$5 DIY Egg Carton Lamp

Remember that one time I made a lamp out of egg cartons? No?  Well I did…as crazy as it sounds I did.  I made a lamp out of egg cartons.  And why would I do this you ask?  Well I was challenged by AllYou Magazine, as part of their ‘Take This, Make That‘ challenge, to repurpose egg cartons into something fun and useful for the home, and to do it all for a total cost of $5 or less.  Sounds simple right?

You can find the full challenge in the April Issue of AllYou Magazine.

Ummmmm…well I decided I needed to go hard or go home with this project, so I did something totally crazy and made a lamp.  And I may have muttered a few flowery words while I tried to figure out what I was doing, but after it was done, I was so happy with this project!  So much so in fact, that I currently have it sitting in my living room and I do use it.  It’s actually quite pretty in real life…who knew?  😉

Here is what the lamp looks like with the lights turned off.  Fun right?!

And here it is with the lights turned on.  I love this lamp!

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So how did I make this you ask?  Well, here’s a really quick and simple tutorial for you…don’t be scared…it’s actually very easy to make!

Materials for your Egg Carton Lamp:

• About 9 cardboard egg cartons (the 12 dozen sized)
• Spray paint
• Chicken wire (10 x 20 inches)
• 1 string of 100 LED lights (See tips)
• Floral wire
• Scissors
• Craft knife

How To Make an Egg Carton Lamp:

1. Cut out the individual cups from the egg cartons, and trim them to look like flowers.
2. Lay the cups out on a plastic sheet and spray paint both the outside and the inside of the cups.  Let dry completely.
3. Push a lightbulb through each hole in the chicken wire.  Use little pieces of the floral wire to tie the lights to the chicken wire.
4. Once the lights have all been poked through and attached, form the chicken wire into a cylinder, and tie together with the wire.  Stand the cylinder up like a table lamp.
5. Using a craft knife, cut an X on the bottom of each egg cup, then push the egg cups on to each of the light bulbs.
6. Plug in and enjoy!

Tips for Making an Egg Carton Lamp:

• Use LED lights because they don’t get hot, and you don’t want to start a fire with your lamp!  But like with anything, be careful and pay attention to your lamp so that it doesn’t become a fire hazard!  So far, my lamp has been great with the LED lights, as they tend to stay cool.
• I used spray paint in the colour aqua, but you can use any colour you like!  Have fun!
• This light would look fun on a table or hung from the ceiling.

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There, now I can say I made a lamp out of egg cartons!  Never thought I’d ever say that, hee hee!

Have an inspired day!