DIY Teacup Lamp (how to drill china)

First, let me apologize because this lamp is not “dressed out” with a shade or staged in a pretty environment. It is still waiting in the garage for a new outfit.

This is the type of bit I used. Jamie bought it for me for Christmas at Home Depot.  This is a variety pack, mine came with just the larger bit.

This was my first attempt at drilling glass. I’ve learned several things since this.

I placed my bowl in a container of water on an old rag to keep it from trying to turn as I drilled.

You need to use water when you use a diamond bit to keep the glass cool.

Isn’t it cute? It is a little difficult to get the hole right in the middle of a round object.

The clamp is holding a piece of scrap wood because the tub was wanting to “walk” across the table.

How does my phone seem to end up in so many pictures?  

This plate was too large to fit in the tub, but no problem. Almost all of the dishes I have cut have a rim that naturally pools the water needed for cooling.

I cut all of these pieces and didn’t break a single one!

I used this small bowl for the “base” of my lamp. The base needs to have an extra hole for your cord.

This is a lamp I curbed. I used the guts of this lamp for my new teacup lamp.

This is a dry fit to see how everything “stacks up”.

I connected my glass pieces with Gorilla Glue Epoxy.

I didn’t intend to paint my pieces, but I used my least favorite pieces as my guinea pigs because I expected to break a bunch of cups and saucers. I didn’t like the variation of the patterns, so I decided to paint it.

I really think I like the simplicity of the white.

This was my prototype. I have made a couple more since this one. It’s not really hard to do, but some pieces can take more almost 3  minutes to drill. Because I want to take care of my drill I let it cool down a little between those pieces.

Mandi @ Vintage Revivals has a great tute on how to drill glass.  I will have more details on the other lamps I made for Jan in the days to come.  I put mine together a little differently than Mandi.

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter you already know one of my deepest secrets. I am a paint hoarder.

I had some of it contained in a corner cabinet in the garage (that I curbed a couple of years ago). The last time I visited Jamie she was cleaning out her paint closet and gave me several cans. The paint was overtaking my floor space.  I dragged it all out to the driveway and sort of separated it. I turned them upside down because I was opening them to make sure they were usable. Turning them upside down makes them a little easier to stir when opened.

After I opened every can (except the ones I most recently used) and stirred them, I marked the paint level on the outside of the can.  I also made a paint splotch on the front of the can as a color reference. Whenever I store paint I arrange them in the color of the rainbow. Roy G Biv.   red/orange/yellow green blue/ indigo/ violet     Black and brown are to the left of red.

I ended up having 62 gallons of paint. Only 4 gallons were unusable.  You can see here that the teal is in between the green and the blue.  Please know that I did NOT buy all these cans of paint. You know you’re a true junker when family and friends donate their old paint to you.  In addition, Jamie generally gives me at least one can of oops every year for Christmas! That’s my girl!

gail

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