Melted lego lamp in Best of Craftster 2007

This melted lego-brick lampshade is one of those genius ideas that really gets people excited about craft, particularly when they're so simple to make.

It was picked as one of Craftster's best of of 2007 projects, and the effect is achieved by baking lego bricks in the oven in a normal, round cake pan. The result is a fabulous, unique lampshade that will turn your IKEA uplighter into an original work of art. You can achieve a similar effect with pony beads. For full instructions on making a shade of your own, please follow the jump:

Materials:

plastic pony beads or lego bricks
baking tray
foil
mask
gloves
oven
pencil
scissors
old shade from lamp
floor lamp with a cover screw

Steps:

1. Cover the baking tray with foil

2. Lay beads on the tray as desired, leaving a hole in the middle

3. Bake at 350 F degrees 10 to 15 minutes. Check the tray of beads in the oven, turn it around 180 degrees, and bake for 5 minutes more. Check again (some beads will melt quicker then others).

4. When the beads are melted together, remove the tray from the oven.

5. Form the warm plastic over a bowl (or the old lamp shade) and shape as desired

6. When cooled, remove the foil from the inside of the shade

7. Place the new shade over the socket and secure in place. Replace the bulb, plug it in, and enjoy your new light!

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