Yes, another addition to the series of upcycle design lampshades I made, the ‘MilkWaves’ lampshade. This time it’s a smaller piece with a diameter of 40 cm. Again it’s a design that uses discarded plastic milk cartons. Because the cartons are made of sturdy and transparent material, they’re great for making upcycle lampshades. It’s a real challenge to see how many different lampshade I can come up with using these everyday objects.

Wave shaped lampshade out of discarded plastic

The MilkWaves lampshade is also a DIY project. For this design I used the middle part of the cartons. It’s a lampshade that can be used as a pendant or floorlamp. So let’s look at the process of making this lampshade.

Photos © Gilbert de Rooij

After cuttting out pieces and rounding the endings, I started joining them by using an ‘Eyelet Crimping and Hole Punch Function Pliers‘ and eyelets. This way I was able to create 20 strips from the plastic pieces. Next I fixed all 10 pairs of strips to the lamp frame. After attaching them, I joined every hoop to its neighboring hoop on one side of the lamp frame by using eyelets. I did this to get a better and more solid shape. And that’s it.
MilkWaves isn’t really difficult to make, but it takes some effort. If you’re used to working with a blade knife and scissors than you should be fine. I know that for one trying it for the first time it could be challenging. But hey, for me it’s a challenge every time. Trail and error is the way to go.

What you’ll need:

• 20 Plastic milk cartons or other sturdy plastic
• Small snap-off blade knife
• Scissors
• Ruler [best use a metal one]
• Eyelet Crimping and Hole Punch Function Pliers with eyelets
• Lamp frame [in this case 20 cm. diameter]
• Tie-wraps, 20 cm. / ± 3 mm.

Please share your result and/or findings with me.
Have fun!

Design and DIY by Gilbert de Rooij