Thursday, March 31, 2011

Seriously. It's a salad bowl. DIY Challenge - #2.

I needed a fun - but somewhat inconspicuous - light shade to finish off my daughter's new room. Other requirements included ridiculously easy and inexpensive. So, why not a salad bowl shade?

To start, you need the remnants of this type of ugly ceiling light. Take off the glass shade and you're left with a threaded rod that attaches to the base.

Here's what you'll need:
  • $10 clear plastic bowl with roughly the same dimensions as the shade you removed (mine is PC brand)
  • round coding stickers from an office supply store
  • a drill and 3/8" drill bit (same size as the threaded rod)
  • white spray paint
  • saran wrap, or some way to cover the outside of the bowl when spraying



Step 1 - Drill a hole.
Using your 3/8" drill bit, slowly drill a hole straight through the bottom of the bowl - dead centre.


Your threaded rod should slip right in. If not, make the hole slightly larger by shaving around holes edge with your drill (wiggle the rotating bit around the edge).

Step 2 - Stickers.
Use your stickers to make a pattern. I went with random dots.


Step 3 - Saran Wrap.
You only want to spray the inside of the bowl, so cover the outside of the bowl with saran wrap to protect it from getting sprayed.


Step 4 - Spray.
Light coats.



Step 5 - Peel off the stickers.
Peel before the paint completely dries (before it dries as one piece!).

Step 6 - Attach to ceiling.
Slip the rod through the bowl and attach to ceiling fixture.