Put vintage china in the best
light by using it to create a lamp.

Vintage china has a charm that's hard to pass up, so give in to temptation and make a one-of-a-kind treasure with this bright idea. Look for a cup, saucer, and coffeepot set, or delightfully mismatched set, that looks good to you. To make sure your combination will work, stack the items as they'll stack for the lamp -- pot, saucer, cup. The saucer should sit flat and level on top of the lidless coffee pot.

Although the chances are slim, china can break during drilling. Have a professional drill the holes in your china pieces for you. Ask for the name of someone who can do this at a lighting store or hardware store.

• China coffeepot
• Matching cup and saucer
• Lampshade
• Threaded rod
• Two washers with lock nuts
• Harp retainer
• Socket
• Appliance cord
• Utility knife
• Coordinating risers
• Wooden feet or lamp base

1. Glue china pieces together with clear epoxy, aligning the holes.

2. Slip the threaded rod through the holes in the pot, saucer, riser, and cup. Secure each end of rod with a washer and locknut.

3. Fit a harp retainer, then a socket to the rod top. Remove socket cover and cardboard liner.

4. Loosen screws on the bottom of the socket and slide raw end of appliance cord up through rod and out the end of the socket.

5. With a utility knife, slit the plastic casing between the last 2 inches of one side of the cord without cutting the copper wires.

6. Twist the two exposed wires into one bundle, then wrap around one socket screw, curling in a clockwise direction. Tighten the screw, and repeat for the other side of the cord.

7. Gently pull the cord from the bottom of the coffee pot until socket rests firmly on top of riser, and the riser sits firmly in the cup. Replace cardboard sleeve and socket cover.

8. Install harp and bulb. Then top with a lampshade and decorative finial. For our finial, we glued a threaded bolt to the underside of the coffeepot lid so it screws into the top of the harp.

• Inexpensive plastic risers from a lighting store help hide the exposed rod in the teacup.
• Wooden feet or a lamp base let the cord run underneath the lamp and avoid the need to have a hole drilled in the back of the coffeepot.