How to Make Cool Spherical Ceiling Lamps for Girls

Use lace doilies instead of crochet cotton to create a lamp with intricate designs.

When a decorating a girl's room, choose decorations, furniture and lighting that fit the girl's personal style. One way to turn a girl's regular ceiling lamp into something special is to let her help make it. By wrapping colored crochet cotton around a balloon, you can make a beautiful lamp that shines light through the cracks between the strings. Girls age 8 and older will have no trouble helping make this lamp, but leave the socket installation to adults.

Things You'll Need

• Ceiling lamp socket
• CFL bulb
• Newspaper
• Large balloon
• Wallpaper glue
• Paintbrush
• Crochet cotton, size 10
• Pin

Instructions

1. Install a ceiling lamp socket in the ceiling of the bedroom if there isn't one there already. The best lamp sockets for this type of project are a flush mount or pendant lamp. Screw the CFL bulb into the socket.

2. Spread newspaper over your work surface to prevent a mess.

3. Blow up the balloon as far as it will go without popping it, and tie a knot at the opening. Turn the balloon so that the knot points up.

4. Spread wallpaper glue over the balloon in a thick layer using a paintbrush, but do not cover the knot.

5. Press an end of the crochet cotton to the balloon near the knot. Wrap the cotton horizontally around the balloon, making sure each successive line is touching the previous one or no more than a few millimeters apart. Continue wrapping until the balloon is covered.

6. Paint the balloon with the wallpaper glue again covering the cotton on the balloon. Leave the cotton string dangling from the bottom of the balloon, and do not coat it in glue.

7. Wrap the cotton around the balloon again, this time in any random design you choose. Continue wrapping until the balloon is completely covered in cotton and the end dangles from the top.

8. Cut any extra cotton, but leave 2 feet of it to attach the lampshade to the socket. Leave this extra dangling out of the way. Paint more wallpaper glue on the balloon and over the second layer of cotton.

9. Hang the balloon, using the extra cotton, from a high place so it can't touch anything. Let the balloon dry overnight.

10. Take down the balloon and pop the balloon using the pin. Turn the cotton shell upside down and pull the popped balloon from the hole at the top where the knot was.

11. Attach the lampshade to the socket by slipping the bulb through the hole at the top. Wrap the extra cotton around the cord above the insulated socket or wrap it around the lampshade holder.

Tips & Warnings

• CFL bulbs, also known as energy saving bulbs, are not hot to the touch. Using them eliminates a fire risk with the lamp.

• Cut off part of the top of the lampshade if the lamp socket is too wide for the hole at the top.

• Use more than one color crochet cotton on the lamp. Cut the cotton at the top or bottom of the lamp so that the end is not visible. Start a new color in the same spot and continue wrapping.

• Go to an electrician if you do not have the proper installation knowledge.

• The amount of glue used and the size of the balloon will change the weight of the lampshade. The lampshade should not be heavy, but make sure the lamp socket is sturdy enough for the lampshade.

• Do not attach the lampshade to the hot metal socket of the lamp. The cotton will become too hot. Attach it to the lampshade holder or an insulated part of the lamp.

• If the lampshade is very close to the bulb it might become warm over time, even if using a CFL bulb. If the lampshade becomes too hot, remove it from the lamp socket.

• If you make your own wallpaper glue, make sure it is not too runny. If it is runny, the string may not stick to the balloon or might fall off once the glue is dry.