Here in the UK, the nights are drawing in.
There’s a definite chill in the morning air and it’s my favourite time of year.
It has me thinking of twinkly lights, evenings with skies full of stars, crackling log fires, fluffy socks and CHRI…. hold it! Not yet!
Don’t panic! I’m not going to mention the ‘C’ word just yet, but I’m hoping this FOXY MAKE will get you in the mood for what is to come.
Right now, lets relax and focus on lighting some dark corners in the lengthening Autumn evenings…
May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights have gone out – J.R.R Tolkien
RUSTIC BAUBLE LED LOG LAMP
I’d seen a few people making similar lights on YouTube, but always with square cut wooden blocks. So, when I found these live edge off-cuts in my local timber merchant’s scrap bin (scrap? – I don’t think so.), they gave me the idea for Foxy Make 3. I paid 50p for each chunk and fell in love with the live edges, some even had moss still on them, yes, I do find that exciting!
GETTING FOXY -WHAT I USED:
log/live edge wooden offcuts
glass/glass fillable baubles (10cm)
led light strings (battery powered)
- I began by sanding my offcuts to a more pleasing shape. I didn’t want anything too angular. You could cut more obvious curves in them with a bandsaw, handsaw or simply leave them angular.
2.Once I had an overall shape I was happy with, I sanded the entire block smooth, preserving the live edge side and moss as a feature of course!
3. Ensuring both top and bottom were flat, I measured out the size of ‘pocket’ I would need for the battery packs. I wanted the lights to be bright, so marked out a pocket large enough to accommodate two battery packs.
4. The router made quick work of carving out the pocket and I simply tidied up the edges and cut the corners in with a hammer and chisel. You could carve out the pocket using only the chisel, but the router really does save time if you are confident enough to use one. The best way to get more confident using one is to take your time and mark out what you are trying to cut out beforehand. Always wear your safety glasses.
5. Use some Vernier callipers to measure the width of the bauble ‘neck’ and then use the most appropriate sized spade bit you have to remove enough depth of material for the neck to sit in to. You want the bauble neck to sit in the clearance hole as snugly as possible. The next step here was to drill down through the centre of the hole you just cut with the spade bit in order to make a channel. The channel will allow the led string lights to pass through up from the log base in to the bauble.
6. Now time to hot glue the glass bauble in to the hole you cleared. Wait for your glue gun to reach the correct temperature – I always wait until I see the glue just beginning to drip from the end of the tip before using it. Hold the bauble in place for thirty seconds or so until the glue cools. The bond should be firm enough for you to be able to lift the entire lamp up by the bauble, I wouldn’t recommend transporting it like this, its simply a one off test!
7. If your bauble is glued in correctly, you should be able to turn the lamp on to its side (support the bauble if you can) and gently feed the two sets of string lights through the channel you drilled out, up in to the glass bauble. The wires tend to curl around each other once the meet resistance from the inner sides of the bauble, this helps to coil them all it nicely.
8. Then you’ll need to secure the wires and battery packs to the base using hot glue. I glued the wires themselves at the point where the entered the base and then glued the battery packs in to the pocket I had cut out earlier.
9. This step isn’t strictly necessary, but as I had a wood stain left over from a previous project, I decided to paint the underside of the lamp. If you are making these lamps as gifts, I feel that this quick, extra step makes them look a little more finished. I also added some non marking felt feet to the base too.
10. Finally, it was time to oil and then waxed the finished lamp bases, turn them on and enjoy the magic.
FOXY MAKES RUSTIC LED BAUBLE LOG LAMP IS COMPLETE
I really hope you enjoyed following along with this make. you can watch the entire build in more detail over on my YouTube channel, Making It Out Of The Woods.
These lamps are such a joy to make and I think they make lovely gifts. I have to admit that I’m getting a little addicted to making them. I take them everywhere with me in the house and they seem to bring a little magic to each room. Just go make one!
Don’t forget to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE over on YouTube, follow me on Instagram and please feel free to leave me a comment on this blog – do you have any ideas for a foxy make you’d like to see me build?
FOXY TIPS:
*If you don’t want to run your lamp from a battery pack you can simply use a wired lamp holder and screw in an led bulb.
*Remember to oil or wax the lamp base BEFORE you hot glue in the bauble!
*You can buy the baubles in glass or plastic if you are concerned about them being delicate, I used the glass bauble version.
See you very soon for another FOXY MAKE and remember folks,
STAY FOXY!!
Claire x
Looking lovely!