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Cost
$ $ $ $ $
Difficulty
• • • • •
Time
15h00

with colorful decoupage lamp base. :D
so, this isnt exactly an original idea of mine. i was inspired by the drinking straw starbusrt hanging light fixture by mark montano on this site and went looking for something similar and i found this lampshade on another DIY website and decided i NEEDED to make/have it! :) it was more of a challenge than i thought it was gonna be. it took me a couple days to get it done, working a few hours at a time. the decoupage on the lamp base was a piece of cake, though. haha :) i love the end result, though and would love to see your version!

Posted by BreeXI from U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado, United States • Published See BreeXI's 6 projects »
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  • Step 1

    take your old lamp shade and remove the boring fabric, leaving just the ring frame.

  • How to make a straw light. Sweet Bendy Straw Lamp - Step 2
    Step 2

    attach the hardware cloth around the top ring of the lamp shade skeleton with wire (you can use the wire the hardware cloth came wrapped in).

    <--that's hardware cloth. :)

  • Step 3

    using the wire cutters, cut off the excess hardware cloth at the end of the top lamp shade ring. you then can decide how long you want your lamp to be and cut the wire off at that point. note: the longer the shade, the more straws you'll need.

  • Step 4

    wire the loose ends of the hardware cloth together, again using the wire the cloth came wrapped in and you have your straw lamp shade skeleton!

  • How to make a straw light. Sweet Bendy Straw Lamp - Step 5
    Step 5

    now for the straws. CUT THEM IN HALF. all of them. and don't worry about making them all perfect. the different lengths will make it look pretty cool. you will end up with a massive pile of bendy straw halves on your floor. that's a good thing. you'll need em.

  • How to make a straw light. Sweet Bendy Straw Lamp - Step 6
    Step 6

    after all your straws are halved, it's time to start attaching them to your shade. starting from the inside of the shade, fold each straw half in half and wrap around the hardware cloth. do this FOUR TIMES for EACH 1/2 inch opening. at times it may seem totally impossible. not gonna lie. but it's possible. sometimes it needs a little bit of elbow grease to jam them in there, especially when you're getting closer to getting finished.

  • How to make a straw light. Sweet Bendy Straw Lamp - Step 7
    Step 7

    do this over and over. and over. and over. and over and over and over and over. and over.

  • How to make a straw light. Sweet Bendy Straw Lamp - Step 8
    Step 8

    hang in there. keep inserting the straws. YOU CAN DO IT! :)

  • How to make a straw light. Sweet Bendy Straw Lamp - Step 9
    Step 9

    TA DA! all the 1/2 holes are filled with four straw halves. you did it!

  • How to make a straw light. Sweet Bendy Straw Lamp - Step 10
    Step 10

    now it's time to light it up. :) do this however you wanna. set a candle night light underneath and make it a table lamp. invest in a pendant light kit and hang it from your ceiling. i decided to attach mine to the old lamp the shade came on and added a little more color to make it a table lamp. get creative here. :) enjoy!

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Comments

James A.
James A. · Melbourne, Victoria, AU
i love this straw lamp. this is awesome
Reply
Esteph H.
Esteph H. · Melbourne, Victoria, AU
this is awesome
Reply
Luisa S.
Luisa S.
its amazing!!!!!!

How many straws did you used???? its super cute =)
Reply
BreeXI
BreeXI · U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado, US · 6 projects
nope, im using a 100 watt lightbulb and it's perfectly fine. Happy the width of the shade keeps the heat far enough away from it. so it's alright! im glad you like it! Happy
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groovylittlegirl
groovylittlegirl · 5 projects
Woooooowwwwww thats amazing! Totally trying this sometime! One question though - do you need to spray the lampshade with anything to stop it catching fire/melting? Just wondering before I start....
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Gone Neko
Gone Neko · Milan, Lombardy, IT · 29 projects
Awesome!! *____*
Reply
Jet H.
Jet H. · Haarlem, North Holland, NL · 108 projects
awesome i saw something like this but they used for this a sort of webbing net, which was not available in holland.
so i thought perhaps i can find something out for myself, but you have such a smart solution, soooo thank you very much for sharing this and the great tute as well.
love it!!!!;-D
Reply
BreeXI
BreeXI · U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado, US · 6 projects
Happy for the base of the lamp, you'll need:
mod podge
pieces of tissue paper (any colors you want)
and a paint brush.
it's really easy. just paint a layer of mod podge on the entire base and place your tissue pieces however you want em. cover the whole thing with the pieces and let it dry. once it's totally dry, go over it again with mod podge to seal it. easiest part of the whole project Happy

im sososo glad you guys like it! i worked my ass off on this thing! Happy
Reply
The Petite Shop
The Petite Shop · Las Vegas, Nevada, US · 16 projects
OMG I LOVE THIS!!! (=
Wait...what did you put on the vase of the lamp??
And what do you need to do it??
<333
Reply
Boo_its_Brittany
Boo_its_Brittany · Long Beach, California, US · 182 projects
Woooooooah! This is freakin EPIC!
I love it.
<3!
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