Look! DIY Plastic Cup Lampshade

On a limited budget but want a dramatic chandelier for the house? How about a plastic cup chandelier lampshade like this one posted on Instructables?

remmelt posted:Two years ago my sister made one of these for my birthday. She used transparant plastic cups and a stapler, but the same idea. A smallish roundish hole in the top, a quick wooden cross and a length of light chain and a light bulb: voila! A beautiful bedroom ceiling light!

Comments (11)

hah! my dad made one of these for xmas one year- they look good lit, but a little weird

posted by barnicle on February 14th 2008 at 3:19pm
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I love it -- I'll add it to my project list. It looks like something Droog would make (but it would then cost ~$1500.00...)

posted by lightspeed on February 14th 2008 at 4:13pm
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I tried to make one of these a few years back, but it didn't really work out - it got saggy and unwieldy, I wasn't sure how many cups to add and I lost confidence and gave up. I should have stuck with it and I might give it another try now...

posted by ARC on February 14th 2008 at 7:47pm
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looks great!

posted by Stratos on February 15th 2008 at 1:09am
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I think the plastic cup version is far better than the styrofoam one (environmental issues aside).

The foam cup one acts like a dirt magnet and looks like crap in just a few short months... Of course, I would suspect this version would look pretty dirty after a year or so. Still... While not a new idea, it is pretty cool that you could make one for less than $20.

posted by Devyn on February 15th 2008 at 3:59am
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My mom made one of these back in the 70s. She also painted the rim of each cup black for extra "oomph".

posted by Alex on February 15th 2008 at 4:09am
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I love this, too! The first time I'd seen it done was for a commercial application, in a restaurant in DC

http://www.station9dc.com/

Very Cool

posted by Theo on February 15th 2008 at 4:31am
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the obvious question is: why don't they melt/catch on fire? after all, lights can get pretty hot.

posted by loislane on February 15th 2008 at 6:41am
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nice work!

posted by foodiegirl on February 15th 2008 at 7:32am
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OH dear god. My Mom made one of these in styrofoam back in the 70s. Horrible, dusty - sad. She is going to love that it is back.

posted by alexis on February 15th 2008 at 11:16am
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How cool!