Project: Glass Lampshades
Following a dream I had where I was sleeping in a forest, I became possessed with a manic fever to turn my bedroom into a green paradise. I didn't want to just buy more stuff so instead I wanted to improve the stuff I already had. This was the motivation for the Crochet Lampshade where I added crocheted plants and the Mosiac Mirror both of which where also in the green theme.
I saw a couple videos of people making their own stain glass projects and I thought it looked really cool. Also it would feel good to use the soldering skills I do everyday at work for practical reasons on something pretty. In the recycling/ upcycling theme I decided to use old green glass bottles and the existing lampshade fixings to make a pair of lampshades. The hope is that when the light shines through the lamp, different coloured green leaves will be projected onto the ceiling.
Materials
The following things are needed to complete a project similar to this. I should warn that I got multiple cuts on my hands despite the cut-proof gloves during the leaf making stage so undertake at your own risk.
- Old lampshade fixtures
- 12 bottles of variable green colour
- Tile Nipper
- Tile Cutter
- Soldering Iron 60W
- Solder
- Wire
- Copper Tape
- Hammer (Optional)
Preparing Leaves
Step 1: Soak the bottles in hot water and washing up liquid to remove the labels. I used an old membership card to scrape them off easily.
Step 2: Roughly smash the bottle with a hammer or on the ground
Step 3: Use the glass cutter to score little leaves out of the bottles. These where 5-10cm in length. I used the tile nippers to snap the scored glass more easily. This was the stage where my hands got a bit cut so approach with caution.
Step 4: Line the pieces in copper tape
Making the Shades
I wrapped the upper circle of the lampshade fixture in the wire to allow for soldering directly onto. I then attached the leaves on by one to try and build up a canopy kind of shape. I wanted a dense covering near the top and fewer leaves towards the bottom.
I then cleaned off all the flux marks from the glass and added the shades back onto the lamp.