35+ Crafty Lights, Lamps & Lanterns

Pretty Doily Lights How-To: Turn an old lace tablecloth into a pretty light filter! LED lights are positioned in glass jars or fixtures then covered with a piece of lace (no worries about lit candles!).

Spring Bloom Flower Lights: The blossoms are made from the bottom of clear plastic soda bottles. There are a few steps involved in making these but nothing too complicated.

DIY Pom-Pom Lamp: All you need for materials: tulle in the color of your choice, microwave plate covers (cheap at the dollar store) & a strand of white twinkle lights.

DIY Sun Jar: Made with mason canning jars, cheap solar lights, frosting spray & colored plastic labels from drink bottles to filter the light.

DIY Wine Bottle Torch: Use wine bottles that have a neck of at least 1″ diameter & fuel made for outdoor torches.

Whirl-It Lampshade: You cover a balloon with Vaseline then saturate yarn with some strong wallpaper glue and apply it to the balloon “whirly-style”. Once the yarn is dry, pop the balloon, insert the lightbulb and hang.

Make An Olive Oil Lamp: This oil lamp is a little different since it’s filled half with water and half with olive oil (you can use other oils too). Great project for emergency lighting!

Paper Mache Party Lights: The project requires covering water balloons with paper mache (in this case white tissue paper and paint tinted glue) and they turn out adorable!

DIY Photo Lanterns: The idea is to print photos on sheets of vellum then adhere them to the lantern glass with spray adhesive. Project uses store bought lanterns and electric tea lights.

Sewing Pattern Twinkle Lights: This is a nice decorative touch to give soft light and a pretty pick-me-up to any room (and a creative way to repurpose old sewing patterns).

Punched Tin Garden Lanterns: This nifty project turns empty cans that would normally be thrown into the recycle bin into something functional and pretty for the garden.

Outdoor Chandelier: All you need is a wire basket that you can hang and loop crystals around the base, then attach the basket to a patio roof or tree branch. Fill with jars or votives, add some candles and wow! you have an impressive garden feature.

Burlap & Doily Luminaries: Play around with different ribbons, buttons, twine and burlap while experimenting with various doily designs.

Wood Veneer Woven Lamp: Neat project using strips of wood veneer and a HEMMA Ikea light.

Sham-Delier Tutorial: Create a decorative light feature using flexible plastic chopping boards (cut into the shape of a chandelier) and tea lights. Free pdf template available.

Hanging Jar Lanterns: These are very pretty in the yard but make sure to stay safe and take the necessary precautions when they are lit.

DIY Photo Lampshades: How gorgeous! Use photos or other designs/words for the collage.

DIY Doily Lamp: Made by applying lace doilies to a blown up balloon using wallpaper glue, allow to dry and attach a cord and lamp fitting.

Mason Jar Solar Lights: These are tinted with Outdoor Mod Podge and food coloring, they light up with solar lights attached to the mouth of mason jars.

Cupcake Liner Lantern: You’ll need 170 mini pleated paper cupcake liners, 170 standard-size pleated paper cupcake liners, a lamp-cord kit and bulb, 12-inch-diameter paper lantern and tacky glue to make this cutie.

Moroccan Jar Lanterns: Transform spaghetti jars with gold dimensional paint and glass paint, pop a candle inside and wow! so pretty when lit up at night!

Beaded Chandelier Tutorial: Made with beaded necklaces, a metal hanging garden basket, thin-gauge wire, pendant light kit and a few other supplies.

Pottery Barn/West Elm Lamp Knock-Off: You’ll need a large glass vase or jug, a ceramic cutting drill bit, a lamp kit and a lampshade to make this gorgeous lamp.

Folded Paper Lampshade: Medium to heavyweight paper, double sided tape and fire retardant spray are used in this project, can also be set over a glass candle as a luminaria.

Recovering Lamps: Learn how to recover a lampshade with decorative fabric, decorative trim and spray adhesive.

DIY Trellis Lampshades: 1/4″ or 1/2″ grosgrain ribbon is used to make a criss-cross trellis pattern around a plain white lampshade (attached with a hot glue gun).

Ruffled Burlap Lamp Tutorial: Strips of burlap are folded then glued onto lampshade with a wavy, ruffled pattern.

Lace Lampshade Tutorial: A cheap lampshade is made lovely with a piece of lace, dye (mixed with water) and a sponge brush.

Sewing Pattern Lampshade: Here’s a neat idea for the craft room, a lampshade is covered with pattern tissue (using spray adhesive) and embellished with rickrack and metal snap pieces.

Origami Balloon Lanterns: Colorful squares of 9×9 paper are folded into origami balloons that are then used to cover a string of low-wattage bulbs.

DIY Aluminum Lanterns: Made with decorative aluminum sheets, 20-gauge wire and Krylon black primer, aluminum is shaped around cylindrical containers and secured in place with twisted wire.

Glamorous Lampstand With Plastic Bottles: A neat DIY transforming a plain lampstand with plastic soda bottles, duct tape and spray paint.

Wire Frame & Fabric: Make charming one-of-a-kind shades with a wire frame, ribbon, fabric, styrene and a few basic supplies.

Cherry Blossom Lantern: Learn how to transform a rice paper japanese lantern with some watercolor paint and faux cherry blossoms.

Wine Bottle Light: You’ll need a drill, safety glasses & gloves, a glass drill bit, masking tape and a strand of Christmas lights to make this project.

Cupcake Garland: Sweet idea using cupcake liners to cover each bulb on a string of lights.

Windsock Lanterns: Nice touch for a garden party, a fabric windsock is sewn, a string of lights arranged inside then hung from a branch or plant hanger.

Teapot Base: A lovely way to use pretty, mismatched china pieces, you’ll need self-hardening clay, socket-and-cord unit, lamp harp and glue.

Stenciled Shade: A design is cut from rice paper (template included) then attached to a shade with spray adhesive.

Simple Slipcover: Here’s an easy way to cover shades and they can be frequently changed and washed as needed.