She Uses A $1.75 Vase & Glass Bowl To Create A Stylish Garden Decor Piece

You don't have to break the bank if you're looking to add a new piece of stylish decor to your garden or patio. There are plenty of cheap DIY crafts that can upgrade your outdoor aesthetic, many of which reuse old household items or things that are easy to find at a thrift shop or dollar store. One such example costing no more than a few bucks is a glass "garden lamp." While not necessarily a lamp that lights up, it's a colorful, eye-catching craft that seamlessly nestles amongst your plants. Alternatively, this item is a great addition to an outdoor patio dining table.

To make your garden lamp, you'll need a vase, a glass bowl, some decorative gems, and an adhesive like epoxy or E6000. You may have all these items lying around the house, but if not, Dollar Tree sells a Hurricane Stem Vase and Decorative Glass Bowl that are less than $2 each. You can also purchase Dollar Tree Glass Accent Gems in various colors for under $2. However, like many Dollar Tree items, price, availability, and selection can vary by location. As a substitute for decorative gems, consider using polished pebbles to give your garden lamp a more subdued but naturalistic look, which you might prefer with the piece being near plants and flowers.

The first step in making a glass garden lamp is to fill your glass vase with stones or decorative gems. One Facebook user utilized a combination of Dollar Tree gems and rocks from their personal collection, striking a balance between color and variety. 

From there, glue a glass bowl upside down on top of the vase using epoxy or E6000. The final step is to decorate your bowl (or the top of your lamp) with gems. Another Facebook user posted a photo illustrating how they used a green vase and a pattern of teal gems, resulting in a patio DIY bursting with character.

You can mess around with the size and dimensions of the bowl and vase you purchase. Still, be mindful that the bowl shouldn't be too large, or the lamp could become top-heavy and topple over in the wind. It's also possible to transform the glassware into stunning light-up decor, but this task requires some tweaks. A small LED light can be placed inside the vase, but you'll likely want to avoid gluing the vase to the glass bowl; that way, the LED light can be replaced and properly disposed of when needed. The other option is to place the open end of the vase against the ground and put a light underneath it. Whether you choose to add light or not, this glass lamp brings style and personality to your garden.