Upcycle that old lamp shade into an amazing light bulb chandelier

Here's what you'll need:

- An old lampshade

- About 18 burned out, old fashioned light bulbs

- Chain

- Jump rings

Find yourself an old lamp shade, I prefer round ones but a square on will work just as well. You need to cut the middle piece that holds the frame to the lamp out. We’re just going to use the frame. You don’t have to but I like to sand the white enamel off of the frame. The silver grey colour looks better on the finished piece.

You will need  to gather a heap of burned out, old fashioned light bulbs. About 18 should do it, but you could use more if you’d like too. I find the bayonet fittings easier to wire than the screw in ones.

Lastly, you’ll need some chain and jump rings. I used different kinds of chain as I had bits and pieces that needed to be used up. You could also use cotton cord, or I have even used striped computer cables before. If you use something with colour is might be fun to paint your frame too - a much more colourful option.

Once you’ve gathered your materials you need to wire the ends of the light bulbs. The main goal here is simply to end up with a loop at the tip so we can hang the bulbs. It doesn’t have to be pretty, you wont see much of it when its hanging up. I wrapped wire around the sticky outy bits on the sides of the bayonet fitting and then brought the wire to the middles were I made a loop.

Attach different lengths of chain to your bulbs using jump rings. You can have as many different lengths as you like, make it uniform or random. Whatever suits you.

Attach your the light bulbs and chain to your upside down frame. Evenly place a row of light bulbs around the top circle (or square) of the frame and then do the same on the bottom circle. The two tiers gives you the chandelier effect. Play around with spacing and lengths until you get the effect you want. It is easiest if you can hang the frame so you can see what you’re doing.

And you’re done. Hang it from your ceiling with cup hooks with a simple pendant light with an energy saver light bulk hanging inside. New meets old.

All images: Supplied

For more creative upcycling decor ideas,visit Tracy Jeffery's Kisma Creative site. Or check out her Facebook Page.

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