Create an ideabook for your next remodeling project!
Browse more than 1,000,000 photos from top designers and save your favorites
Whip Up a Lighting Fixture From a Tart Tin
Turn your old kitchen bakeware into an industrial-style hanging lamp with this clever DIY project
I went to architecture school but am now a design and craft blogger over at Lauren Elise Crafted where I highlight crafts, DIYs and tutorials, photography, vintage finds, and all things lovely.
I went to architecture school but am now a design and craft blogger over... More »
Are your cupboards packed with baking relics from a past era? Over the years kitchens tend to accumulate old baking sheets, pie tins and muffin pans. Their patina and wear may make them unsuitable for cooking, but these pieces need not be destined for the trash or a second-hand shop. You can infuse new life into them by getting creative and repurposing these pieces into home decor instead. This tutorial will show you how to turn tart tins or pie pans into hanging lamps for the home.
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
These lamps are mini and would work best as subtle accent lighting, or hanging over a desk or by a bedside. The 6-watt bulbs put out just enough light to read by, but not enough to disturb others.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Materials:
|
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
1. Before you begin, put on protective gloves and goggles. The metal is sharp after drilling, so be safe while handling it. Turn the tart tin upside down and place it over a scrap piece of wood. Hold the tin firmly and drill a hole straight through the center.
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
2. Slowly and carefully use the needle-nose pliers to peel back the rim of the drilled hole. Increase the size of the hole as you go. The socket needs to pass through the hole, so make the diameter as large as that of the plastic socket.
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
3. The socket comes with a snap-in metal piece. This piece is not necessary for this particular lamp fixture, so remove it by lightly hammering around the edges of it until it slips off.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| 4. Bend the metal back and forth until it snaps in two and remove it from the cord. |
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
5. Make sure the socket fits.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| 6. Wrap the socket and cord with electrical tape. It is easiest to cut numerous small pieces of tape and slowly work your way up the cord. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| 7. Insert the socket into the hole in the tart tin. Lightly hammer it in if necessary. The rough edges of the metal should hold the socket in place snugly. |
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
In this example, the tart tins are vintage ones found from a local antiques store. If you are in need of tins, check out local second-hand or antiques stores and even yard sales for some inexpensive options. These tins are rather small, about 3½ inches in diameter and not very deep. To make a larger lamp, replace the tart tin with a pie pan and install a larger bulb.
More DIY:
Basket-Shade Pendant Light
Fluffy White Paper Lantern
More DIY:
Basket-Shade Pendant Light
Fluffy White Paper Lantern
Comments
sparkchaser4 There's one big concern with building your own light fixture in your home, although as the homeowner it is legal to do in most cases, you might not want to do it anyway. Why? Because if you have a house fire resulting from your "electrical work", usually your fire insurance will become null/void, as in "not covered". Again why? Because you failed to get proper "UL Approval" on your fixture first before using it. (CSA in Canada). What's the answer? Go with low (below 50 volts) voltage only. You're less likely to burn the house down. And how many people can afford to rebuild their whole home from scratch, and out-of-pocket themselves anyway. Take my word for it, it's not worth the risk just to be "crafty". And after all, they don't call me SparkChaser for nothing.
12 months ago · Like
· 
4
4
Ideabook published on June 5, 2012.
What are you working on?
News From Our Partners
Latest Ideabooks
View over a million photos:
