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Creating beauty out of chaos and sharing my home decor stories

DIY Lantern Light {diy light}

You might remember that not too long ago I created (or actually recreated) my kitchen island lights.  I stripped down some mini shades, added some wire, and then added burlap to the shades to create this….
It looked cute and I was happy.  However, in spite of drenching the fabric in flame retardant spray, my burlap began to look like this.  Yikes!  Needless to say, I needed to find another shade option.
So this weekend while shopping at the Christmas Tree Shop (stupid name–great store) I found some cute onion lanterns.  I jerry-rigged them (as I do everything) and now my light looks like this!
How did I get them to stay up there you ask?  I’ll show you!  Below is a picture of a lantern right-side up.

I flipped the lanterns over and removed the metal thingy where your candle is intended to be inserted.

This left me a nice hole to place onto my light bulbs.

Next, I took two pieces of steel wire…

…and looped them through the holes in my light fixture and some holes in the lantern.

I used my jewelry making pliers to twist the wire in place and cut the loose ends.

To disguise the color of the wire, I used some Rub ‘n Buff in Spanish Copper.  (Rub ‘n Buff gave me a bunch of their product to try out awhile back, and I can’t tell you how handy this stuff is to have on hand!)

 

And that was it!  Will it be a total pain in the butt to change a lightbulb now?  Why yes.  Yes it will.  But when you diy things sometimes you have to be willing to put up with some minor inconvenience!  I was smart enough to change all the light bulbs before wiring on my lanterns :).

For some reason the difference in metal looks much more intense in these pics than it does in person.  You barely notice that they don’t perfectly match when you see it in real life.
I have another kitchen light fixture to show you as well so stay tuned!

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Comments

  2. Terry says

    You seem to be so like me. Keep the new creation for a bit then change it up to something else. I like them both.

  3. DieselMonkey says

    Great re-do! I love CTS and miss not having one nearby. I have my east coast friends always on the prowl for goodies for me.

  4. Jill@Barnes Yard says

    You are a genius with the light fixtures! I think I like this one the best!

  5. Stephanie says

    I love the onion lanterns! You are so smart and I agree that it is a stupid name for a shop too!

  6. Kati @ Obscured Flair- says

    I LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS, and am not a fan of the name of their store either!!!!! truly beautiful!!

  7. Chris says

    You never cease to amaze me. I never could have had the vision to put that together–shocker–and I just love how it turned out! Perfect!

  8. laxsupermom says

    Love this! Those little candle lanterns make fantastic looking globes! Thanks for sharing.

  14. Katie says

    It looks great Beth! I think I like this new version best. And good point about the light bulbs. I wouldn't have thought of that and then I'd be grumbling while changing them out a week later 🙂

  15. Michelle @ Dream Home DIY says

    Love Love LOVE!!! They are so "steampunk" lol. Super creative chickadee! You'll have me scouring for onion lanterns all week now :0)

  16. Kim @ Too Much Time says

    I loved those first burlap shades! It so stinks that they got all funky. But you did an AWESOME job with those lanterns. They fit so nicely and it looks great! I want to find some!! We have no Christmas Tree Shop…BOO

  19. Jemsmom says

    I am in love. Those are swoon worthy. You have really outdone yourself this time and I admire how you are always thinking outside the box. You are one supremely talented woman!

  21. Richella says

    These look great, Beth! I so admire the way you're willing to give something a try and then change it if it doesn't work out. That's one (among many) of your qualities I'd really like to emulate. Thank you for sharing your good ideas so freely!

  24. Finding Home says

    Looks great Beth! I love the Christmas Tree shops, I have been going for probably over 20 years when I visit my friends in MA. A few years ago, we got a few within an hour, so once and a while we would make a trip. Now we are finally getting one locally this fall. I can't wait.

    Take care,
    Laura

  25. Andrea says

    while I love the burlap shades, these new 'shades' are totally unique and I LOVE them! What a fantastic result!

  28. Leanne says

    I think it looks great Beth. I love the lanterns. I love your creative lighting ideas.

  29. Kristi @ Addicted 2 Decorating says

    I LOVE that!! It's funny, I thought the first picture was the original, and you were showing how you changed it in the second picture. Immediately, I thought in my mind, "Wow, I liked the original much better." lol…So glad to see that was actually the "new and improved" light! It's wonderful!!

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