Our electricity bills have been sky high since the end of Fall. It’s actually pretty scary when your energy costs are just under $100 less than your mortgage, so we’ve been trying to be smarter and started using an energy consumption calculator. We’ve also found ways to reduce our energy usage, such as going with LED power for our light bulbs. Since 1 LED Bulb lasts as long as 15 traditional incandescent bulbs, I imagine we can really save some cash in the end.
Hubby and I have been wanting to do some fun DIY projects lately and together we came up with an awesome idea to make use of the GE LED Energy Smart light bulbs that I recently bought at Target for my campaign with #CollectiveBias. We decided to try our hand at a rustic log lamp and knowing that the GE LED Energy Smart light bulbs are not hot to the touch made our choice in light bulbs that much easier.
The GE LED Energy Smart light bulbs were easy to spot at Target, right on the end cap of the light bulb aisle. Make sure you look there, because at first, I searched the entire aisle since I came in from the backside of it – whoops!
I encourage you to check out the savings calculator for yourself. You just might be surprised at how much you could save by switching to GE LED lights throughout your house. You can also learn all about LED bulbs through this great video. Once you’re ready to make that switch, print your $1 off coupon for GE LED bulbs. There is a $2 off LED coupon on Target.com. LED will be featured in Target’s circular April W4 (April 27 – May3) ? Buy 1, get 1 Free 60W LED. So there are lots of great ways for you to save this week!
Over the weekend, hubby and I took Max for a walk in the woods, so we could find the perfect log for our project. It was the pup’s first time into the deep woods and he sure loved it! By the time our walk had ended, we found the perfect fallen tree to use for our lamp.
Once we arrived home, we gathered all of our supplies and headed into the garage. Hubby cut the logs to the height we both thought would look best, then we were deciding what we should do about the base. We thought a bit outside the box and decided to layer little chuncks of the log, into a base for the lamp.
This lighting project took us a bit of time, but it was also our first project of this sort. We actually loved our lamp so much after we were finished, that we made a base for a second lamp. It was sort of funny because we loved the second lamp even more, and ended up using that one instead of the first!
What you’ll need:
- Tree or long log, any diameter you’d like.
- Polyeurethane
- Old lamp to strip fixture and cord out of, or purchase new at hardware store
- Lamp shade
- GE LED Energy Smart light bulb
- Hammer, nails, saw and drill
You’ll start by cutting your log to the desired length. Then you’ll cut 6 more pieces about 1-2 inches high for your base. Next, drill a hole through the middle of the log, the entire length through.
Next, you’ll arrange 3 of the 6 pieces of log you cut and nail them to the bottom of the large log. Once you’ve done that, you’ll arrange the other 3 pieces overlapping the first set, then nail those in. Please note that you will have to arrange these pieces beforehand to make sure that it’s all level and straight. You may have to trim a bit off one or more of the little pieces of log.
When you’re done with those steps, it should look like this photo below. The next step is to grab a nice paint brush and spread Polyurethane all over the entire thing. This will seal the wood and allow your lamp to last forever.You’ll need to wait about 24 hours, then go over it with a second coat.
These were the two lamps that we had when we were finished. Once the Polyurethane is completely dry, you’ll feed the wire to the lamp socket down into the hole and secure the fixture with hot glue.
Then you’ll add a GE LED Energy Smart light bulb and a shade so you won’t have to worry about changing that sucker for a very long time!
We’ve been remodeling and decorating our computer room/den for some time now and I think this DIY Rustic Log Lamp fits in perfectly with the rest of the nature in this room!
You can connect with GE Lighting on Facebook, @GELighting on Twitter and Instagram. Be sure to follow the #LEDSavings hashtag for other great lighting ideas too!
