TUTORIAL: How to Make a DIY Pendant Lamp

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Have you ever thought about making your own pendant lamp?

Well, it’s SUPER EASY!

And I’m so excited to share this with you how to do it!

In this post, I’m going to show you how I turned this pretty little fruit basket that I picked up about 10 years ago from Crate and Barrel into a DIY pendant lamp! (See! I haven’t always bought everything from the thrift store!)

Isn’t she cute??

Poor thing did its job for so long until one day she decided to just….well…..CRASH.

I knew that the bottom part, which was intact, could still hold our yummy fruit….but I immediately thought, “PENDANT LAMP!!!” when I saw the top part.

And yes……there she is!!!

Hanging above my $30 vintage drafting table that I scored from the thrift store……. now my thrifted craft room has an awesome new addition!

Check out how cool the ceiling looks when I switch on the light? AMAZING, instant ceiling art. HAHAHAH

Wouldn’t that be cool in a kid’s room or something? Maybe even with a colored light!

Here’s How You Do It:

Because I thought it would be fun, and easier to follow, here’s the VIDEO TUTORIAL on how to upcycle a DIY pendant lamp.

(Wow…..this is my second video TUTORIAL. First one was How to Paint an Old Brick Fireplace. Check it out if you’re living with ugly, dated old bricks and are thinking about painting it! It turned out really great).

Anyhow, here’s the step-by-step instructional video, as well as written instructions

 STEP 1: Gather your materials.

For this project, you’ll need the following materials:

• A lamp kit. You can buy a lamp kit on Amazon for about $10. That’s where I got mine.

• A Swag hook. This will allow you to hang your pendant lamp from the ceiling.

• A chain. I got mine from the Home Depot for about $0.99 a foot, and I bought 8 feet. I probably could have used a bit more, maybe and extra foot, but it depends on the height of your ceiling. And you can totally use something more decorative, like this cute heart-shaped chain which is super cute!

• Pliers. PLEASE don’t try to pull apart chain links with your teeth LOL
• A screw driver. You’ll need it when you’re attaching the lamp cord to the base of the lamp screws.
• A drill (not pictured). When you attached your swag hook, you’ll need to drill a hole for the anchor. Also, if the object you’re using doesn’t currently have a hole at the top, you will need to drill one. Here’s a good tutorial on how to drill glass. I’m going to assume you know how to drill wood? If not, grab someone handy. Google some other videos on how to drill metal or other objects you’re considering turning into DIY pendant lamps.
• A light bulb (but, of course!).

STEP 1: Take your lamp cord and locate the 2 metal prongs.

STEP 2: Thread the lamp cord prongs through the top cap piece of the lamp kit. It doesn’t matter which way you insert it.

STEP 3: Insert the lamp cord through the top of the pendant lamp.

NOTE: If you’re DIY pendant lamp needs a hole drilled, now’s the time to do it.

STEP 4: Thread the lamp cord to the piece that comes off of the lamp base.

Hard to explain, but if you watch the video above, you’ll see what I mean! Those wires that are sticking out there, pull them through to give yourself some slack.

STEP 5: Bend the wires at the end of the lamp cord.

STEP 6: Using your screwdriver, loosen the gold screw and the silver screws on the lamp base and then cup the wire underneath the screw and tighten to hold in place.

NOTE: If your lamp doesn’t work, switch the wires; you’ve got them on the wrong screw

STEP 7: Slide the black switch up inside of the lamp base that will hold the light bulb.

STEP 8: Attach the lamp base to the cap, and–VOILA!–you’ve got a new lamp!

STEP 9: Attach the chain.

Here is where you will want to use your pliers to pull apart the chain links. They’re tough to get open! Also, make sure that you’re lamp is balanced. I hooked the chain so that each side had the same number of links and we all positions equality. Otherwise, it will be off-balanced.

STEP 10: Now go brag to your friends!

They won’t believe you were so crafty

And there ya go!

A really cheap way to add something interesting to your decor, so that when people come over, they can’t believe you hung a–GASP–fruit basket from your craft room ceiling. Oh, and hubby still keeps shaking his head at me, asking, “WHY did you make that? I still don’t get it….”

No, dear, you never will. It’s a DIY thing

Disclaimer: Gotta pay the bills, right? The above posts has some Amazon affiliate links and I may be compensated if you click on them. Thanks!