If anyone can figure out exactly how to make this, please let me know.  I absolutely love this, but I don't want to go and buy all kinds of equipment to make it, only to find that there's a cheaper and easier way with stuff I already have. It seems like it shouldn't be too difficult, but those are often the projects that are more complicated than they look!

I'd try a dremel with a small ceramic tile drill bit.  I'm thinking you can be more careful with applying pressure with the dremel.  After a small starter hole go toa larger diameter.

Talk about a cup running-eth over. I've been wanting to drill holes in cups for awhile now--but not to make lights out of them. I wonder how many I'd break before a successful attempt....?

I wonder just how delicate a cup you could drill with a ceramic tile drill bit.  I always see chipped flow blue cups and saucers for cheap prices and I bet they would look sharp lit up.  Althought the curly CF light might look a bit goofy in there.