| Decorating Lampshades |
From "Ask DIY"
episode ADI-411 |
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Q: Do you have any ideas on how I can personalize a drab lampshade? A: (from Crafts expert Debbie Stapely) Consider a whimsical approach to creating fun, distinctive lampshades (figure A). These are particularly suited to a child's bedroom.
Materials: Plain, flat-surface lampshades
Craft knife
Chalk marker or dressmaker's pencil
Handmade paper
Beads, sequins or other embellishments
Decorative border
Steps:
- Begin with plain, inexpensive lampshades as you might find at a discount store. Because you'll be cutting into the shades, use the plain, flat-surfaced kind (figure B) rather than the draped or accordion-folded varieties.
- Use a chalk pencil or dress-maker's pencil to mark out your design on the shade. For these shades, free-hand circles were drawn on as a design.
- With your design marked out, use a craft-knife or X-acto (figure C) to carefully create circular cutouts in the shade (figure D). Don't discard the circular cutouts that you remove. Leave them intact, since these will be used as a template in the step that follows.
- The holes will next be covered with handmade paper. Select a color and texture of handmade paper that complements the shade material. Use the circular cutouts that were removed from the shade as templates for drawing corresponding circles on the handmade paper. Trace the circles slightly larger than the template pieces (figure E) to allow enough overlap to completely cover the holes.
- Once you've cut all of the circles from the handmade paper, apply some tacky glue to the edges using a paintbrush (figure F).
- With glue applied to the handmade paper cutouts, glue them in place over the holes on the shade (figure G).
- You may want to decorate some of the handmade cutouts by applying beads (figure H), sequins or other embellishments using tacky glue.
- As a final touch, consider adding some decorative border-trim (figure I) to the shade.
- Be creative and experiment with various designs of your own to create whimsical shades (figure J).
RESOURCES :
The Beaded Lampshade Book
Interstellar Publishing Company
La Mesa, CA 91943
Phone: 619-292-8191
Fax: 619-292-0373
Email: interstlr@aol.com
Designs for Lamps II: Patterns for 22 Small to Medium Shades
Model: 0919985238
Author: Charles Knapp
Wardell Publications, Inc.
December, 1998
More Lampshade Patterns II: For Medium to Large Sized Shades
Model: 091998505X
Author: Judy Wardell
(December, 1986)
Wardell Publishing
Designs for Lamps: Patterns for 18 Small to Medium Shades
Model: 0919985068
Author: Charles Knapp
The Lamp Shade Book: 80 Traditional and Innovative Projects to Create Exciting Lighting Effects
Model: 0806987006
Author: Dawn Cusick
Sterling Publishing Co. Inc.
Website: www.sterlingpub.com
Lamps and Shades: Beautiful Ideas to Make and Decorate
ISBN: 1853687618
Author: Juliet Bawden
Order this title from Amazon.com.
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