ALL

Robert Abbey Delta Knockoff & Round 1 Link Party

Design + Build

Crafty Projects

Business + Life

Holidays

The Weekender Series

As Seen on TV

Room Makeovers

All DIY Projects

Search...

blog Categories

hey there! I'm monica 

I pride myself on making amazing style and design accessible for everyone, regardless of location, budget, or ability! My design philosophy is rooted in authenticity + attainability - If I can do it, you can too! My work has been featured in countless publications, but I take the most pride in homeowners that have been personally inspired by my DIY ideas and have tried something in their own homes!

learn more about ME + MY BIZ

CWTS logo A

week1 crop

Well, our 12 contestants killed it this week with unbelievable, insanely good knockoff projects for Round 1 of #CWTS2014. If you haven’t seen the projects or cast your vote, do that right now! Go ahead, this post will wait. And if you’re new here, welcome! You can catch up on all the latest and greatest Creating with the Stars news here.

 Last year, Monica and I played along each round and did our own projects that we shared with all of you. Unfortunately, with our crazy TV schedule, we knew we couldn’t do each round justice, so we invited our pal (and last year’s Creating with the Stars winner!) Sarah, from Sarah M. Dorsey Designs, to create a project each week to inspire you. She said yes! Woohoo! This girl is so incredibly talented- we sang her praises  last week, so we’ll keep it short, but you guys are in for a treat. So, hey there, Sarah, the floors all yours!

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Hi East Coast Creative friends! It’s Sarah from Sarah M. Dorsey Designs and I’m SO excited that EC2 asked me to share a knockoff project here! After all, I LOVE knocking things off! There is nothing better than getting a similar look for less!

When I first saw Robert Abbey’s Delta table lamp, it was love at first sight! The shape is amazing, I also love that it comes in a variety of bold colors.

I recently made a few office accessories out of mat board, which got me thinking… since the accessories were surprisingly sturdy, why not a lamp base too?

 

 The lamp is constructed using a $2 thrifted lamp, a custom designed template – referencing the Robert Abbey lamp, and mat board.

Here’s all the supplies used:

materials:

– old lamp or lamp kit

– template

– mat board(20″x30″)

– glue

– wood filler

– sanding block (medium + fine)

– wood block (add weight to base)

tools:

– painter’s tape

-metal ruler / xacto knife

– drill (optional can substitute xacto knife)

Here’s how we did it!

First, we printed the template (6 of each triangle) (1 of each hexagon). You can download our template, here (print on 8.5″ x 11″). I roughly cut the shape out so they would fit tightly on the mat board. Then we used spray adhesive to attach the pieces to the back of the mat board.

Here’s how they fit together.

Then using a metal ruler and xacto knife on a cutting mat, we cut each shape out.
Next, we started putting it together. First, we glued the bottom (shapes 2 + 4) to the base (shape 6). Since the triangles fit perfectly together, they just fall into place. We then used small pieces of painter’s tape to help hold it together while the glue completely dried. Using a fast grab glue helps it set quickly (we used Aleene’s Fast Grab Tacky Glue). Apply the glue lightly, and rub off any excess.
After gluing the bottom half (shapes 2 + 4 to the base, shape 6) we turned it upside down (the open end down), squared it up, taped it a flat surface and let it dry overnight, this helped keep it square.
The next day, we started working on the top section of the lamp. We glued shapes 1 + 3, about half way – leaving an opening to insert the lamp inside. The top (shape 5) was held in place with painters tape to help guide shapes 1 + 3, but not glued yet.
Then we we reinforced the seams by gluing from the inside.
Next we worked on the lamp base, it was a little big to sit flush in the bottom of the lamp, so we cut a few pieces of 1×4 to raise it up a little. This also added extra weight to give it more stability. We used screws to attach the 1×4 to the existing metal base. (we also swapped the existing rod with one from another lamp to get it the correct height)
We drilled an opening for the cord and inserted the plastic grommet from the old lamp. The lamp was disassembled, the cord was pulled through the opening of the new base and the wire was pulled through the threaded rod.
We centered it and glued it inside the lamp.
For the top piece (shape 5) we found the center and drilled a hole for the center rod.
Then it was glued in place.
Wood filler was applied. Remove excess as you go to reduce sanding later. It’s easier to apply lightly and apply a second coat after sanding, if needed.

 

 Sand the wood filler with a medium grit sanding block, and finish with a fine grit sanding block. At this point, you’ll notice how sturdy the base it. I pressed fairly hard and sanded a good bit to make sure that the wood filler was even. I didn’t have any issues with it caving in or breaking.

After removing the dust, finish with paint! To cover the top of the threaded rod, we used the top of an old lamp – it just slide over the rod. We then reattached the socket and that was it!

I paired it with Target’s large drum shade.

I’m obsessed!! LOVE it!!

 

Our gold geometric lamps could easily be made this way too if you don’t have a miter saw!

 

Here’s the breakdown of cost and time.

Cost:

Thrifted lamp $2 (plus a few lamp parts from other thrifted lamps)

Mat board $3 (20″x30″)

Spray paint ~$6 (used about half of each can)

Wood filler / glue / sandpaper $0 (on hand)

1×4 ($0 from scrap pile of Home Depot)

Total $11, ($35 with lamp shade) pretty good compared to the $183 Robert Abbey version!

Time:

Preparing template + cutting out the mat board 1.5 hrs

Gluing mat board 2 hrs

Assembling the rest of the lamp .5 hr

Wood filler and sanding 2 hrs

Painting + drying time 2 hrs

Total 8 hrs, so not a huge time investment!

I’m so glad that we tried DIYing before buying! I love how our version came out!

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

 We love that lamp and the color she chose. So so pretty! Another awesome project to add to the 12 ridiculously good knockoff projects from this year’s CWTS contestants.

Now it’s your turn! 

We want to see your best knock off, so link them up below. You’re playing for a chance to be featured here on our blog later this week and for an awesome prize pack! Don’t forget to link back to us on your post to let everyone know that you’re playing along with #cwts2014!

Only a few more hours to vote for your favorites! Check back tomorrow to see which 9 contestants are moving forward to Round 2!

 

Also, even though you may not be competing this year, don’t forget to enter to win a dream vacation of your own!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The comments +

  1. I love it! Sarah is so creative – I’m always blown away at how she envisions and executes her projects! Genius!

  2. First of all, Sarah’s project is beyond amazing! She is such a rock star! Second, thank so much for the fabulous link party! I cannot wait to see all of the projects that get linked up!

  3. So so good, Sarah can do no wrong. Everything she does is amazing!

  4. Gina says:

    Cannot believe that’s made out of mat board! Amazing!!

  5. Oh wow, that lamp is simply gorgeous!!! So creative, I’ve never worked with mat board, but I may just give it a try!

  6. Mindy says:

    Love it, as usual.

  7. Thanks so much for having me!! 🙂

  8. […] Linking up to Work it Wednesday, Wow Us Wednesdays, Inspiration Gallery, Creativity Unleashed, Weekend Bloggy Reading @ Serenity Now, Remodelaholics Anonymous , The DIYers, Link Party Palooza, and EC2 CWTS Knock-Offs […]

  9. […] with Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife, Creating with the Stars Knock Off Link Party at East Coast […]

  10. Absolutely AMAZING!!! Love the shape and color!!

  11. Shannon says:

    Even though I don’t get picked, I look forward to still participating. Thanks!

    Shannon ~ bohemianjunktion.com

  12. Absolutely love the lamp! Mat board…who would have thought? Thank you for giving us the chance to link up! My sister and I will be following the competiton closely this year and we love it. You can count on us entering the 2015 competition!

  13. […] to make those glamorous x-benches that came in a close second!  Also, there’s still time to link up your best knock off for the chance to win a prize pack from Ryobi and be featured here on EC2! Finally, don’t […]

  14. Thanks so much for the fun CWTS2014 adventures!! 🙂 Sarah blows me away with her fabulous projects every.single.time!

  15. […] in the paint round, did you guys see what she created for our knock off round? How gorgeous is her Robert Abbey Delta inspired lamp?! We can’t wait to see what she has in store for us next week for the upcycle round! Alright, […]

  16. Kahli says:

    This is amazing! You’re very creative! I love that lamp and it’s in my favorite color too.

  17. […] linking my project up to “Creating with the Stars“! Have you seen all the freaking AMAZING projects? It makes me feel A-OK about not being […]

  18. […] if you haven’t linked up your own DIY Knock Off, you still have time.  We’ll pick a fav and that project will be featured on […]

  19. jasmine says:

    I love this lamp; I want to make two of them and either put them in the bedroom or the living room. I do have a few questions though… How tall was the original lamp base and do you have a video on how to make this lamp?

    • Diana Trotter says:

      Hi Jasmine,

      Thanks for stopping by the blog. This is a guest post from Monica’s friend Sarah, I really love the lamp she created as well. You can find her blog herehttp://sarahmdorseydesigns.blogspot.com/ , I’m sure she would be happy to answer your questions.

  20. […] can create this geometric lamp DIY project by just using mat board, a thrifted lamp, and glue! Who would have thought that with just a few […]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Make a Kid's Mud Kitchen and Produce Stand

DIY PROJECT

Work From Home Corner Office Makeover

VIDEO MAKEOVER

Yard Game Ideas ASO Live! with Kelly + Ryan

DIY IDEAS ON TV

Today Show Nursery Makeover

MAKEOVER

Outdoor Living Space Makeover : Home Becomes

VIDEO MAKEOVER

Must Reads

Get updated on what we're working on

Follow along!