I wanted to share another project that we used to decorate for this years Prom. This Ribbon chandelier is not only super easy to make, but my version is also really inexpensive. 

Wal-mart had hula-hoops in many different sizes. Because of this, I decided to create a 2-tiered chandelier. The venue was a large ballroom.Therefore the decorations needed to be over-sized or they would simply get lost. 

Using string, I tied the 2 together making sure the length of the string was the same, in 3 places. The largest hula hoop was on top and it got 3 additional pieces of string that were knotted together to hang the chandelier.  

The Prom theme was neon and glow-in-the dark. I found flagging tape at Lowe's which is fantastic for this project! It is basically a really thin vinyl that comes in a couple of different widths and is florescent orange and pink. It's called *tape* but it is non-adhesive and is primarily used to mark land points by surveyors. Online I found that it comes in other neon colors and prints, as well. At Lowes, it was in Tool World and it is crazy cheap--200' of 1" was $2 and 600' of 2" was $4.75. {Compare that to a spool of ribbon!!} I cut different lengths from about 5'-12'.

I also bought 1 sheet each of yellow, pink and green neon posterboard. Using my 1 1/2" circle cutter, I started cutting out rows of circles.

I cut a piece of string and with a dot of hot glue, attached the dots to the string. I loved the look of the cut out circles on the posterboard so I decided to incorporate them into the chandelier. I cut them into strips and attached each with a piece of flagging tape. I began tieing the pieces of flagging tape on to the hula hoop by creating a loop and pulling the ends of the tape through the loop. This created a knot. I also had some remnants of silver ribbon and a spool of aqua ribbon that I used.  

 There is no right or wrong to this project! You can add as many pieces, colors and lengths that you like.  

It hit me that there needed to be some white because that IS the color that glows under black lights. I knew that I had an unopened white plastic tablecloth that I had in my 'party box'. It was from the Dollar Store and it was super thin. I unfolded it just a bit and simply cut through many layers, creating strips.     

The chandelier was probably 6' long when it was complete.  

 

  

This is a really bad picture that I snapped in the dark as the chaperones were showing up. We decided to hang it instead outside in the atrium. It fit perfectly over the existing fixture. We simply used a few pieces of clear packing tape.     

The kids liked it so much that they decided to whip up 2 more as we were setting up. They used a single hula-hoop and hung them to hide the speakers on the ceiling.

You can spot it in the back of the room.

 This would be a really fun addition to a birthday party, upcoming graduation party, or photo shoot. And here's the best part:

CHEAP!!!!

 Here's another fun product I found in Tool World:

This is a recoil air hose. It is 25' and looks like a big slinky. It's lightweight and we cut it into different lengths with scissors. We also snipped off the metal ends. You can somewhat control your lengths by  stretching it out a little. The room had a drop ceiling so we just tucked it into the tiles. They were $9/pc, but you can get 2-3 pieces out of each one {cheaper than a regular slinky and way cooler looking!} I would have loved to have used more, but we bought all they had in stock.   

We also left Lowe's with lots of ferns and I bought fluorescent spray paint {in pink, orange, yellow and green} to add some color to the ferns.

I just have a cell phone pic, not actual 'in place' pics. But, it's a fun, simple way to add additional neon to the decor. 

It just hit me that Lowe's should have sponsored this prom, right???!!! Who would have thought?? But when you live in a tiny town with no party store, you have to think outside the box!!

The chalkboard sign that Robert and I made for the Prom was a fairly simple project that can be used for other events.

We used a 4' x 8' piece of 1/2" plywood. It needs to be fairly smooth {finish grade}.

Because we wanted to light it, we created a framed edge out of 1"x 4" pieces of pine that we attached to the sides and top {not the bottom} with a pneumatic nailer.    

 We knew it would be propped up a bit so we wanted it to lean back slightly. We cut the bottom of the 1" x 4" boards on a slight angle. We could have created an easel back so that it stood by itself, but we went the easy route.

 We layed it down and lightly sanded it.

I applied primer, sanded lightly, and then 3 coats of chalkboard paint using a 4" foam roller.  

We bought 2 sets of patio lights {these are from Target}.  

I spaced the holes 6" apart and using a 7/8" drill bit, drilled the holes. 

 

The cord was placed behind the frame, and starting at the bottom, we stapled the cord as we went.  

 We used an electric stapler with the highest setting {so that it wouldn't go through the cord} to hold the cord in place.   

 We screwed each bulb in as we went.

I made the chandelier 2 christmases ago to use a a tree topper. I covered it in silver glitter for this project {I love to recycle!}. I wanted it to light up, so we drilled a hole and fed the end of the light cord through the hole. I cut 2 small pieces of quarter round molding, painted black with chalkboard paint, and attached it to the board. Then the chandelier was attached to the trim with the pneumatic nailer.   

 

To create the lettering, I used a box of colored chalk {Dollar Store} and a yard stick to create my straight lines. I smeared the chalk a bit with my finger to create a softer look.

If you mess up, it easily erases with a damp paper towel!

 

 

 

 

I didn't take a picture of applying the glitter. I used frog tape to create a 1" {ish} border. Using a foam brush, I painted on elmers glue and then sprinkled the glitter on. I didn't have enough of one color of glitter to do the entire border, so I used 8 colors {2 on each edge}. I had lots of glitter, just small bottles of each.  

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

I love when you guys see something on my blog and it inspires you to get your craft on. And I am even more excited when you send me the pictures of your finished projects! Niki Ginel saw my post on the felt monogram lampshade and she created one for her daughter, Juliet's, nursery.

Love the lampshade, the lamp and the ribbon wreath! Great job, Niki!

Send me your pics, I'd love to see your projects!   

{apartment therapy via 2 men and a little farm}

I hope your Easter weekend was wonderful. Our weather was perfect which encouraged lots of time spent in the yard. It also wrapped up the end of our Spring Break. Jack got home from his schools 8th grade trip late Friday before last. He was home long enough for me to wash and dry his clothes and repack his suitcase. Literally only a few hours later and he was off again. This time, with his sister and dad to the Atlanta airport and then on to Kansas. They went out to spend time working on their grandparents ranch.

Although I think the 90+ degree weather wasn't what they were used to and instead of a whole lot of fence work, there was quite a bit of this.

 Maris also had a scheduled tour {for rising seniors} at KU {Kansas University}. Before the tour, she thought this was her college of choice. After the tour, she is even more certain of the idea of being a Jayhawk. I want her to go to a college she loves, one that she is passionate about, and I think I have always known that she would want to go to her fathers {her aunts, her cousins, her grandparents and great-grandparents} alma mater, but I selfishly wish she would pick a school in North Carolina or somewhere closer to me! She came back so full of excitement with a run down of all the plans that she just crafted for her college career--what dorm she wants  to live in, what she wants to study, what countries she would love to study in. Big dreams, this one...

almost as big as the spread of KU basketball player, Kaun's, reach {is that not crazy!?}

     

And her brother wouldn't mind her being a Jayhawk one bit.

While they were away, I started my river rock rug. You only have a short work time with the mortar, so I just planned to start on the inner ring of my 10 foot patio. Let's just say that I now realize that I stink at rock and mortar calculation.  

This little 3 foot circle took all of the rocks that I had collected and 2 bags of mortar!! Not to mention that it took about 5 hours to complete. So we are now left with the following decisions: 1. Instead of calling it a *patio*, we call it a *stepping stone* or  2. We still call it a *patio*, but we have to use Barbie's outdoor furniture on it. 

I have come to the realization that there are not enough hours in the next 3 years for me to collect enough rocks out of our yard to fill in a 10' circle. So, I will reluctantly go in search of river rocks sold locally. I have no idea how much rocks cost or how many I will need. When if this gets finished, I will do a big post on every step.   

Oh, and the rocks don't look too pretty in the picture. A very thin layer of mortar has dried on top of the rocks and made a gray haze. I have to get some muriatic acid and clean it off and then the pretty rock colors will show through.  

Wish me luck!!