Reclaimed Cardboard Tube DIY Chandelier

randomly walked by 48 of these cardboard tubes waiting to be recycled on way to a meeting. On the way home couldnt bring myself to walk by them. So lil ol me , dragged these cumbersome things back to my apt. My apt was in dire need of a chandelier but i was too cheap / broke to spring $300+ for all the ones i liked. And POOF, the idea was born. I got the light sockets from ikea for $5 a pc , bought about $20 worht of apoxy , and went to town. I mapped out the design in photoshop , and got to work . I had a blast, and am thrilled at how it came out, and on the cheap , no less!

Step 1: Gather Your Materials

gorilla glue
cardbaord tubes
clamps
marker
seam ripper / something to poke small holes with
metal wire
light sockets { i got mine from ikea for abotu $5 a pc}
serge protector
light bulbs { i got large clear edison bulbs from home depot for about $1.50 a pc }

Step 2: Design Your Chandelier

I guess you could play it by ear , but i found it really helpful to map out the shape i wanted in photoshop

Step 3: Start Assembling

I lined up two tubes , and used the bordering tube to draw a straight line on the next tube. this gave me a straight guide of where to apply to glue. I then clamped the tubes together until they dried.

Step 4: Continue Glueing / Assemble Your Structures

once i had all of my 'rows' glued together, and then glued and clamped the rows together according to my guide that i completed in step 2. Once i aligned two rows together, i poked little holes into each individual tube about 1 inch from the edge. This gave me holes on the two separate rows that i could wire together for extra support.

Step 5: Ad the Light Sockets

Next i simply pulled the light sockets throught the tubes. my sockets where the exact same diameter of the tubes. I applied gorilla glue in between the tube opening and the plastic socket , then pulled the wire taught from the opposite end and clamped them so until the glue dried.

Step 6: Finish Up & Enjoy !

plug in your bulbs, hang it , and plug the sockets into a high quality serge protector. ENJOY your new one of a kind , recycled chandelier!