Let There Be Light! 30+ Crafty Lamps & Lanterns

Pretty Doily Filters: 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 Flowers: 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.

Pom-Pom: 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.

Pretty Paper: Transform ordinary paper lanterns with fabric scraps, acrylic paint, Mod Podge and ribbons or lace.

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.

Whirl-It: 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.

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

Sewing Pattern Twinkles: 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).

Photos: How gorgeous! Use photos or other designs/words for the collage.

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

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

Pottery Barn/West Elm 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: 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 Shades: Learn how to recover a lampshade with decorative fabric, decorative trim and spray adhesive.

Trellis: 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: Strips of burlap are folded then glued onto lampshade with a wavy, ruffled pattern.

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

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

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

Stenciled: 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.

Olive Oil: 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!

Wine Bottle: 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 Liners: 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.

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

Cordless How-To: Tutorial showing how to make any corded lamp battery powered.