Those orphaned chandelier crystals that you sometimes spot, tossed into baskets at flea markets or splayed on doilies at thrift shops, are much too beautiful to waste.

Linked together with rings of wire, a strand of delicate prisms and pendants makes a dazzling lampshade fringe or a dressy mantelpiece garland, bending the ambient light to give shimmer and shine to an entire room.

Tools and Materials
Chandelier crystals in various shapes
18-gauge nickel or silver wire
1/2-inch wooden dowel
Wire cutters
Gold or silver metallic ribbon trim (for lampshade)
Hot-glue gun
Brads or hooks
Needle-nose pliers

Crystal Garland How-To
1. Whether you use old crystals or new, many shapes with predrilled holes for linking or hanging are available. Clockwise from top left: balls, prisms, teardrops, pendants, and cubes.

2. For "jump" rings that link crystals, wind wire around a dowel, pushing loops against one another to keep them uniform. When you have made enough loops, remove wire from dowel; using wire cutters, snip each coil in the center.

3. To start garland, slide open end of a jump ring through hole on one end of crystal; attach the next crystal with a jump ring; and repeat until you reach desired length. Prisms and pendants can be used at the end of a chain or can hang freely at evenly spaced intervals with jump rings. Tighten the ring ends with needle-nose pliers.

4. To attach to a lampshade: With an upholstery needle, make a small hole in the fabric at base of rib. Thread a small piece of wire through hole, then through first jump ring of garland. Tighten with pliers. Repeat at next rib, allotting same number of crystals for each pair of ribs. Cover holes with metallic ribbon secured to bottom edge of shade with hot glue.

5. For a mantel garland, hang jump rings on small removable hooks or small brads tacked into wood.