What do you find in common between a flower vase, a bottle of something and an ordinary pot? In general, almost nothing, but from the first, and from the second, and even from the third, you can make ... a lamp. In general, a lamp can be made from a lot of other things, and that's what we're going to talk about in this thread. Join now!

Today in this post we will get acquainted just with the technique of making a lamp from some kind of container and paper (well, a certain set of wires, light bulbs, relays).
Naturally, before proceeding, you will have to think everything over in advance, because depending on the size of your base, you will have to use various materials for the manufacture of a lampshade, or rather different volumes of these materials. And the way the light bulb holder is attached depends on the width of the neck of the container, which will serve as the basis.

So what do we need?

  • Directly some kind of container - a vase, a bottle, a pot
  • An incandescent lamp (or equivalent), but with a power of not more than 60 W and a suitable cartridge for it.
  • Electric wire (about 1.5-2 meters) and the corresponding personal belongings - a socket, a switch.
  • A pair of metal tubes with which the height of the lampshade can be adjusted.
  • For the lampshade itself, you will need a frame, thick paper with light inside and thin satin ribbon.
  • Auxiliary tools for work: electrician's knife and screwdriver, pliers, wire stripping pliers, ruler, pencil, glue, hole punch, knitting needle.

Let's get started!

So, let's start with the arrangement of a ceramic vase. We take it and close the opening of the neck with a brass lid with a metal tube screwed to it and a moving stop, the maximum width of which is designed for the widest place in the pea cavity. Having strengthened the lid, we fully extend the stop and fix the structure on the neck of the pot.


After the lid is finally fixed, we screw two metal tubes in its upper part, 10 and 3 centimeters long, respectively. Do not worry if they subsequently protrude above the level of the lampshade - this will only visually add height to the lamp.
Pass the wire through the tube and pull it out with a margin to make it easier to connect to the cartridge.

To connect the wire to the cartridge, carefully clean its end by about 1-1.5 cm and attach it to the two terminals of the cartridge along the conductor. Insulate the remaining bare area with electrical tape to avoid trouble.

A switch can be connected at a distance of about 50 cm from the lamp. To do this, cut the wire and clean it from both segments. Having cleaned, we connect all four conductors from two wires to the corresponding terminals of the switch.

After connecting the switch, attach the plug to the remaining end of the wire.

If your choice turned out to be a container with a narrow neck, then you should opt for a rubber stopper. They can be of very different diameters, so there is always a choice. When the tube is screwed in, the rubber stopper expands slightly and sits very tightly in the neck of the vase or bottle.

It is easier to use a screwdriver to screw the tube into the bottle cap.

Now let's start making the lampshade

We take the prepared thick paper, lay it out. With the help of a ruler and a regular knitting needle, every 2 cm we outline places for folds. We fold the sheet with an accordion.
Then, on each fold, using a ruler, we outline the places for holes: one of them should be located at a distance of 2 cm from the edge of the sheet, and the second at a distance of 1.5 cm from the first hole. Using a hole punch, we make the marked holes. To make all holes perfectly symmetrical, you can use a marking template. The very first and very last folds do not need holes.


When finished with the holes, turn the marked sheet of paper upside down and carefully, using scissors, cut it as shown in the photo below. This will make it possible to attach a sheet of paper to the top ring of the lampshade.

Having done this procedure, glue the two extreme folds, laying them on top of each other and make the missing holes in this glued structure.

If possible, it is better to stock up on a special threaded plastic adapter ring, which will allow you to conveniently and firmly dock the cartridge and the lampshade frame.

After the entire base is ready, carefully put the prepared sheet of paper on the top ring of the lampshade frame, straighten the folds, thread the tape into the top row, tighten it.