Before we get started, I just wanted to share with everyone the fact that I will NOT be painting the Stickley end table I scored at a yard sale last weekend. This baby is worth some money (not that I care, I wouldn't sell it, and it's not a family piece, but still!)
Actually, it looks good as it is in my living room, take a look.
I love the darker finish on it, and the subtle sheen of the wood.O.K. Here is the long awaited lampshade covering tutorial!
A friend at work loosely showed me how, and then I ran with it.
I have this cute vintage wall lamp in my kitchen, which adds that all important mood lighting at night, and it had a plain shade. Don't you just love the milkglass?
I had only added some vintage yellow trim to the top and bottom. Fine for awhile. Then I got bored.What if I added some material to it? Would it be too fussy?
Heck no, I love it!
Here's how to do your own:
You need-
Fabric of your choice
Large paper to draw a pattern on
Spray adhesive
Sharp scissors
Trim or ribbon
Get a piece of paper to make your pattern from, one long enough to acomodate rolling your lamp shade around. I used a roll of kids wrapping paper. The print on this paper is a little nauseating, but kids love it at birthday parties, so what can I say?
Start your pen at the seam point on your lampshade, so you can stop at the same place. Slowly move your lampshade by rolling it on the paper, following with your pen laying against the edge, making the line all the way around until you come back to the seam. Do the bottom first, then the top again.
I go slightly past the seam point, so I have a little extra overlap.
Don't worry if it's not perfect, it will be close enough.
Cut out your pattern, and then lay it against the shade to see how close you got it. Trim if necessary. Here's how it should look:
Lay this on your fabric of choice, which should be pressed first to remove any wrinkles, etc.
Pin in place, taking into account were the front will hit, so you can get any pattern on the fabric in the right place.
Cut out with sharp scissors, and remove pins. Place AGAIN on the shade, and trim again if needed. Don't get too over zealous on the trimming, as you can trim after it is adhered, too. Here's how my fabric looks when it's cut out. This is leftover fabric my MIL gave me from when she made my quilt. It's similar to the fabric from my new curtain panels, huh? This a a lighter weight fabric, unlike the heavier fabric fro my curtain panels. You want the light to come through.
Here's where the fun begins: Using spray adhesive for me was NOT fun! The can will say for a permanent fix, spray both the shade and the material. Do not do this! You will start to put it on (crookedly, trust me, it's tricky) and you will not be able to remove and reposition!
I sprayed a small section on the shade, started my positioning, and worked my way around from there. It will pull off and reposition, if you work in sections and have patience.
When I came around to the back, I simply folded the fabric over to give it a finished edge, and sprayed it into place to flatten it.
I finished it off with two different ribbons in my stash, and Wah Lah, it was done!
The lamp was originally gold, but I spray painted it with the Bronze spray paint I had used on two other lamps in my house.I also found this little lamp at Goodwill about 2 weeks ago, with no shade, but I had an extra one that was just the right size, and was plain as could be. Perfect for some MORE of my leftover fabric from my curtain project. It just goes on and on, folks!
So cute! This one is also in my kitchen, on top of the microwave. Hope you all have fun covering your lampshades and adding personality to your homes. Good Luck!
