Why buy when you can make

We all have a time when we drool over something in a home store or decor mag, but imagine if you could make it at a fraction of the cost. I say why not. There's nothing wrong with giving it a go. If it doesn't come out as perfect as the original, at least you can say you tried.

 

karapaslaydesigns.blogspot.com

Hard to believe that you could make a hanging pendant lamp out of something so mundane as leftover vinyl flooring. But that's just what Kara Paslay did and it looks gorgeous! A bit of tweaking here and there and you have your own designer pendant light.

 

 

Kara cut strips of vinyl flooring that were left over from a few of her other projects. Do any cutting on a mat and use a sharp craft knife. She found an old lampshade that was no longer being used and removed the fabric part, leaving the two metal frame rings.

Cut thin-gauge steel wire to a length of about 40cm. The copper wire that Kara used was a bit too thin for this project, so bear that in mind when looking for wire. You need to cut the wire based on the height you want your shade to be, taking into account the width of your vinyl strips. For example: If you strips are 4cm wide and there are 8 rows, that means a total height of 32cm. Cut extra to wrap and secure the wire around the frame rings.

Now it's time to start weaving the vinyl strips through the wire. As you get closer to the top, your shade will start to take shape. As mentioned above, the wire used here is too thin. You will immediately see a difference when using a slightly thicker wire. After weaving all the rows, trim off any excess and secure the end with a blob of hot glue.