Fun & Functional DIY Lighting

I have a dilemma. A significant crafter’s dilemma that I’m sure many of you can appreciate. The lighting over my work table is horrible – well actually, it’s none existent. When the natural light seeping through my dormer window slips away for the day – the sewing, painting and any other crafty activity is DONE. I HAVE to remedy this; for the sake of every future craft project AND my sanity. Yes, it’s time for a major lighting DIY.

My Lighting Dilemma

My craft room in our new Tulsa home is really lovely. It’s long, about 22 feet, and has a small dormer window at the end flanked by two built-in bookshelves. While I love the cozy vibe of the room, the oddly sloped ceiling and lack of light creates a significant challenge. Check out the video below for a peek.

In addition to a ceiling that begins at about 4′, I have no electrical source other than an outlet near my desk. Consequently, installing a pendant light above my work table would require an electrician or a circa 1970s ceiling hook and six feet of chain.

As I scoured the internet for a better solution to my lighting dilemma I began to hear a familiar conversation in my head that sounded something like this:

DIY BRAIN: ” Hey! You know what would be fun? Designing our own light fixture!”

PRAGMATIC POLLY: “But I have no electrical experience.”

DIY BRAIN: “We have YouTube.”

PRAGMATIC POLLY: “I’d need to research the necessary parts and where to get them.”

DIY BRAIN: “Yes – we would get to shop!”

PRAGMATIC POLLY: “I could burn the house down and I’m sure I would have to drill holes in my brand new wall.

DIY BRAIN:

So, I began the search for fabric covered lamp cord and located the fire extinguisher.

Creative Cables – A DIY Lighting Dream Come True

During my search for said fabric covered lamp cord, I discovered an awesome company called Creative Cables. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee but originated in Torino, Italy. The more I explored their website, the more excited I became about the possibilities of making my own light fixture for my craft room.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

As I browsed the Creative Cables gallery my “what-if” wheels began turning. In addition to their vast inventory of cleverly cool lamp parts, I loved Creative Cables’ flexibility with the level of DIY desired by their customers. They are enthusiastic to help EVERYONE achieve the perfect lighting; those who want their lighting designed and wired professionally as much as the first time DIYers with a million questions, like myself (thank you Andrew!)

“Our lighting is customizable because we hate boredom. We love to boost customers’ creativity, constantly providing new components to create new combinations. With us, the only limit is your imagination.”

Creative Cables

My mind was clearly made up. I was going to design, wire and install my own lighting and Creative Cables was the obvious choice for my supplies.

Making My Own Light Fixture: The Good, The Not So Bad . . . And The Beautiful!

Making your own lamp is one thing but creating a chain of lights that can run off of ONE plug was pretty intimidating. Luckily, Creative Cables has AMAZING customer service, on-line chat capabilities and several on-line tutorials. With their support, I felt empowered to take this project on.

Ordering the DIY Parts (the good)

When I placed my parts order with Creative Cables I included a note asking for someone to go over the order and make sure it all ‘made sense’. You know, did I have everything I needed? Would I electrocute myself? I honestly didn’t expect an answer but two days later, I got an email from Mr. Andrew at Creative Cables. He told me my order looked good but he recommended a different switch, which happened to be a little tricky to install. For that reason, he asked if I would like him to install the switch for me? YES PLEASE! So he did (no extra charge) and 3 days later I had a big, well-packed box on my doorstep.

The DIY Lighting Project Cost (also good)

The total cost of supplies for my entire DIY lighting project was $222.65. That’s it! For a one-of-a-kind, fixture with THREE lights. Woohoo – I was thrilled! Shipping is FREE for orders over $50 too.

The DIY Time Frame (not so bad)

The entire project, from the time I put my order in until I was flipping the switch took two weeks. Keep in mind, I am very detail-oriented (slow) AND I filmed the entire process which is quite time consuming. I’ve scrunched down the two week experience into two fun (and hopefully informative) videos.

Video One: Planning and Product Choice (7 minutes)

Video Two: Layout and Install (14 minutes)

The DIY Difficulty Level (also not so bad)

On a scale from 1-10 where one is super easy and ten is OMG never again, my DIY lighting project was about a 6. Honestly, my biggest challenge was installing it on a sloped wall requiring a difficult amount of physical flexibility for this 50-something-year-old. Without that issue – I’d give it a difficulty rating of 4 or 5.

I have very little electrical experience – really just this Light Up Your Creative Powers project. By watching the Creative Cables YouTube video tutorials I was able to figure everything out quite easily. Here are the tutorials I used:

How to Cut Cloth Covered Wire

How to Assemble a Two-ferrule Lamp Holder

I could not find a tutorial for wiring the Fermaluce (wall sockets) so if your project uses one, watch my Video Two for step by step instructions. I had to email Mr. Andrew about it but he got right back to me and I was quickly on my way. Hopefully Creative Cables will do a professional video on that soon (hint hint smiley face).

and Voila . . . THE BEAUTIFUL!

• 

• 

• 

• 

I LOVE My New DIY Lighting!

I am 110 percent thrilled with my new DIY Light Fixture. It is fun, fresh and most importantly, effective! Now I have all the light I need to craft my little heart out!

Yes, I know I’ve gone on and on about Creative Cables but they surpassed all my expectations, both in product and service. They have over 200 kinds and colors of fabric lamp cord which is impressive all by itself. Add to that the sourcing of handmade lamp shades and lamp bases, amazingly clever lighting accessories like these wooden disks and incredible customer service – you’ve got a winner!! And how fun would it be to work someplace like that!! I would spend my lunch break just admiring the wall of colorful cord!

One more thing – Don’t be afraid to stretch your DIY horizons. With good product and plenty of free tutorials via YouTube – YOU CAN DO IT!! Tell Pragmatic Polly to shut up every once in a while and give DIY Brain a chance.

Until next time, stay healthy, push positive and keep crafting.

Sharing is caring!