Make a Wine Bottle Lamp
The following easy instructions explain how to make a beautiful lamp from an ordinary wine bottle. Once you’ve made one wine bottle lamp, you’ll want to make more of these attractive lamps for other rooms in your home.
Lamps made from wine bottles also make fantastic gifts. Make a wine bottle lamp as a special gift, and personalize the lamp for a friend or loved one. Recipients of these unique lamps will be highly impressed, and you’ll save a considerable amount of money on a fun and unique gift made from an empty wine bottle.
Necessary Supplies
To make a decorative and functional wine bottle lamp you’ll of course need a clear wine bottle. A large jug style bottle works the best for this project. You’ll also need a bottle adapter lamp kit, and a lampshade. You can find bottle adapter lamp kits in most craft stores and hardware stores.
Optionally you can add small items of interest to the jar such as marbles, colorful candy, buttons, beads, coins, polished stones, layers of colored sand, or anything else that sparks your interest. You can also fill a wine bottle lamp with silk flowers, shells, shredded colored paper, faux gems, or aquarium gravel. Use your imagination to create a wine bottle lamp to match a specific theme or design. The options are virtually endless.
Procedure
A bottle adapter lamp kit has a cord attached to the socket, and if you don’t drill a hole in the glass, the cord will protrude from the top of the lamp. Hide the cord by carefully drilling an opening near the base of the bottle using a carbon-tipped glass bit. Although a cord attached to the bottom of a lamp is more visually appealing than a cord coming out of a socket, concealing the cord isn’t necessary in order to make an attractive lamp.
Choose a cork from your bottle adapter lamp kit that fits the opening of your wine bottle. Most kits come with several options to fit various size bottles. Your kit will also include a spindle, washers, knurled nuts, a harp cradle, a socket base, a socket cover, and a cord.
Begin assembling the bottle adapter lamp kit by inserting the spindle into the cork, and attach the washers and nuts to both ends. Securely twist the cork into the opening of the wine bottle.
Next, attach the harp cradle to the spindle, and screw on the socket base. Thread the cord into the socket base, and strip the ends of the cord with a stripping tool. Attach the stripped ends into the socket connectors, and wrap them in a clockwise direction before securing the screws. Attach the socket cover, and mount the socket assembly inside the base. Consult the instructions on your adapter kit for more details.
Lastly, remove the finial from the harp, and place a lampshade of your choice over the spindle. Screw the finial back into place, install a light bulb, and your wine bottle lamp is ready to shine.
Optional Ideas
Optionally you can top the bottle with color-coordinating ribbon or paper twist. You might also consider painting the glass. Even if you aren’t artistically inclined, you can use stencils to create a one-of-a-kind wine bottle lamp you’ll be proud to display.
