HOW TO MAKE A HANGING LIGHT FROM A VINTAGE GLOBE

HOW TO MAKE A HANGING GLOBE LIGHT

I saw a hanging globe light on Pinterest a while ago and knew that I wanted to try and make one.  It took some time because I was having a hard time finding a cheap enough globe to give it a try.  I didn't want to purchase a $10-$12 globe at the Goodwill and then ruin it.  Finally, I found an old globe at a garage sale for $1.  I was able to get the lighting kit at Ikea for around $6 and was ready to get started.  I know that you can also purchase the hanging light kits at places like Lowe's, Ace Hardware and Home Depot but they are a bit more expensive.

 This was a simple project that only needed two items, the globe and light kit.  I also needed a box cutter and decorative washi tape.

This is the light kit that I purchased from Ikea.

This first thing that I did was separate the globe at the middle where it put together.  After I was into the project, I realized that wasn't necessary and wished that I hadn't done that.  Good information for next time :).

I traced the light fixture on the top and then used a box cutter to cut out a hole in the top of the globe.  I found that it worked well to score it once and then go back and cut the piece out.  This was really pretty easy since the globe was cardboard.  Once I had the hole in the top, I was easily able to put the light in the top of globe.

Using a longitudinal line as a guide, I cut a larger hole in the bottom of the globe.  This was the first hole I cut and then I realized that not enough light was coming out so I cut around another line.  I put the two parts of the globe together and turned the light on to see if I was happy with the amount of light coming out of the bottom.  I had to tape the bottom and top of the globe back together with some scotch tape which doesn't look great up close but from far away you can't really see it. I definitely won't do that again.

The last step in the process was to take some washi tape and put it around the bottom edge to finish that cut edge.  I used about 6 inch sections of tape and it went on quite easily.  All in all, this was a quick, easy and inexpensive project.  I love the way it looks in my office/tv/craft room.  I am definitely considering making another one to try and sell at the antique store that my bestie, Beth and I have space in.