Monday, September 10, 2012

coffee cup lamp

I have seen some great teacup lamps on  Pinterest and various blogs. One of my favorites is from Lisa at Recaptured Charm. Go check out her blog; she has amazing projects! She inspired me to make a cup lamp for the B Farm's kitchen!
Since my theme seems to be chickens and coffee, I searched thrift stores for the perfect coffee cups with, of course, a coffee theme or chicken theme. I found 4 cups I liked - 3 with a coffee design and a soup mug with chickens on it. All were $1.99 or less.
My choices for the lamp


I decided to drill holes in my cups since my husband was willing to help me. For a tutorial on how to make one without drilling, you can go here: Country Living teapot-lamp-project.

I played with different arrangements of my cups and decided to eliminate one to keep it the size I wanted and only use the soup mug and 2 coffee cups - one in a similar color to the mug and the other in a contrasting color. Then we assembled all our tools:


drill, masonry bits, glass bits, sharpie to mark where to drill, tape, water, and of course, the cups and saucers.

Mr. B used a small bit to start the hole. (He drilled slowly until the hole was started.) I held the mug( not sure this was smart but oh well!) and squirted water on the piece as needed. Fortunately, most would hold a small pool of water on the bottom. (*Just a note of warning: this is definitely a two-person job unless you have a way to clamp the piece down securely. Also the drill gets hot and heats the water, so be careful! Wear safety glasses to protect your eyes.) Once the hole was started ( put tape over spot to allow drill to grab), he switched to a larger bit to make the hole the right size for my rod.
Mr. B's holding it here, then he had me hold it so he could keep the drill steady

It was slow work. Mr. B finally switched to the glass bit as it was sharper than the masonry bit. He didn't put a lot of pressure on it - didn't want to break the cup. I also had him drill holes in the two saucers. (These were inserted between the cups for stability.) Lastly, he drilled a smaller hole on the side of the bottom cup for the cord to go through. This was the trickiest part - I propped it with a board under the handle to help stabilize it.

Lastly, I took all inside and washed the grit and grime off. Then using a lamp kit I'd bought plus extra lock nuts, I threaded the cord through the side hole of the bottom mug and then up the rod. Then I assembled all the pieces, holding them together with lock nuts. Lastly, I glued the bottom mug and saucer together so they couldn't come apart...the rod doesn't go all the way to the bottom of the mug as the cord has to have room to exit out the side. In reality, that mug didn't need a hole in the bottom - just the side. Oh well, live and learn!

The shade is one I found at Target - covered in burlap, of course! I added the trim to spice it up a bit. Cute, don't you think?


Of course, all this was done here at my city home so when I got to the farm and placed it on the counter, it was too high! Ack! Mr. B suggested I get the wooden crates out of the shop and make a table to set it on, so I did. ( He really does have good ideas! ) I placed it in the corner of the dining room (it needed something anyway as it was feeling way too empty!) and ta da!  Perfection!! Still part of the kitchen decor and found the perfect use for my crates. ( happy dance)
here it is lit up

good use of the crates!

Colors go with my mugs!


Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of the whole dining room. Take my word for it, it looks great in that corner!
What do you think?

Glad you stopped by for a visit. Tomorrow I'll show how Fall has come to the B Farm!
Cecilia

Linking with these parties:
DiyShowOff- diy project parade-51
"Life on Lakeshore Drive"
Debbiedoo's
CoastalCharm nifty-thrifty-tuesday-no130

18 comments:

  1. Terrific lamp! It IS a lot of work to drill those cups and saucers isn't it? The lamp is perfect on your crates. I love it.
    Lisa

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    1. Thank you Lisa! Yes it is - a real job. Glad my husband helped me!

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  2. Oh my goodness Cecilia - this could not be ANY cuter! The orange and black mug is my fave, but all together they are perfect. Love the crate table - so may have to copy!!!! Thanks for stopping by my blog today, too - Jane

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    1. Thank you, Jane! It's my favorite too! :) Please feel free to copy and show me what you've done! I'd love to see what you come up with. Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful day. - C

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  3. Very cute lamp, and it goes well with your theme! It's funny how when you make something at home it doesn't always work the way you expect, but then there's a better idea! The table of crates is really great! I'll take your word for the dining room - for now... But you'll have to remember to show us someday ;-)

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  4. haha, Karen. I promise I'll take a picture of the dining room next time I go! Thanks for the visit!

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  5. I love the lamp! The rooster mug is adorable and the crates look fabulous as a table. I found you through Life on Lakeshore Dr linky party and am a new follower through GFC. Looking forward to receiving future posts. Would love it if you had a chance to visit and follow back.

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  6. Hi Tuula, thanks for following - will hop over for a visit and follow you back as soon as I'm done here! Thank you for your sweet comments - I appreciate it!

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  7. Oh my this is just darling! Thanks for sharing. I love that your put it on the crates too!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for the nice comments; it was fun to search for just the right cups and see it come together. I think I'm addicted - ha! Once again, thanks for hosting an awesome party!

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  8. This is the cutest ever! So creative. I love it. Thank you so much for sharing at Bouquet of Talent. I am so thrilled to have you share. HUGS

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Kathy for the sweet comment! and thanks for hosting the party - I love seeing so much talent in one spot!
      Hugs back!

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  9. Hi Cecilia,
    This is so CUTE!A fantastic idea and a great tutorial!I love the red trim.Thanks so much for sharing.Maybe a day I'll have help to try to do one to my home with porcelaine cups.Have a look at my blog I’ll be so glad.

    Hugs from Portugal
    Ana Love Craft
    www.lovecraft2012.blogspot.com

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    1. Ana,
      I just visited and love the bag you made...left you a comment there. Thanks for dropping in!

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  10. It's party time at Debt Free Mommy Blog and we'd love to see you there! Please come join us and link up to Making Space Mondays. We'd love to see any post(s) about making your spaces better. Thanks, Tabitha

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    1. Tabitha,
      Thanks for the invite! Have linked up and now following you.

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  11. Your mug lamp is adorable! It was a bit of work but very well worth it! Pinned your great idea!!! I'll be sharing it on Facebook too. =)

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