Repurposed Ceiling Fan or Chandelier Lamp Shades
Got an old ceiling fan that needs replacing? Or a chandelier that needs updating? Don't throw it all out - repurpose it into solar lights! If you don't have any that need replacing, don't worry. You can easily find the lamp shades at your local thrift store for about $1 a piece.
Time: 1 Hours Cost: $3 Difficulty: Easy
You will need some glass lamp shades, the same amount of solar lights and some wire for hanging your lights. I used the cheap $1 ones you can find at walmart or the dollar store and they fit perfectly.
The only part of the solar light that you need is the top half - you don't need the stake or the post, but save it just it case you can repurpose that ;)
This step is optional, but I wanted to add a little bit of color to my lights. I tape off the top of the solar light with some painters tape and painted the top of my lights white. I also had some leftover seaglass spray paint so I gave my lamp shades a quick coat of the green seaglass color just to give it a little touch of something more.
Then take your wire and wrap it around the top part of your lamp shade. They usually have a bit of a grove on the top so that you can wrap the wire around nicely without it falling off. Make sure you also leave a loop in your wire so that you can hang your lamp shade.
Once you have your wire on, you just need to set your solar light on top of your shade. You can use some E6000 glue or some caulk to hold it in place if you need to. I leave mine to sit freely and they've never fallen off, plus this way I can easily replace the light if I need to.
Then use some sheperds hooks or hang them up however you choose! I placed about 4 of them along a little walkway through my garden and they light up so nicely at night and leave a nice glow on the ground as well.
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