Create Unique Lighting Features With These Simple Dollar Tree DIYs

Lighting serves a functional and decorative purpose in homes of all sizes and styles. Whether standalone, on tabletops, attached to walls, or dangling from the ceiling, lighting fixtures are essential to a room's design. Many of these fixtures are expensive and may be difficult to wire with your electrical system, but there are also easy DIY options for the average person. In fact, you can construct your own unique lighting solely using products from Dollar Tree and other popular discount retailers.

All of these products are battery- or solar-powered, making them safe and easy to set up and install. You can use the battery-powered projects to lighten your indoor areas and rely on the solar-powered lights to decorate your home exterior. Below are eleven Dollar Tree-inspired lighting ideas that are budget-friendly, easy to assemble, and straightforward to power on and off. Even with added embellishments, each individual light should cost less than $20 to make.

Create outdoor lights for your home or outdoor garden using Dollar Tree's glass jars, solar lights, and crafter's twine. Take the lids off the solar lights and bunch the wiring and lights into the empty jars. Discard the leftover solar light parts or save them for other potential DIYs. Put the jar lid back on, and securely tie each piece of twine around them. Hang your craft from garden stakes, fences, or other lawn decorations. Dollar Tree's garden stakes are currently out of stock, but Amazon's two-piece set is a worthy substitute.

Create pretty sconce lights for any room in your home by combining Dollar Tree's LED push lights and chopping mats. Roll the plastic chopping mat into a cylinder and hot glue the length of one side to the other. Put the rolled cylinder facing up atop the push light so the light shines unobstructed from the inner tunnel. You can add other embellishments, like gemstone stickers, glitter, or ribbons, to make the light more decorative and suitable to your tastes. TikToker @lbkthegoat recommends using command strips to adhere your creation to a wall.

Craft a wacky modern pendant light using six or more foam floral rings from Dollar Tree. Pile the rings one on top of the other, binding them in place with a hot glue gun. Lay a circular piece of cardboard on one end of the cylinder. TikToker @lonefoxhome inserts an electrical fixture into hers, but you can also glue a push light onto the inner side of the board. Once the glue dries, you can paint over the foam using tempera paint.

In the age of social media, a ring light is a priceless commodity. Make your own on a budget by gathering a single foam ring, a paper towel holder, and six LED push lights from Dollar Tree. Hot glue the foam ring to the tip of the paper towel holder, and stick the LED push lights around the ring. Make sure they're evenly spaced apart and facing one side. Push the lights to create an illuminated ring light that sits atop the towel holder base.

Combine Dollar Tree's push light with a cutting mat, a foam board, and removable wallpaper to make a wall lamp. Unroll the wallpaper and adhere it to cover the entire foam board. Over the wallpaper, glue the cutting mat in a half-cylinder shape in the center of the board. Cut a 2-by-20 inch strip from your leftover wallpaper to strap over the center of the cylinder, helping to bind it with the foam board. Place the adhesive push light inside the half cylinder, and use double-sided mounting tape to put it on your wall. 

Make an array of hanging pendant lights for every corner of your room using one of Dollar Tree's glass mason jars, a nautical rope, and LED tea lights. TikToker @onthecheaptip uses hollow plastic light bulbs sourced from Dollar Tree, but mason jars make for a more rustic look. Purchase one glass jar and rope for each light you plan to make. Hot glue the rope to the center of the outer base of the jar, and string each light from your ceiling using screw eyes. Unscrew the jar to place a tea light upon the inner lid, and replace the cap — it's that simple.

Create hanging pendant lights draped in faux greenery for your porch and nature-inspired rooms. Gather two of Dollar Tree's wire baskets, colorful string lights (you can find other styles at popular retailers), and fake flowers or greenery. Use zip ties to fasten the baskets together to make a spherical shape. Thread the string lights around the wiring, and hot glue faux flowers around the outside. Leave the light-up creation on tabletops or hang it from hooks on columns or porch posts.

Create a flashy glowing lantern using Dollar Tree's glass floral bowl, glass gems, and an LED push light. Begin by hot gluing gems to the outside, covering the entire surface area of the sphere. Put the gem-encrusted bowl over a push light, and you're all set. You can dress up the design more with other embellishments too, like Dollar Tree's greenery accents, or glue nautical rope around the top lip of the jar for a beachy feel.

Dollar Tree's standard square nightlight doesn't have to look so boring. Jazz up your nightlight with some Mod Podge and a few packs of glitter. Coat the rectangular nightlight reflector in Mod Podge using a foam brush, and sprinkle your favorite glitter colors on top. Choose colors that fit your preference or room theme, but make sure you do this project over newspaper or paper towels. Glitter is messy, and this makes cleanup far easier.

If your home has several uncovered ceiling bulbs in different rooms, dress them up using a few Dollar Tree products. Pick up one wire basket per light bulb. Use pliers to readjust the basket bottoms to fit each one over each lightbulb. This may involve cutting some sharp edges, as demonstrated by @cabinfruit, so use caution. Use double-sided mounting tape to keep the basket in place.

Dollar Tree's shower rings can be repurposed for a most unlikely craft: a magical globe light. Purchase at least three packs of shower rings, a glass bowl, and string lights. Hot glue the shower rings together, using the bowl as a guided template for each half of your light design. Do not glue the rings to the bowl itself. Once you have two half-spheres from this stage, combine them to make one symmetrical spherical shape. Thread the string lights through the shower rings, and your DIY globe light is ready to hang or stand on its own.