Recycled Paper Lamp

Here's a lamp I made on a $1 budget, using entirely recycled paper materials found in several areas of my neighborhood. Below are the basic instructions you need to make this cool lamp! Super cool!

Step 1: Step 1: Accumulate Materials

You will need:

- Collected pieces of wax paper from used square stickers (they're 1*1", but sizes don't really matter).

- Recycled/scrap A4 white paper (found in recycling bins)

- clear duct tape/masking tape (or any quality tape that can keep wax paper together)

- sandpaper (to sand away glossy, waxy side of paper)

- lightbulb

- lightbulb connector and plug-in wire

- hot glue gun

- piece of cardboard

- scissors

- ruler

Step 2: Sand Down the Waxy Coating of the Sticker Backs

Use your sandpaper and gently sand off the waxy backside to the squares. Use a tissue or towel to wipe off the excess dust.

Step 3: Get Ready to Assemble Cubes!

With your squares and tape, assemble them into small cubes.

1. 6 squares will be needed for each cube, one for each side.

2. Apply strips of tape to the side you have sanded off earlier, not the waxy, front side.

3. Using a strip about the same width as the squares, tape together 3 squares side by side, edges touching but not overlapping. Use another strip of tape if needed to attach a fourth, so that in the end you will have four squares side by side.

4. On the second square (from either side), use another strip of tape to attach two more squares on both sides of the square, so that in the end the 6 squares should look like a cross.

5. Make sure the tape is stuck on properly and edges aren't flimsy.

Step 4: Piece the Squares Together to Form the Cube

Refer to numbered diagram for sticking instructions

- Fold edges of squares down to create crisper edges.

- Apply a strip of tape that extends past the edges of square 3 (refer to images for tape length reference).

- Fold square 3 over so that you can tape the strip of tape on square 3 onto squares 5 & 6. The tape should be facing the inside of the cube, and the fronts of the squares exposed on the outside, not showing the tape.

- With square 3 sticking to squares 5 & 6, apply another strip of tape, about the same length as the one applied to square 3 earlier, onto square 4. Bend square 4 over so that it closes the opening over squares 3, 5,& 6. Tape together the edges of square 4 with squares 5 & 6, like earlier, but on a different edge.

- Make sure the tape is properly concealed inside the cube and is not shown from the outside. Be careful!

- Apply another strip of tape to square 1, the last square to stick together to form a cube. Trim the strip of tape thinner so that it's easier to apply to the inside of the cube. Gently stuff the sides of the tape into the square, so that it sticks to the edges of squares 5 & 6 too.

- One edge of the cube should still be open, so trim a smaller piece of tape and stick it to the roof of the open edge of square 1, and then stuff it into the last edge opening, gently sticking it to the wall of edge 4.

- Make sure that your edges are crisp and are stuck closely together, forming a near-perfect cube to the best of your abilities!

Step 5: Continue Making More Cubes Until You Run Out of the Wax Sticker Paper.

Step 6: Change to Recycled A4 Paper When You Run Out, and Make More of Different Sizes!

- Once you run out of the collected square sticker wax paper, you can use recycled / scrap A4 white paper!

- Cut squares of 1 in. by 1 in, the same size as the sticker paper.

- You can also cut more sizes out, like I did, for a variety of cubes. I cut two more different sizes: 1.5 in by 1.5 in, and 2.5 by 2.5.

- make enough cubes so that you have a nice variety (I only made 3 cubes of the biggest size, so that it wouldn't take up too much space).

Step 7: Start Assembling the Lamp Structure!!!

- First, get 6 cubes of the 1 in. by 1 in. size. arrange them into a hexagon. Those will provide as your base for building upwards.

- Use your hot glue and attach cubes together by their edges, corners, and sides. I assembled mine very randomly, but remember to maintain a general, cylindrical structure.

- Make sure your squares faces' face the same way. None of them should be tilted at an angle.

- Keep building upward, keeping in mind neatness and consistency in the variety of cube sizes used and the spaces in between the cubes.

- Alternate between using the original wax sticker paper and the recycled A4 paper.

- Keep building until you reached your desired height; mine's is about a foot tall. Make more cubes if you start running out (like I did). (Keep in mind the size of your lightbulb, don't build too tall that light can't properly disperse to the top of the lamp.

- Get rid of hot glue strings to maintain neatness!

- It's okay if things start to get a little lop-sided. It's bound to happen.

Step 8: Connect Your Light Bulb to Its Connector and Wire, and Make a Small Stand for It!

- Screw your light bulb into its connecting base, and attach the ends of your plug-in wire to the screw-in connectors of the base. (The connector and wire you get may be different from mine, so do whatever is needed, stay safe!)

- Get your piece of cardboard, and cut a piece that is long enough to wrap around the diameter of the base, and tall and straight enough so it can support the light bulb standing up.

- Use your hot glue gun to form a cylinder with the cardboard piece.

- Use your scissors to cut a small hole so that the wire can run through the bottom of the cardboard base.

- Make sure it can stand up straight!

Step 9: Finished!

- With the light bulb standing up, carefully place your lamp structure over the light bulb. Make sure none of your paper is touching the light bulb (for safety reasons.)

- Step back in admiration and celebrate!