Monday, February 20, 2012

Ping Pong Ball Light

So I was a-thinkin' that to preserve my title as 'La Todera' (Spanish for jack-of-all-trades lady)  I'd better share a non-flower related project once in a while.


Ergo- my son Liam's new ping-pong ball light!


Liam had a problem light.  His room has those 70's low ceilings, and by necessity, had one of those very flat appliqué lights in the center of his ceiling.  This was unacceptable for Liam, the style maven.
The rest of his room is very cool looking.  Unfortunately, it is uber-unphoto-worthy at the moment due to the giant mess brewing in there...


Fast forward to this Christmas when Santa brought Liam a ping-pong table.  Ping-pong is the new craze in this house!  One day while tucking Liam in, it occurred to me that ping-pong balls covering the light plate might be just the ticket.  They would look cool and they are semi transparent!   See for yourself:






What you'll need:

  • Glass light fixture
  • One tube clear pure silicone sealant
  • Enough pingpong balls to cover light plate (at this writing they are available at the Dollar Tree in packs of 8)



Instructions:
Detach light plate from fixture and give it a good scrubbing so the glue will stick.  Let dry.
Starting in the center of plate, dab a ping-pong ball with a dime sized dab of silicone.  Stick onto lamp.
Now surround the center ball with a row ping-pong balls.
Continue adding rows till plate is covered.
Let dry 24 hours.
Re attatch plate to fixture.


The most important part of this project is to use pure silicone sealant/glue, found at your local home center.  Other glues will soon peel off (ask me know I know!)  The silicone also has enough body to help the balls stay put while they are drying.  You don't want those little guys sliding around after all of your hard work!  


Next I want to try the ping-pong balls on a round light fixture.  My husband said, "Cool!  That would look like a giant golf ball!  He would say that...