I have found I enjoy making fan pulls for our home decor, to go with various seasons or holidays. But it was almost the end of January, when I put up our winter-themed fan pull. Reasons being, I had to make it first! Next year, they will all be up right on time, because they’ll all already be made. But for this little craft-session, I also made February’s. A LOVE theme of course.
We’ll look at the winter one first. This one we’ll probably use maybe in late November, if it has snowed, and maybe the first week or so of December. But then we’ll be having our Christmas fan pull up for the rest of December. The winter one here will go back up for the month of January, and maybe early March until it feels like spring. Unless of course I make a St.Patrick’s Day one, although we’re not Irish. But I suppose that’s not St. Patrick’s fault. lol
I’d like to take this opportunity to say . . . fan pulls are very hard to photograph! Maybe I’m not using the right lens, that I don’t have. : ) But I just can’t seem to capture beauty of the fan pulls, in relation to the room, if that makes any sense. So…I do the best I can for you. They are also difficult to crop, being a very thin piece straight down so – forgive me for some of the tall vertical photos that require extra-scrolling. I did get into the photo taking because, they have beautiful detail. So the extra photos are just some art-fun I was having, that I hope you’ll appreciate.
The winter fan pull was easy to make, because I found little snowflakes, already on a chain! So I bought 2 of them, and just connected them. I used 26 gauge wire at the very top and like last time, just sort of balled it, to slip into the catch from the actual fan chain higher up.
You will find I am showing lots of seemingly similar photos in this post, because I want to show you the various displays of color that these throw when the light hits them. BEAUTIFUL hanging there on a sunny day.
See here….blues, purples….
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… and here….oranges and pinks!
So as it spins or swings some, it’s just lovely with the colors changing rapidly.
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Here is a closer up of the snowflakes on the chain.
Yesterday when I was making them, it was snowing out!
But it’s gone today. It’ll snow again though.
The gorgeous big snowflake on the bottom, I found separately at the craft store, and added to the snowflake chains.
Love the colors in this one above.
Now look at this! Same big snowflake from a different angle. See?
It’s glass or crystal I think. I’m not sure.
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Here is the snow flake chain laying on the table.
It is SO much easier for me to photograph them this way, than them hanging in the middle of the room.
Pretty though, huh?
So these are more what they look like hanging up. It’s just hard to photograph that way.
I couldn’t stop taking photos. lol
So…..that’s for winter.
For February, the month of love, here is what I did….
…which again, the photo just doesn’t do it justice. I do want to mention that this one IS threaded beads all the way. And, unlike using 26 gauge wire all the way through as I did for December’s, I found that heavy fishing line works great! I did double it for extra strength, just in case. And THEN, I used the wire to attach at the top. It’s one of those things, like with anything new, you learn a little bit every time, and do better next time. If you recall, December’s has a little swagger, from the wire through the beads. It didn’t hang straight. I SAID I liked it, and thought it gave it character. But I just didn’t want to do it over. ; ) I like the slinky flexibility of heavy fishing line, much better.
So here is a much better and closer look. Red beads in 2 different sizes, some little silver bars, and some diamond-like studded squares. I LOVE them. They did not come with the red beads….I put them all together. They were all cheap-cheap.
But the big heart at the bottom….not so much!! When I found it, it was SO PERFECT and JUST what I was looking for for the bottom of this fan pull. So I looked to see how much it was. $15.00!! It was a cubic zirconia. I almost cried. I mean….I just don’t spend money on such frivolous things. We can’t!! But I REALLY wanted it! Most all of the beads were on sale….so I was thinking, somehow, this one must be too. It was with all of the beads. So {A} brought it to the register to have them price check it. But guess what? It was really and truly $15.00.
I just stood in the aisle…frozen. I couldn’t spend that on it, and I couldn’t leave with out it. So there was nothing else to do, but just stand there. With my whole family around me, who were losing their patience.
So, Michael finally said, “Oh just get it!!. Gosh….every time I pull that fan chain, I’m going to say, “$15.00!! $15.00!!” He really would too. Trust me. Not that I would ever forget myself….but the joy of seeing the beauty of it would help me get past it, in time. But not Michael. Well, I already felt guilty enough. That little announcement would surely tarnish that ‘love’ feeling I would have had going on through-out the month of February. So….when I got to the register, I did what I would recommend YOU ALL DO, whenever you can. I begged for a coupon or a discount! I said, “Please….do you have a coupon hanging around I can use?” And she said promptly answered, “No I don’t. Sorry.” (For the record, she didn’t really sound sorry.) So I said, “But my husband said he is going to say “$15.00″ every time he pulls the fan pull chain!”. THEN she said….“Actually, I guess I do have this 40% off one item coupon in my drawer here.”
See? : ) So then I did the happy dance, let out a “YA-HOOOO!!” through out the whole store, the kids said, “MAMAAAA!“, and then I thanked her profusely, of course.
She said I was welcome, and I believed her that time.
Oohh….Be still my heart! (No pun intended. lol)
It’s a gorgeous piece, is it not?
I think the whole fan pull, is just beautiful. Classy. Gorgeous. It twinkles!
And every time Michael pulls that chain to turn the fan on and off, he can smile and say…
“40% off!”.
“40% off!”
Well Folks, that’s it for this edition of ‘Fan Pulls’!
I hope you found that my crafting, and shopping tips, inspired you!