Tea Light

Create a one-of-a-kind lamp with mismatched teacups and saucers. It's sure to be a conversation piece in any room.

Materials:

3 teacups

3 saucers

1 teapot

4 mini lamp kits (or 3 kits and an extra cable)

3 light bulbs (5 watt max)

ceramic/tile drill bits

electric drill

zip tie

small block of wood

wire stripper

scissors

2 wire connectors - Your choice of butt connectors, wire caps, electrical tape or other method

This step was not fun because my porcelain cups gave me a lot of trouble, but was much easier and less scary than I thought it would be. I was worried about cracking and breaking, but it didn't seem like that was really something I needed to worry about.

1. Use the ceramic drill bits to drill a hole into the center of each cup and saucer and the three holes in the teapot.

2. I did this in the sink with running water to keep both the cup and drill bit cool. I didn't have to keep the water running on the piece the whole time. I just rinsed them periodically. Some of my cups were porcelain and the bits weren't very happy about drilling through it, but I had better success by interchanging the bits. Switching from the large, to medium, and then to small and back again made it work. I also flipped the piece over and drilled from the other side as soon as I broke through. I used a small block of wood to avoid drilling a hole into my sink.

3. I used a marker to mark the saucer after I had drilled the cup so that they would match up well.

1. Once you've finished drilling holes, you're ready to add the wires.

2. Cut three of the mini lamp kit wires next to the switch on the bulb side. (If it does not have a switch, skip this step.)

3. thread the bulb end of the wire through the inside of the 1st cup and the top of the 1st saucer. Repeat for each set of cups and saucers.

4. Thread the wires through the bottom of the teapot and decide what length you want each wire to be.

5. Zip tie the wires together inside the teapot to keep them from falling through.

1. Cut the excess wire about an 1.5 inches above the zip tie.

2. Split the two sections of each wire down to the zip tie. Now there should be six wire ends instead of three.

3. Use the wire stripper to strip the ends of each wire.

4. Carefully twist one side of each wire together into two wire ends. Be careful not to put both sections of the same wire together.

5. Take the last mini lamp kit and cut off the bulb so that you have a long cord with a switch and plug.

6. Split and strip the end of the long cable and attach the two ends to the two ends above the zip tie.

7. I used butt connectors with heat shrink sides, but it will be hidden inside the teapot, so you could use caps or even just electrical tape if you twist them together well.