How to Fix Holes in My Parchment Lamp Shades

Fix holes in a damages lamp shade, or revamp an old lamp with decoupage techniques.

Parchment shades on table lamps look pretty, but are quite delicate and easily punched or torn if they're knocked off the table. Instead of throwing them out and replacing damaged shades, get creative and renew the shade with a color scheme and style that suits your decor perfectly. Choose grown-up and sophisticated colors and patterns for a main room in the house, or give a child's lamp a new lease on life by choosing images of cartoon or story-book characters.

Things You'll Need

• Decorative craft paper
• Paper punch
• Scissors
• Hot glue gun
• Glue stick
• Decoupage medium

Instructions

Disguise Small Holes

1. Punch out decorative shapes with the paper punch.

2. Apply hot glue around the edges of the hole in the parchment shade.

3. Press the paper shape gently onto the hot glue and immediately wipe away any excess glue that oozes out from behind the paper shape.

Recover the Lampshade

1. Cut rectangles of color-coordinating craft paper. How many you need will depend on the size of your shade and how big you cut the rectangles. A random effect looks good, and by folding the edges of the rectangles over the top and bottom of the parchment shade, you can fit the rectangles by eye to make an effect that you find pleasing.

2. Apply a decoupage medium to the back of the decorative-paper rectangles. Work on one rectangle at a time, first applying the glue and then sticking the paper to the shade to cover the holes.

3. Overlap the rectangles so no gaps are showing between them. Smooth out any air bubbles by gliding your fingers gently across the shapes with one hand while supporting the shade from the inside with the other hand. Continue to stick rectangular paper shapes over the shade so that all the holes are covered.

Tips & Warnings

• If your punched shapes, for instance flower shapes, are very small, punch out several shapes and glue them together to cover each hole. Use a firm craft paper, such as scrapbook paper, and glue the overlapped edges of the shapes together to form a cluster of shapes that will cover the hole in the lampshade.

• Use colored parchment paper to cover holes. This will allow points of different-colored light to shine through the shade.

• If the holes in the shade look very ragged, trim the edges with a sharp pair of scissors before gluing on the paper patches. Make ragged holes circular by placing a coin, or other round object, over the hole then drawing around it to make a clean cutting line.

• Small holes in shades also can be covered with items, such as buttons or flat-backed beads. Affix bulky items to shades with hot glue

• Never leave modified parchment shades unattended when the light inside is lit. Only use the lamps when you are in the room, and use low-wattage bulbs to minimize any fire hazard.

References

• Owl Haven: How To -- Fixing a Broken Lampshade
• Living My Simple Life: How to Fix a Lampshade