Bottle It
how to create a cool plastic bottle lamp for the floor table or can be adapted for a pendant light.
What you will need:
12 empty plastic bottles
1 plug
1 switch
1 energy saving light bulb and fixing choose a low wattage as it will give off less heat
Hot Glue gun
Long nose pliers
Scissors
Scalpel
Cutting board
Masking Tape
White spray paint
What you will need:
12 empty plastic bottles
1 plug
1 switch
1 energy saving light bulb and fixing choose a low wattage as it will give off less heat
Hot Glue gun
Long nose pliers
Scissors
Scalpel
Cutting board
Masking Tape
White spray paint
Cutting Up
you will need to cut all the bottles towards the top so that you are left with 12 bottle tops shown in the picture.
you will also need to remove the lids and that little piece of plastic that is on the bottle to show it has not been opened before.
the top half of the bottles make up the sphere shape of the lamp.
you will also need to cut 2 of the bottoms of the plastic bottles. These are used to house the bulb and to attach these top half of the bottles to.
In the bottom section of the bottle you will need to cut a door way in both the parts, this is to allow the cable from the bulb out.
you will also need to remove the lids and that little piece of plastic that is on the bottle to show it has not been opened before.
the top half of the bottles make up the sphere shape of the lamp.
you will also need to cut 2 of the bottoms of the plastic bottles. These are used to house the bulb and to attach these top half of the bottles to.
In the bottom section of the bottle you will need to cut a door way in both the parts, this is to allow the cable from the bulb out.
Spraying and Masking
next we want to spray the insides of these bottom sections white to diffuse the light better.
the molding of the bottom section of the bottole convieniently provides little cones that can be used to locate the top bottle sections
as we want the light to shine stronger through these cones and into the top half of the bottle sections that we have cut out it is necessary to mask of the in side of the 2 bottom bottle sections before spraying
To do this stick the masking tape to the cutting board draw round a coin that is the same size as the pouring hole in the bottle to mask off the areas where the bottle top sections will later be glued
read this through then look at the pictures and it should become a lot clearer
the molding of the bottom section of the bottole convieniently provides little cones that can be used to locate the top bottle sections
as we want the light to shine stronger through these cones and into the top half of the bottle sections that we have cut out it is necessary to mask of the in side of the 2 bottom bottle sections before spraying
To do this stick the masking tape to the cutting board draw round a coin that is the same size as the pouring hole in the bottle to mask off the areas where the bottle top sections will later be glued
read this through then look at the pictures and it should become a lot clearer
Glue and Take Shape
next glue the top bottle sections using the hot glue gun to the bottom sections in the areas that you masked off before spraying.
using a strip of one of the already cut up plastic bottle (you should have plenty of those lying around now), the strip should be about 2cm thick and is used to connect the 2 bottom sections of the bottle together round the light bulb.
using a strip of one of the already cut up plastic bottle (you should have plenty of those lying around now), the strip should be about 2cm thick and is used to connect the 2 bottom sections of the bottle together round the light bulb.
Sit Back and Appreciate It
put the lamp either on the floor (where I think it works well) or on a table. I used bright orange cable instead of white as i though it added to the design
you could also try finding different colour bottles and making it out of them instead of clear. Again I used a single green one in the design to add to the design but try out combinations!
Another nice feature is that if placed against a wall you get these great circles made by the light shining on the wall, art and light a good combination not to mention recycled and energy efficient
Sometimes when you have built something its hard to make good instructions so any questions then ask or if you think it should be changed let me know
Have fun
you could also try finding different colour bottles and making it out of them instead of clear. Again I used a single green one in the design to add to the design but try out combinations!
Another nice feature is that if placed against a wall you get these great circles made by the light shining on the wall, art and light a good combination not to mention recycled and energy efficient
Sometimes when you have built something its hard to make good instructions so any questions then ask or if you think it should be changed let me know
Have fun