Old Band Instrument Lives On As A Shining Star

A few months ago my husband was cleaning and organizing our garage. He came into the house carrying a hard case and said, “What do you want to do with this?” I saw the item was my old clarinet case from junior high. I opened it. Wow was the horn dusty and cobwebbed! I told my husband I wanted to keep it. So out the clarinet and case went. Back to the garage. This time to a “safe” spot so it wouldn’t be swept up and deposited at Goodwill.

I wanted to use the clarinet to create a piece for our home decor. I decided to transform the instrument into a functional lamp.

I first needed to clean the clarinet. I used a spray can of “compressed air” to flush out the dirt and cobwebs in and on the instrument. After the clarinet was thoroughly clean, I went to the hardware store and purchased a DIY lamp kit. It was super easy to construct! Once the electrical work was done, I used my hand drill to make a small hole in the fluted part of horn and ran the electrical cord through that hole. I crossed my fingers and switched on the lamp. To my surprise, it worked!

Since the base of the clarinet was small, it needed something else that was wider or it would tip over easily. I found an old candle holder. I super glued the bottom of the horn to the metal candle holder to create a stable base.

Then I gathered some sheet music I bought at a thrift store and attached the sheets of paper to a lampshade by using a can of spray adhesive. The spray worked to a certain degree but I decided to use a few drops of super glue on the corners of each piece of paper to ensure that the sheet music wouldn’t peel off when the lamp was on and the shade was warm.

Now I have a super cool, whimsical lamp sitting on my stereo cabinet. It reminds me every day that discarded items can be rejuvenated and repurposed into totally functional unique pieces. It just takes a little creativity!