Introduction: Reycled Plastic Bottle Petal Lamp
I have seen so many gorgeous petal lamps and definitely wanted one for my TV room. Considering what you pay for one, I decided to make my own and look at how to use plastic bottles in the design. I have done so many projects using recycled plastic bottles that I immediately thought about how to use the bottom part of the bottle for the petals.
Still have to wire up the petal lamp, but have hung it from a screw mounted into the ceiling beams. To finish off all I have to do is pull the existing wiring through from the original ceiling light and mount this onto the light fittings.
Must be honest, the photos don't do justice to how the light looks in real life. I mention below that , if time allowed, I would add more petal stems and I do plan to make a similar light with more petal stems for my bedroom.
YOU WILL NEED:
Plastic cold drink bottles - the more the better!
Exacto knife
Scissors
Pine skewers
Dremel VersaTip soldering iron (this one because you can control the heat)
Superglue
Tape measure, dressmaking type
China marker
Rust-Oleum 2X satin blossom white
Nylon line and a hook for hanging
NOTE: I am making this petal lamp for a Rust-Oleum conference, so it was a bit of a rush job. If I had more time I would have added more plastic petals to fill up the globe.
Step 1: Make the Petal Stems
1. Remove the bottoms from your plastic bottles - at about 1cm up from the line that goes around the base. I have noticed that the majority of bottles have this line around the base. I cut my bases off with a craft knife and then neaten up with scissors.
2. Using the ridges in the base as a guide, cut out sections to create a petal pattern. You might fail on the first attempt but will soon realise that the shape of the base guides the cuts you make.
3. Using a soldering iron - and working quickly - make a hole in the centre of each base and immediately stick in the blunt end of a skewer.
4. You have to work before the plastic has time to set again, so have somewhere safe that you can drop the soldering iron as you work.
Step 2: Work Quickly
You really do have to work quick to stick the skewers into the melted holes, because the plastic sets hard again very fast. If you find the skewers are loose, apply a few drops of superglue to secure.
Step 3: Get the Light Globe Ready
5. Here is the plastic light globe that I purchased on the cheap! I knew it would come in useful eventually!
6. Draw lines from the top to bottom around the lamp to divide it into sections. I have 8 sections on the lamp globe but would recommend that you divide into 16 sections. Use a dressmaking tape measure to mark every 2cm down from the top on each line.
7. Using the same method as you did for the flowers, melt a hole at all the marked lines. Have the soldering iron set to the lowest setting and do not apply too much pressure as you melt a hole in the globe. If the iron is too hot and you press too hard your holes will melt larger than they should be. A good idea might be to buy 2 globes and use one for practise, which is what I did.
8. Continue to add holes at all the marked points. As you work you can test fit a skewer to make sure the holes are just large enought for the pointed end of the skewer to be pushed in.