Hey friends! Today, I’m super excited to share an awesome guest post from the absolutely awesome Olivia from DIY Mother – she’s created an very cool DIY lamp tutorial, based on a lamp she spotted from Anthropologie. Why spend huge bucks when you can make it yourself, right? I love frugal living. I love creativity. And I love having fun pieces of decor around the house that I’ve made myself. Which means I LOVE this tutorial! Check it out, and happy crafting :)
When I saw this Anthropologie beaded lamp selling for around 400 bucks, I of course saw a DIY project. But it ended up being a bit more difficult than I thought it would be. First, it ended up turning into 3 mini-projects in one: turning the vase into a lamp base, making the actual lamp, and threading the beaded part. Second, the lamp kit I purchased did not work for this project. I had to customize it, use the parts and start from scratch. I probably should have bought the parts all separately, but at least I know now. I’m still happy with the result. Had I used more beads, or even spray painted the beads, it probably would have looked fuller.
That’s why we all do these DIY projects though, right? So that someone else can do it better. So here’s my tutorial, along with ways you can do it even better than I did. Happy DIYing!
1. Before you do anything, start beading your string into necklaces of different lengths. I used about 10 or 11 different necklaces of varying lengths. In hindsight, I should have probably made more.
2. When you’re done beading, drill a hole in your vase. You’ll need to either submerge the vase in water, or constantly run water over the hole.
3. Thread the wire through the hole and up through the mouth of the vase. You’ll want to hang your beaded “necklaces” over the neck of the lamp at this point.
4. If the mouth of your vase is too large for the stoppers provided in the kit, cut out some corkboard, make a hole, and thread the cord through it. I stacked a couple of pieces of corkboard on top of one another for more stability.
5. Thread the cord through the nipple and harp and secure both with the washer provided. Then, thread the cord through the socket cap.
6. Take the socket interior out of the socket shell and connect the wires. The wire with the ribbed insulation should go around the silver screw. The wire with the smooth insulation should go around the gold screw. Tighten the screws and place the socket shell (WITH the paper insert) over the socket interior.
7. Screw your bulb into the socket shell and turn on your lamp!
Hope you enjoyed this awesome guest post from the absolutely lovely – and patient! :) – Olivia from DIY Mother! Make sure to stop by her blog to say hi – or visit her on Twitter and Pinterest!
Olivia Glendale is a 20-something year old mother of two, both under 2 years. When she’s not busy soothing tantrums and changing diapers, you can find her blogging with sass about home decor, organizing, and DIY projects at DIYMother.org.
"The phrase "working mother" is redundant."
I'm Meagan - a Momma, a Blogger, a Freelance Writer, and a total Social Media Junkie. I love sparkles and … [Read More...]
Speak Your Mind