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How to make a wall lamp with a tin can

I finally found a solution for the bathroom lighting, with a DIY of course! I’m still looking for the perfect sconces but meanwhile I will not have to look at the naked bulbs anymore. I’m glad the bathroom is almost done, I still have to finish the shelf unit below the sinks. So you can expect a new post about the bathroom upgrade pretty soon! If you missed the previous article, you can have a look HERE.  I love tin cans, they are free and come in many sizes which make them one of the best material to upcycle. For those wall lamps I used medium size powdered milk cans and paper…that’s it! As you can see it’s a very cheap DIY to make!

To give you an idea, here are the wall lamp holder I started with.

Draw a circle in the middle of the tin can and drill holes all around it. The dimension of the circle must be a little bigger than the lamp holder socket. You will need to be able to fix the can on the plastic holder.

Use cutting pliers to cut out the circle. Watch you fingers, metal edges can be really sharp.

Clean the cans and spray paint them, insist on the inside of the can, the top and the bottom edges. I choose white paint because it matches the paper, feel free to pick any color you like

Cut the paper at the can dimension and use a glue gun to fix the paper around the can. Cut out the paper where the circle is.

Use your glue gun to fix the can on the lamp holder. The can must be fixed on the plastic part of the holder. Hold the can until the glue dries.

Screw the bulb back in place, use energy saving bulb or LED. They don’t heat and it will be much safer.

Enjoy your new lighting! The small shelf on the left of the picture is also a DIY, you can find the tutorial HERE.

 

 

If you like it, please, share and make your friends enjoy this post!

 

Amaryllis

Aine Scannell

Thursday 30th of December 2021

Amaryllis......you have a lot of good, original and authentic ideas here on this beautifully laid out website and thank goodness you don't have one of those websites where the 'author' just uses other peoples ideas and hard work (with links to the blog on which they originally saw the craft or DIY idea).

I honestly think that those people should be ashamed of themselves and I would certainly be very annoyed if they used my ideas (not likely as I am a fine artist printmaker). The other very important aspect of the kind of creative work you do is the use of materials as in you are endlessly coming up with ideas. for recycling all sorts of fabric items/ packaging and so on. Keep up the good work.

best wishes.

Aine Scannell

amaryllis

Thursday 10th of March 2022

Thank you so much Aine for your nice words ;) I was so touched by you message that I forget to answer you (sorry). Have a lovely day!

amaryllis

Monday 10th of January 2022

Thank you so much for your lovely comment. It´s the best way to start this new year. Best wishes to you Aine.

Ann

Sunday 5th of March 2017

I love this idea. I could use these on two lights in our long hallway.

Ama Ryllis

Monday 6th of March 2017

Hello Ann, I'm glad you like it! Let me know how it turns out in your hallway!

rita skaggs

Sunday 5th of March 2017

I must be slipping in my older age (60+), never thought of using cans for lamp shades only vessels for various nails, screws like g-pa did or turning into votive holders with punched pictures on them (so easy to do). But the lamp thing is something which I am going to try...question though...will it work with the coffee cans which are metal bottom but fiber sides...?

Ama Ryllis

Monday 6th of March 2017

Hello Rita, I think it will work as fine with the coffee cans. Just remember to use LED light bulbs because they don't heat. You can also check The DIY home decor section, there is other DIY options to make wall lamps! Have fun crafting!