“I guess like most people I’m a bargain-hunter. I love a bargain. I found out there’s two prices on everything. There’s the Rodeo Drive price and there’s the same merchandise down the street.” -Liberace
Snowy, housebound weekends are great inspiration to make new miniatures!
Crown Jewel Manor is undergoing renovations lately and needs chandeliers in several rooms. Fortunately I had three vintage chandelier kits in my lighting stash and faced with three days of snowfall, I grabbed my needlenose pliers and eye magnifiers. All kits are marked 1983 and still sealed, but I’ve had the kits for decades and had no idea if the components were still good. I was happily surprised!
Kadelli Kit KB-505 by Jeri Futvoye- Regency chandelier
Happy Unicorn Kit B by Phyllis Tucker- Euphrosyne (Joy)
Kadelli Kit KB-501 by Jeri Futvoye – Crystal Prism
If you have any of these kits in your stash, read all instructions before you begin. They’re fairly straightforward but it’s easy to make time-consuming mistakes if you’re unfamiliar with the parts or the order of assembly (I speak from experience, lol). Other observations…
Kadeli Kits:
-The components are divided into tiny bags with color coded dots. If the dots on the bags have fallen off, read through the instructions for each color code, identify the parts and mark your bags.
-The “candles” are white poly-coated wire rods that you snip to size. There are plenty of realistic candles on the market now, so I chose not to use the wire and have ordered Chrysnbon candles instead. This is why you do not see candles on the Regency chandelier in these photos.
-This kit came with an entire bag of components to use for practice! The most difficult part is making a loop on the end of the head pins using needlenose pliers, but practice makes perfect and after six attempts, I found it very easy to do.
-Kadelli kits came with the option to electrify, (which I did), but the bulbs are not hidden well… you have to be a little creative. Some wire will show, there is no way around it.
Regency:
Note the candles have not yet been added…
Phyllis Tucker Euphrosyne Kit:
-There was some oxidization on the brass head pins in the Tucker kit and a few brass filigree caps were missing too. I found similar (almost identical) parts in my stash of jewelry findings to use as replacements.
-The bulb is enclosed within the ropes of crystals
-I found the Tucker kit easier to assemble due to its simplicity
Note the bare walls. This room is currently under renovation. See my earlier post on wallpaper removal.
I have many kits in my stash “to make someday” and it feels wonderful to switch off and try something different. If you’re on the fence about tackling one of these kits, I highly recommend you give it a try. The end result is definitely worth it! I paid less than $20. for each kit and considering the price of crystal chandeliers these days, it was quite a bargain in two respects. First it cost less and second I have learned so much from the instructions that I can easily make more crystal chandeliers, candelabras, lamps, etc! I saved all three sets of instructions for future reference and the components are readily available in craft stores and online.
Kadelli Crystal Prism:
Note the substitution of Chrysnbon candles instead of the coated wire that came with the kit…
Gosh, three crystal chandeliers in one weekend. Something tells me Liberace would be proud!
Robin ♥
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Hi, could I purchase a dollhouse chandelier kit from you, please
is there anyone available that could assist me with putting together my Euphrosyne Kit B Chandelier. I am so confused with step five and six in the instruction. I have had this kit since 1986 and am FINALLY electrifying my dollhouse.