Garage sales are gearing up this time of year, and Kansas City’s own Diva of DIY, Leanne Lee demonstrates how you to make a lamp out of garage sale items!
Disclaimer — Leanne Lee is a DIY’er not an electrician. Anything she says regarding electricity should be confirmed with professionals!
Supplies to Make a Lamp:
- Lamp Socket and Cord (These sets can be purchased at Lowe’s and Home Depot for @ $9.00 but I almost always reuse a cord and socket set from an old or broken lamp that I purchase from a garage sale or someone is throwing away)
- Container, jar, vase, vessel or whatever you want to make a lamp out of. I am making my lamp out of an old glass water jug so you will need to adjust the instructions to work with your container.
- Drill
- Glass drill bit set
- Spray bottle with water (to spray glass while you are drilling)
Instructions to Make a Lamp:
1) Begin by drilling a hole in the back of the jar towards the bottom. Be careful…begin with the smallest drill bit to create a pilot hole and then work your way up to the largest one. This is the hole where you will run the cord up through before you attach it to the socket.
2) Because I’m not an electrician, I am not going to tell you exactly how to attach the wires from the cord to the socket. You can find thorough instructions on google or better yet, ask someone at the hardware store or an electrician. My husband happened to know how, so he taught me.
3) Once the socket and cord were connected, I just stuck the socket into the spout of the jug, and secured it with hot glue. You could also use E6000 or epoxy or super glue.
4) Attach shade and insert lightbulb.
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