape and, one side at a time (one side with the white wire and the other side with the black wire), coil them around the screw carefully, making sure all the filaments are well wrapped around the screw, just under the screw head. Slowly tighten the screws, making sure the wires are still wrapped around the screw as you tighten. Once you have both sides connected, you can reapply the cover (I painted mine white before the applying to they would match the lamp).

Step 5: Attach It to the Ceiling and You Are Done!

Once all the electrical was put in place, I put each metal flower in its place and secured them in the chandelier tier with the stigma "nuts". The other end of the electrical wire can either be attached right to the ceiling fixture (it's best to call an electrician for this one!), or you can attach a plug to it and hang it from a hook... we attached it from the ceiling, and I had an extra white plastic mounting plate cover we used to hide the mounting bracket. I used a 25 W Vintage Style Edison Bulb, which I think really works with this finished product.