Lantern + Work Lamp = Lamptern
My latest DIY project is this immensely simple Lantern Turned Bed Side Lamp. My current bedside lamp is this ugly study desk lamp with zero personality. Phil always complains that the light is too harsh, while it is good for reading books, it is definitely not a mood light.
So I took the instructions from Ikea Hacker (http://www.ikeahackers.net/2012/07/borrby-and-lagra-light.html) and made a few modifications:
I used the large Borrby instead of the small in the original post. The main reason being you can see too much of the Lagra lamp when placed inside the small Borrby (it's about half the height) which I don't like; the other reason being with the large Borrby, you do not have to snip a bit of lamp off for the wire to fit through, there was enough room between the panels for the wiring.
Because it is a large Borrby, the glass panels can be removed from the frame, which made spray painting a lot easier. For the first panel, I was overly enthusiastic and over-sprayed; for the other 3 panels, I applied 2 layers of spray and while it was see through when it was wet, the paint became frosty when it dried (took about 20 minutes). You can always remove the paint with methylated spirit and start all over again.
I didn't have a 12.7mm drill bit (0.5") so used a 10mm drill bit instead (I refused to pay $22 for a drill bit that will be used once); it took a bit of elbow grease and  WD40 to force the 12mm threaded bolt into the 10mm hole, but it worked out at the end (WD40 huzzah!)
The lightbulb I have was very dimmed, so I placed a piece of white paper in the bottom of the lantern where the candle is supposed to go to act as a reflector (it works!)
White Knight Glass Frosting Spray - $16.95 (I can re-use this for other projects)
I think the end result looks pretty cool for something that costs $25 :)
It's worth mentioning that the frosted glass spray scrapes off very easily (as I had done during the assembly process)!
My next project is the Nailhead Trim coffee/side table also from Ikea Hacker (http://www.ikeahackers.net/2011/10/clayton-grey-inspired-nailhead-side.html) - can you tell that I'm obsessed with Ikea? I'm just waiting for the upholstery studs (what the Americans called nailhead trim) to arrive in the mail, then it's hours of studding fun.... watch this space!