Do you have old CDs collecting dust at home that have long gone out of mass use? Do not rush to throw them away, but use them rationally for creative purposes. This is a wonderful material from which you can make many useful things for your home that you didn’t even know about. And if you have a lot of them, then that's even better. Today we will tell you how to make a lamp from disks with your own hands, spending money only on consumables. Following our step-by-step master classes, you can easily make an original bright table and a picture from CDs.

How to make a lamp from disks?

If you are eager to make an unusual chandelier from CDs, then follow all the steps in our master class one by one, and you will definitely succeed.

Materials:

• CDs (approximately 1000 pieces).
• Cut out circle from fiberboard.
• Steel wire (5 meters long).
• Electrical connector (12 pieces).
• Lamp socket.
• Electrical wire.
• Switch + plug.
• Fluorescent lamp.
• Rubber feet (about 3 pieces).
• Silicone transparent sticks (2 pieces).

Tools:

• Drill.
• Pliers.
• Screwdriver.
• Glue gun for silicone.
• Wire cutting pliers.
• A simple pencil.
• Compass.
• Triangle ruler.

The list is impressive, but believe me, it’s worth such an excellent result. Now let's figure out how to use all this to make a lamp from disks.

Preparatory stage

In order to start making a llama from CDs, you need to consider a few useful tips on preparation:

• Before starting work, you need to collect all the prepared parts together and check that all the tools are available. If you suddenly find that something is missing, do not panic - basic materials and tools can be found in every home. Other parts can be purchased at your local hardware store.
• To make such a lamp you will need a lot of disks. If you don't have that many, then take them from your friends, work colleagues or classmates. We think they will be all for it, since many want to get rid of unnecessary “junk” that is a shame to throw away. Therefore, do not be shy, but ask - you need it for a good cause.
• The size of the connector must match the diameter of the steel wire - it must fit freely into the connector hole.
• You can buy a pre-assembled lamp socket kit with electrical cord, switch and plug. If you haven’t found such an option, then make it yourself, relying on your design preferences.

Important! Please note that electrical wire must be at least 2 m long. It's better to buy more than to waste time on an extra trip to the store.

• Any fluorescent energy-saving lamp is suitable for operation, the power of which you choose yourself.
• Buy only transparent silicone so that the place where the material glues together is not visible.
• To work, you need to buy 2 of the largest sticks.

Making the bottom

When you have checked the readiness of the materials for work, you can begin the main process of making a lamp from disks:

1. We take a circle from fiberboard and, using a compass and ruler, divide it into 12 equal sectors. We connect the division points to each other to mark the center where the cartridge and steel wire will be inserted.
2. We firmly screw the rubber feet to the bottom.
3. Using a drill, drill holes for the cable.
4. Using pliers we cut off 6 pieces of steel wire, which should be at least 1 meter long.
5. We bend each piece of wire with pliers or a vice.
6. Now the entire structure made must be attached to the bottom of the future lamp. We secure the rubber feet with suitable bolts and a screwdriver, and fix the cartridge in the central hole of the fiberboard circle.

Important! At this stage, do not forget to insert the lamp into the socket, as the disks will then block access to the socket. The socket must be located strictly in the center of the lamp. If it is shifted to the side, then put it in the correct position.

We make a metal lattice and a sphere from disks:

• We secure 6 arc-shaped pieces of wire by inserting the ends into the hole in the base.
• We wrap the arcs with our hands or tools to the desired shape. We should end up with a structure in the form of a sphere.
• Using wire cutters, we cut off the excess edges of the wire, obtaining a grid of 12 wires in the form of a spherical dome.
• Now we are engaged in stringing disks. We first fill 6 drives with disks, which are located near the center. We seal the space between the wire and the disk with silicone from glue gun. We carry out such manipulations until the stacks of disks are 6 cm in height.

Important! You don’t have to seal the first 5 layers of discs so that you can easily change the light bulb later.

• When we have finished stringing the disks onto 6 rods at the base, we string them further onto 6 wires along the edge of the structure, alternating the disks with each other. We must have all 12 metal wires strung.

Important! Each placed disk must lie on two adjacent disks. Make sure that the order in which they are correctly placed on top of each other is maintained so that they fit evenly and symmetrically.

Lamp top:

• When the disk stacks have reached 26 cm, we wrap each metal end towards the center of the structure, cutting off all excess material.
• Now, clamping the edges of the wire, divide the circle into 12 equal sectors. On each of them we mark 2 points for installing the electrical connector for the cable. As a result, you should get 24 holes.

Important! Don't forget to make sure the holes fit your connectors.

• In order to pull out the 12 connectors, we disassemble the connector.
• We assemble the top of the structure. We put the connectors on the wires and secure the topmost disk to the top using bolts and a screwdriver.

That's it, the CD lamp is ready to use! Now you can turn it on and enjoy the pleasant dim lighting!

Important! If you want to make a multi-lamp lamp, then you need to connect the lamp to double switch, where the wires from all the light bulbs are collected into one core in three twists. One wire needs to be connected to zero, and the other two to the remaining two wires.

How to make a painting “Killer Whale” from CDs?

Why not make paintings from disks with your own hands? Now we will tell you in detail how easy it is to arrange one of the options. In this master class, everything is described in more detail, so you will not have any additional questions.

So, we will need:

• Three-layer cardboard or a piece of plywood.
• CDs and their boxes.
• Stationery knife.
• Scissors.
• Ruler.
• Pliers.
• Watercolor and stained glass paints.
• A drawing printed on a printer or drawn by hand.
• Polymer glue.

We begin to create the picture “Killer Whale” from disks:

1. We decide on the size of our painting. For example, let's take a diameter of 50 cm. After that, take cardboard of a suitable size and draw two circles - a large one and a small one inside it. In our case, the outer diameter of the circle is 50 cm, and the inner diameter is 43 cm. The resulting rim will serve as a frame for the future painting. The inner circle can be cut out either at this stage or a little later - it’s up to you to decide.
2. Now we look on the Internet for a suitable drawing with the image of a killer whale in black and white, print it on a printer and carefully cut it out. We attach the image to the inner circle to check the size.
3. We trace the killer whale on cardboard and cut out the blank.
4. Since we will use mosaics for our painting, we need to lay out parts of the disks in random order, leaving gaps, and then fill the voids with stained glass paints.
5. We lay out a mosaic of disks. Take the black CD box and use a utility knife to cut out the strips to create individual pieces. Using pliers, we break off pieces from the black packaging and glue them onto the cardboard, forming the orca part.
6. Using the same pattern, we cut out the killer whale’s belly and paint it with white paint.
7. Now we need to make the sea - the background of the picture. We take the disk in our hands and cut it into two parts with a stationery knife. Now it is clearly visible that the surface of the disk consists of three layers - two outer transparent coatings and foil in the middle.
8. Next, you need to separate the layers of plastic to make two. The foil should remain on each layer of the disk. We will lay out the mosaic from this layer.
9. Using a utility knife, cut the part of the disk with shiny foil into pieces different sizes and shapes.
10. We glue the mosaic sea around the killer whale, filling the entire diameter of the circle.
11. We use stained glass paints to fill the voids between the mosaics. Don't be alarmed that the paint will be a slightly different color after drying - this is completely normal.
12. Using table napkins, cover the protruding edge so that the cardboard is not visible.
13. We glue black pieces of the disk box to the edge of the entire picture. The result should be a black rim around a mosaic sea.
14. Cover the gaps between the black parts of the rim with paint.

That's all, the gorgeous picture made from disks is ready! Now you can hang it on the wall and admire your creation!

Got a stack of unnecessary CDs? Don't throw them away! You can make a beautiful lamp from them. In this master class you will learn how to make a very inexpensive and eco-friendly lamp from an old CD collection.

Interested?

Budget = 500 - 1000 euros
Time = 4 - 8 hours
Tools = found in every home
Difficulty = easy - medium level
Size = diameter 40 cm / height 28 cm

Materials

Resize

How to make a lamp from laser discs?

Today, plastic discs are widely out of use.

Naturally, the question of their disposal came up. However, it would be a pity to simply throw them away, especially since there is the possibility of using them quite rationally.

Today we will talk about how it can be created beautiful chandelier from disks with your own hands. Using disks with their light-reflecting surface for precisely such purposes is a self-evident solution.

What do you need to make a chandelier from disks?

For the simplest DIY disk chandelier you will need a dozen disks with a double-sided mirror layer.

The tool you should stock up on is a screwdriver.

A 2-3 millimeter drill, wire cutters and pliers.

To make connecting staples, you need any kind of fairly soft wire; you can use paper clips that are well known to everyone.

The optimal lighting source is a 220-volt electric lamp, with a “minion” socket and an equally standard mount to the suspension.

The cartridge is connected using a wire with a built-in switch.

Of course, you can try to make a multi-lamp lamp and connect the chandelier to a double switch, but for the less experienced home handyman, such work can be difficult, although you can try.

In principle, it is possible to create a multi-lamp chandelier from disks with your own hands by assembling it on a frame from several single-lamp lamps, preferably three, and then connecting this chandelier to a double switch.

How to make a disc stencil for a chandelier from a CD?

At the first stage, you will need to prepare a stencil disk for drilling holes for the staples. Using a protractor, you need to measure five sectors with angles of 72 degrees and drill five holes up to 3 millimeters in diameter at a distance of 5 millimeters from the edge of the disk.

Then you need to put the discs intended for use into the CD storage reel.

All disks are drilled through through a stencil placed on top. A guide made of a match or thin wire is inserted into the resulting hole. Four more holes are drilled in the same way.

Guides are necessary to prevent the disks from moving relative to their neighbors. A lamp socket is mounted into the first disk.

There is no need to expand the existing hole in the center; by the way, in addition to “minions”, you can also use simple standard cartridges.

How to fasten disks for a CD chandelier?

To fasten the disks you will need to prepare three dozen mounting brackets. They should have a “U” shape, dimensions 8 by 10 by 8 millimeters.

One standard paper clip is enough for three staples. The work is carried out with pliers and wire cutters. When all the preliminary work is completed, the actual assembly of the chandelier begins.

The prepared staples are inserted into the holes along the edges of the disks and bent inward using pliers.

Which lamp should I install in a disk chandelier?

The lamp is installed before the adjacent disks are secured. If you want to get sharp themes, you should use an incandescent lamp, but with a power not exceeding 25 W.

The use of a more powerful lamp threatens to melt the plastic from which the discs are made.

In addition to old disks, you will need:
- a circle made of fiberboard with a height of 1.5 cm and a diameter of 20 cm;
- 12 electrical connectors, the size of which is determined by the diameter of the steel wire;
- 5 m of steel wire with a diameter of 2 mm;
- switch;
- lamp socket;
- fork;
- energy-saving fluorescent lamp E27;
- 2 sticks of transparent silicone;
- rubber feet with a diameter of 2 cm;
- drill;
- pliers.

Frame preparation

Begin assembly work by forming the bottom of the lamp. To do this, divide the fiberboard circle into 12 sectors using a ruler and compass. Connect the division points with lines to determine the center; this is necessary for inserting the cartridge, steel wire and marking the place where the rubber feet are attached. Use a drill to drill holes.

Using pliers, cut 6 pieces of steel wire 1 meter long. Bend each piece into an arc; the task is easier to cope with using pliers or a vice. Bolt the three rubber feet and the cartridge into the center hole.

Disc assembly

Secure the 6 arced wire pieces by inserting them into the holes. Twist the arcs or pliers to obtain the desired shape. As a result, a spherical lattice should be formed. Use wire cutters to remove excess wire edges.

Start assembly by filling 6 rods located closer to the center. Place the disks alternating with each other so that each disk lies on two adjacent ones. Fill the space between the discs and the rod with silicone. Repeat the installation until the discs begin to overlap each other again. From now on, string 6 discs one at a time. Collect discs onto 12 rods as long as the size allows, then again switch to 6 rods and string 3 discs at a time.

Before the 6 stacks of disks converge towards the center, install the E27 lamp into the socket. In the last 8-10 layers, do not use silicone to gain access to the lamp if it needs to be replaced.

The top of the chandelier

When the stacks reach 26 cm, wrap the wires towards the center. Divide 2 disks folded together into 12 sectors, mark 2 points on each radius, drill holes for the electrical connector. Disassemble the electrical connector so that you can remove the metal connectors. To assemble the top, place a connector on each wire, secure the top disk to the bolts using a screwdriver.

BUTTERFLIES UNDER YOUR CEILING

Latvian weather is so changeable that it is very difficult to wait for real spring. It seems like spring, but it’s cold and chilly. Therefore, we invite you to act yourself and create an atmosphere in your soul and in your home. For example, make a lamp from butterflies with your own hands.

You will need (see photo):
Round lampshade of an old lamp with 2 circles.
Pliers, scissors, decorative chain (at construction, art or craft stores)
Aerosol with silver paint - 2.49 ls (K-Rauta)
Fine marker - 0.50 ls (K-Rauta)
Silver wire - 0.99 per 9m skein (K-Rauta)
Transparent plastic material - 2.10 per sheet (SIA Kviller)


Fill the old lampshade with silver paint from a can and leave to dry for one day. It may be a different color that fits into the interior of our room. Now we draw or find a suitable butterfly on the Internet or in a magazine (it could be something else - a cloud, a bird, a flower). Cover the drawing with a sheet of plastic and trace it along the outline with a marker. We repeat this as many times as we want butterflies on our lamp. Then we cut them out. Some of the butterflies can be filled with an aerosol of the same color - they will stand out from total mass and even more this particular color will be combined with your interior, which already has this tone.


For each butterfly, we cut decorative chains 10 cm long. In some chains, using pliers, you can insert transparent beads. They will sparkle and shimmer when the sun shines into the room. Using the same pliers and wire, we attach the chains to the butterflies on one side and to the lampshade on the other. The lamp is ready, all that remains is to attach it to the ceiling. When you open the window and let in a fresh breeze, a flock of butterflies will come to life.

To make the lamp even more consistent with the style of your room, use one piece of plastic, from which a butterfly has already been cut out, as a template, and using the same aerosol, place butterflies wherever your heart desires - on furniture, candlesticks, photo frames, mugs.

Author of the article: Ekaterina Etsina, photographer and designer, DELFI