Outdoor Solar Lamp – DIY Upcycled Table Lamps

Outdoor solar lamps are great for making your outdoor space feel more like and indoor space. They are also great to bring inside if you ever have a power outage. Something we have quite bit of in the country.

A few years back I bought a really cool outdoor solar lamp that I loved! It was an upcycled dream. It was too expensive for me to buy more, so I decided to DIY a few.

Here’s what you need:

Glassware
Solar garden stakes
Clear Gorilla Glue
A Saw to Cut Through Plastic
Small Mirrors (Optional)
Sea Glass or Glass Beads (Optional)

Find Some Glassware!

upcycle heavy glass globe — A heavy cut glass light globe

To create an outdoor solar lamp like the one I bought you need a lot of clear glass bowls and plates from the thrift store or Dollar Tree. You will want to locate a few that will make a stable base for your project. I repurposed two cut glass lamp globs that were heavy enough and wide enough at the bottoms to make them stable in the wind.

Upcycle Glass dishes — Stack-able Glass Dishes

You will also want to find a few pieces that can nest into or on top of these pieces. Anything you can stack up will work great. these will be glued into place but the steadier they can stack the better.

Cut Your Solar Lights.

Cut the solar lights — Cut the solar light so it sits on the glass.

Remove the stem from the solar light and cut the bottom of the plastic “globe” so that it will rest on top of you stacked glass. Doing this ensures that the light will travel through the glass and shine outward. You don’t want it trapped in the plastic. If you have an area that allow you to mount the top of the solar light (that part with the solar panel, batteries and LED light bulb) directly to the glass then do that.

Glue It Down

Once you’re happy with your tower of glass (Or you new lamp) then glue all the pieces in place. I use clear Gorilla Glue. Once that’s dry you’re ready to charge the lamps and enjoy the glow!

Optional Steps

This is completely optional. Place a small mirror on what will be the inside of your lamp to reflect and double the light you get from a solar lamp.

Add glass beads or sea glass to the bottom of one of the bowls to add a colorful glow.

If you’re looking for an inexpensive way to light up your patio and have a nice alternative to candles during a power outage then this is the project for you! If you want to see the video tutorial of how I made mine click the video below!

Try this project and let me know how it goes. I would love to hear from you! Bookmark this page and comment below to let me know how this turns out. If you’re looking for more DIY inspiration don’t forget to check out my YouTube Channel!

video YouTube