How to Make a Decorative Lampshade

One way to save money decorating your home is by doing it yourself projects. One such project that will add a unique touch to any room is to decorate a lampshade. A decorative lampshade adds a unique look to any room. You also get to claim fame as the artist to a potential conversation piece within your home. The following steps will guide you in creating a lampshade that will compliment any room in your home.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Lampshade
• Double sided tape
• Spray adhesive
• Templates of patterns
• Scissors

1. You can either use an existent lampshade or purchase a new one from stores such as Target or Wal-Mart for under $20.00.

2. Remove your existent lampshade from the lamp base or take a newly bought lampshade and begin brainstorming ideas on how you’d like to add your own creative touch.

3. What is the theme of your room where the lamp will reside? Is it an Italian theme or maybe a tropical theme? If so, you can go to your local craft shops and look for templates that will compliment those themes such as shapes of sea shells and fish or grapes and vines. These templates can be traced so you can cut them out. You can also take a piece of fabric and trace the design you would like to add to your lampshade.

4. 
    

   The photo above is an example of a lampshade I decorated for my home. Since I have a cabin theme in my living room, and the lamp is in the shape of a bear; I decided to create a woodsy theme. I went online and found a free template of a moose, moon, and stars. I printed out the template for free, traced it over construction paper, and cut the designs out. I found a package of various shaped woodsy trees at a craft store and I simply used double sided tape to place the patterns on the inside of the lampshade. You can also use fabric glue or spray adhesive to hold your patterns on your lampshade.

5. Place the lampshade back on your lamp and just turn it on to see your creative endeavor shine.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are using spray adhesive or glue, wait for the lampshade to dry before attaching it to the lamp base.
• In this tough economy, doing it your self projects such as decorating your existing lampshades can save you money while adding something new to your home without breaking your wallet.
• Make sure you don’t use fabric or template material that could be flammable.

[FrazzledNanny]

on 3/30/2009 Thanks for the great article. 5*