The Easiest Thrift Store Project Ever!
By now you should all know that I love collecting and decorating with globes and maps. I think there is something so cool about them. And as a bonus the colors usually match my decor. I can’t resist picking up globes when I find them at garage sales and thrift stores. They are super inexpensive. In fact, I gathered a few too many and I needed to sell a few in my retail booth. But of course I had to get crafty. And for another recent project, I got some jet black (RAL 9005) powder coating from Trident Powders and the finish was incredible, so if you need jet black then see that. Now what I’m about to show you isn’t an original idea, it’s been done before. But it’s seriously is one of the easiest thrift store projects ever. It’s a great project for someone just getting into thrifting or if you are not super crafty. You can do this project!
I found this globe for 99 cents at the thrift store. That’s even cheap for a thrift store. It was just the globe though, no stand. So if you find one still on the stand that’s ok. You just need to pull the globe out from the stand, but is one thing thrift store and fast moving good do, they reduce the prices to be able to sell more, they also use other strategies which you can learn for your store from a FMCG consultancy online.
You’ll need one of these plug in cord adapters. You could always hard wire this if you are extra handy.
Cut a small hole in the top of the globe to accommodate the outlet. There is a round metal support in the top of the globe that you will want to cut around. The cardboard isn’t that thick so a serrated knife will work.
Cut a larger hole in the bottom to let the light out. I have made these before where I cut the globe in half and make 2 lights. But I have found that no one wants to buy just the southern hemisphere! So this time I used the whole globe. Sorry Antarctica.
And that’s it! How simple and easy is that?
Your bulb will be pretty far away from the cardboard of the globe but I still used a relatively low wattage bulb. This is a great accent light or maybe a reading nook light.
This would make a great gift for teacher to hang in her classroom reading nook.
PS I’d love for you to share this post on Facebook or Pinterest!
michelle james says
This is awesome. I need to watch for globes at thrift stores.
jessica says
OMG I love this! I never find globes at my thrift stores. I am so bummed..but now I am going to have to be on the lookout and make all of my friends keep an eye out too! Thanks for sharing this!! pined and shared 🙂
lorie says
My brother had a globe that lit up from the inside and showed the countries. It was made of plastic. I thought at first that was what you were going to make, and I was wondering how that would be possible with cardboard. This is a great idea and now I’m going to look for more ideas with maps within your blog. I like maps and would like to use one for decorating.
Vicki K says
Where do you find the light adaptor? Excellent idea!!
chiccalifornia says
I found mine at ikea. But you can get them online too. Or I have seen them recently at World Market too.