Drum...Lamp...Drumlamp?

So, a trash to treasure miracle:

So, my husband had purchased this kid's drum kit for $60 on craigslist.

Then he refinished them, using a technique he found on instructables.com. Then we had a house fire...and the drums SEEMED ok, but apparently all of the smoke and water damaged them. HE says they don't sound the same. His friend Bill concurs. I think they sound like drums...but apparently they were warped and now sound "out of tune."

So, as he is replacing his Toms, I said "WAIT! Can I have them? Do you think we could make one into a lamp?"

So, last night, we decided to get going on the project!!

First Step: Either buy a lamp kit, you can buy them at Walmart, some craft stores, or a hardware store. Or, in our case we had inherited two very ugly lamps. So, we pulled the lamp kit out of the urn that looks like a dead body should forever rest in it...and reused that.

I know, hideous right? It was FREE with the purchase of the bed and end tables my father in law recently bought. At an antiques warehouse/co-op you would all salivate over...He couldn't even keep this lamp or the other, equally hideous lamp in his room because they took up the whole end table!!

I apologize now for the poor quality for the photos. OF COURSE my Nikon battery was dead. Did my hubby tell me to charge it that morning? Yes. Did I? Of course not. I can't remember anything! So, iPhone it is!

Step Two: We set the lamp base aside, since we are going to upcycle that into something fun too(stay tuned)...waste not want not! Then we fed the lamp mechanism into an existing hole in the drum. Drum shells are full of holes, but you could always drill one if need be.

Step Three: Then my husband cut the threaded stem off of the pipe with my Dremel-knockoff tool (got it at Big Lots for $25 with all the attachments...if you don't have one check out Big Lots because it is AMAZING!) I was afraid of the sparks.

Pretty sparks...

Step Four: Here's the tricky part. We have a box of random screws and hardware in our house, and we just kept trying different configurations. We actually found a random metal tubey-thingie (real technical talk here) and used that. It fit in the drum hole perfectly...but you could use a piece of pvc, or a piece of pipe maybe? Then we screwed everything together.

Step Five: We had to glue the lamp mechanism in place, so it wouldn't topple over. We tried to use E6000 glue, but had to use hot glue as it wasn't holding and we are impatient. I used it like caulk to stabilize it.
Here is the inside of the drum, see the metal circle we used to hold everything together:

So far it should look like this (taken with Nikon since battery has partially charged;)

Step Six: Actually, in terms of the lamp it is pretty much done. If you had to cut the cord off, then reattach it with electrical tape and plug it in. However, then we moved on to the shade debacle. It is not pictured in the final product, because it is not done yet. Here's where I need help: Ideas?? How do I finish this?

6a: We drilled the bottom of six drumsticks.

6b: Then screwed them into a spare drum rim:

6c: Then wired them across the old lampshade top ring, also used a little help from our friend the hot glue gun...

6d: Then I TRIED to cut the old lampshade apart and make a new lampshade out of a hard rock cafe shirt...didn't work out...so In order to finish I need ideas. I was thinking of some sort of weaving? Not sure if it will work. HELP ME.
So for now:

However, the "face" of this project will probably change, since Tony wants to make the drum head into a clock...so then it will be a "clocklampdrum"

Enjoy:)

I did put this in audition for one month to win it...maybe if I get in the competition I will get back on the crafting wagon (in all fairness, first I was sick, then GRADES WERE DUE!!)