How to Make a Flicker Lamp

A festive flicker lamp can be designed for the holidays or as a simple decorative addition to your home. Get creative and custom build the flicker lamp shade for any occasion or room in your house, or make multiple shades, changing them for different holidays or seasons. Making your own flicker lamp is a fun project for any skill level and the materials needed are easy to find. Read on to learn how to make a flicker lamp.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Extension cord (with three outlets on a flat end)
• Florist's putty
• Deep glass ashtray
• Plug-in light bulb socket
• Scissors
• Thick decorative paper
• Clear tape
• Flicker light bulb

Making the Flicker Lamp Base

1. Insert the plastic safety plugs into the extension cord outlets. Your extension cord end should have three outlets, one on one side and two on the other. Once the plugs are in, only the single outlet side should be open.
2. Cover the bottom of a deep glass ashtray with an even layer of florist's putty. Add a small amount of putty to one of the grooves meant to hold a cigarette as well.
3. Press the covered outlet side of the extension cord end into the putty so that the open outlet faces up, running the cord over the puttied groove. Plug the light bulb socket into the outlet.

Making the Shade

4. Cut your thick decorative paper so that it is 7 inches tall and wide enough to wrap around the base of your flicker lamp. Wrap the paper around the tube and trim to size, leaving at least 1 inch of paper overlapping.
5. Secure the tube shape by taping the seam on the inside and outside of the shade. Try to tape the shade as neatly as possible, however the seam will be at the back of lamp and shouldn't show much. Trim and 1 by 1 inch hole at the base of the shade along the seam for the cord.
6. Add any desired decorative touches to the shade. You might consider gluing ribbon along the top or bottom edges, adding a string of beads or tassels along the top, or even decorating your flicker lamp shade with rubber stamps or embossing.

Assembling Your Flicker Lamp

7. Decide where you want to place your lamp and position the base with the cord at the back.
8. Screw in the flicker light bulb. Make sure you do not to over-tighten the bulb.
9. Place the shade over the base, positioning the one by one 1 hole over the extension cord. Plug in your lamp and watch it flicker.

Tips & Warnings

• Get creative when selecting your decorative paper. Make your shade using a place mat, children's drawings, wallpaper or anything you can imagine. If your paper is not thick enough to hold it's shape, have it laminated or cover it with clear contact paper.