WINTER: diy gumball machine lamp!

Sometimes, you have to do a project or make a thing just for fun.

Like when you've been deep cleaning your studio/office and feel buried in the mess. (Especially when you are 'stress cleaning', am I right??) Or when an item crosses your view and a thought comes to mind "What IF...." This happens to me a lot, actually. My ADHD + rampant imagination combine and my mind is overtaken by those ideas. I can't even sleep until I try them out!

This week I unearthed a gumball machine from behind a chair in a corner. I thought it was in bins in our Shasta trailer - but no, it was tucked away just waiting to surprise me! And when I picked it up and sat it on the credenza, it ended up next to some glass lamp globes that were headed to one of the cabinet spaces of the credenza. 

My brain started adding things together, and this project happened. 

I just never know what's going to happen from day to day around here, I swear... 

Continue reading to see how easy it is to turn a gumball machine into a lamp!

Materials:

a gumball machine - any size, any material, any color. (I've painted mine multiple hues over the years)

glass lamp globes - any shape globe works, as long as they have a round opening at the base to fit into the gumball machine base. I get mine pretty cheaply at Habitat for Humanity's ReStores, but you can certainly buy NEW glass globes at your local diy home retailer.

battery-operated or usb rechargable puck lights - mine came from Dollar Tree, two in a pack for $1.25, and they use AAA batteries. I'll be picking up some usb re-chargeable puck lights soon, so I can use the lamp for longer periods of time.

Method:

* 1. First step: Remove the inner workings of the machine. 
You'll need to unscrew the top, remove the metal piece, remove the original glass 'bowl' that holds gumballs, then unscrew the tall metal rod that runs all the way through the machine. Mine required the loosening of that rod from the bottom of the machine.

The only pieces you will be using again are the metal piece from the top and the screw that fits in it.

* 2. Next, place the puck light inside the top of the gumball machine - it will rest on the metal platform and gears that make the machine work.

* 3. Press the puck light to turn it on.
TIP: Don't look right at it when you do - mine is halogen and is VERY bright!

* 4. Gather up your glass lamp globes and make sure they ware clean.

* 5. Try out each one by sitting it on the base, with the light off - and then on - to see what it looks like. 

* 6. As a finishing touch, sit the metal top (with the screw IN it) on top of each light globe. YOu can add a drop of hot glue or sticky putty to hold it in place.

I had three styles to try, and here is how each one looked combined with the machine:

The round globe is actually plastic, but you'd never know it! The metal top sits quite securely on top as a final detail.

I just had to add a few props for some 'final' photos!

Next up, a 'chimney'-style light globe with ribbed sides. They don't show up well in the lighted photo, but are a nice textural addition. (And yes, you HAVE seen these globes before - they were boho-style embellished pumpkins in fall of 2021, and published in a magazine in 2024!)

This vintage ovoid globe has some beautiful raised-glass details in the form of tiny vines, leaves, and flowers. I love the way it looks - even though the metal top won't sit on top of the raised clear glass rosette on the top of the globe.

After I photographed all of the other globes, I looked again at the glass 'bowl' that actually goes with the gumball machine... and had an idea. I placed it onto the base, over the puck light, then filled it with tiny white silk-wrapped holiday ornaments that were sitting nearby. It reminds me of snowballs!

The hard part about this one is not spilling all of the balls out of the bowl when you lift it to turn the puck light on and off. I think it would work to place some white tulle fabric across the base of the glass, so it would hold in the balls when you lift it. 

A few more ways that I have re-purposed my gumball machines in the past:

I replaced the clear glass 'bowl' of the machine with a covered glass pumpkin,
then filled it with candy corn. It doesn't dispense it through the machine, but you can easily take off the lid and grab a handful! And it's a fun autumn accent.

The same green gumball machine used in today's project is a regular element of the vintage decor I use in our minty green Shasta trailer... filled with something cute. At a fall rally held at the beach, I put two bright yellow plastic leis inside the glass bowl, then placed my tiny clay pumpkins inside.

My second gumball machine was red when I got it at a thrift shop, but I painted it yellow back in 2001. That summer, it held a collection of seashells in my summer decor.

NOTE: For both of those uses, I did not have to remove the inner workings of the machine.

This is how I'm using it right now, in my studio - but it may just end up out on the kitchen counter to be a pretty nighttime accent! I'm not really the kind of gal to get those usb-rechargeable stick lights online, but I love the warmth of light on the kitchen counters at night. (Once I figure out where it's going, I'll snap a pic and share it on Instagram!)

I hope you find a way to create something for your home this month - just for fun!


post shared online:

funky junk interiors | new upcycle ideas #762

thank you for featuring my project, Donna!


creatively beth | creatively crafty link party

thank you for including my project in your feature, Beth!


my wee abode | tuesday turn about #286

winter,lighting,re-purposed,up-cycling,just for fun,glass globes,thrifted,tutorial, gumball machine.