New and creative ways abound these days with the Bottle Crafting community.

We received an email from one of our members that shares his enthusiasm for chain maille and bottle crafting:

Hi, I’m Dennis. A few months ago, I went to the Allentown Art Festival in Buffalo, NY, and I found a wine bottle with the bottom cut off of it. I thought I might be able to use it in my art (I’ll go into that in a minute), so I bought it. After ‘inflicting my will’ upon it, I was amazed at what I had wrought, and I looked for ways to improve it. Lighting it up seemed the obvious answer. So, I did. I got a candelabra outlet and bulb, wired it up, and set it off.

I AM SO PROUD, I can’t begin to tell you.

As you can see from the picture, I make chain maille. This bottle is wrapped in European 4-in-1 maille done in 16g 1/4″ bright aluminum rings, with European 6-in-1 diamonds of 18g 1/4″ anodized aluminum rings. THIS could be the answer to a question that I saw on your blog, about how to provide a lampshade.

Each wrapping (I’ve done many bottlewrappings in maille, but this is the first that’s lit) is unique, so they really can’t be interchanged…but I was so proud of the results, I knew I had to try again. So, I recently bought a Kinkajou. It arrives next week. I’m really, REALLY looking forward to it.

So, I was looking around online today, and I found your site. I am DEFINITELY going to be coming back here for advice and such once my cutter gets in. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the linked picture (trust me, it’s not nearly as cool as the VIDEO, where you can see the shadow move as the bottle spins a bit), and I look forward to your input. Have a great weekend!

Take a look at this short video to see the chain maille bottle lamp in action:

Dennis, thank you so much for sharing your awesome DIY creation!

What a wonderful way to combine your love of chain maille by thinking outside the box and creating a unique look for a wine bottle pendent light. Chainmaille (also known as chainmail, or simply maille) is typically armor or jewelry made by connecting metal rings to one another. The word maille derives from the French word maille (mesh), which comes from Latin macula (mesh of a net).

We like your idea of adding chain maille to a lamp shade as well. It will add another dimension and will diffuse and/or reflect the light in unusal ways. Well done, Dennis!

Do you have a DIY project you would like to show off?

Send an email to contact@jagerfoods.com with your picture(s), your name and a description and or any tips you would like to share with us and our readers. If you have a blog you can also include the web address and we will link back to you.