How I DIY'd an Outdoor Chandelier

I wanted to make an outdoor chandelier and I set out to find inspiration.  I first found a strand of battery operated LED lights.. and then while browsing at Marshall's in the Home Decor section I came across this metal birdcage for $9.99 (I so love a bargain!!!).  So,  my inspiration was found... I knew this would make a great outdoor chandelier for the upcoming camping/glamping I was planning.

The cage is metal so my first step was putting primer on the cage.  Since I wanted to be able to use it indoors and outdoors Rustoleum primer was a must!  

I really liked the look of the cage in white, but I decided to paint it red so the color would pop in nature rather than blend in.

The cage had a door that opened and the top opened so it was easy to access the inside.  I wove the LED light strand through the bottom of the cage so each would hang down a couple of inches.

I cut small pieces of floral wire and used them to fasten the lights to the bottom of the cage.

I spaced the lights evenly across the bottom.  This is what it looked like (with all the excess wires inside) except the battery pack was still on the outside.

I then wired the battery pack inside into a position that the on/off switch could easily be flipped.  The wires all still look messy at this point, but once the finishing touches are put on it, you won't even see them!  Since I was taking this camping I saved the finishing touches until we arrived at our outdoor destination.  I took nesting materials to cover the wires, battery operated votive candles to put in the middle of the nest and tons of crystal prisms to add lots of sparkle and bling hanging from the bottom!!!

In the next picture you can see how the nesting material hides the wires and how pretty all of the crystal prisms are.

Notice at the bottom center of the cage, you can see the easy access on/off switch.  I worked perfectly!

Although I made this chandelier to use outdoors, I ended up hanging it from the center of our tent (which is sort of outdoors).  I will continue to use this chandelier for all of our camping trips since it gave such a wonderful ambient light in our tent but also I will use it in my backyard when entertaining.

Here is a shot of it at night when it was pitch black outside.

If you want to make your own chandelier you can get the LED lights on Amazon at this link... Battery Operated LED String Lights

I also got a great deal on the battery operated candles.. Seen here: 
24 Flamless LED Votive & Tea Lighted Candle Set