How to Make a Mosaic Lampshade

Purchase your supplies. You will very likely need to go to a specialty shop that deals with stained glass in order to find a glass lamp shade to mosaic, as well as the pieces of colorful mosaic glass that you will put on the outside of the shade. While you are there, you might want to pick up the other supplies as well–while many craft stores carry mosaic supplies, some of them will not have the supplies for glass mosaic.

Design your lampshade by drawing out an image on paper, and cut out the different pieces of the pattern. Affix these pieces of paper with tape to the glass shade. This will give you a guideline of where to place your pieces - for example, an outline of a tree will show where to place brown pieces and green pieces for the pattern. Remove the paper from the shade.

Break up your mosaic glass with your glass tools, being careful to protect your hands and face. Make both small and larger pieces, so that you can fit them within your paper pattern, like a jigsaw puzzle. Glue these pieces to the lamp shade in small sections, applying mosaic adhesive a little at a time–imitating your paper patterns on the lamp shade.

Mix the grout and apply it over the entire mosaic piece, using a brush. You can hold a light underneath the shade to make sure you've gotten the grout between all of the pieces. Wipe off the excess grout with a wet sponge or cloth.

Apply the mosaic sealant to your mosaic lampshade once the grout has dried. Allow the sealant to dry before using your new lampshade.