Confession: I have a lampshade habit. OK, perhaps not so surprising. But I do regularly scour the blogosphere for cool things people are doing with DIY lighting. Generally, the first thought when re-doing a lampshade (or making one from scratch) is to cover the lampshade with fabric. That's why I was so excited to see some new posts out there recently showing innovative ways to cover lampshades - besides fabric. Here are 4 of the best!
1. Vintage handkerchiefs This has to be an all-time favorite to date. What could be more feminine and delicate than floral vintage hankies? Amanda from Oh My Little Dears and Be Crafty decorated this darling vintage hanky lampshade in a way that will allow her to later dis-assemble the delicate hankies and re-use them:
"I wanted to be able to cover the shade with the option of being able to take the hankies off. I used small amounts of hot glue in the corners of the hankies. My lampshade has a plastic covering in the inside so when I am ready to remove the hankies it will be easy to pull off and won't wreak the lampshade or the hankies."
For extra pizzaz, Amanda strung it up with lace and yarn to make a pendant light.
2. Paper roses Swedish fashion blogger Fanny Staaf's first ever DIY post kind of puts me to shame. After rolling up mini paper 'roses' she hot glued them to a lampshade. The result is a pure romance paper rose lampshade.
This could also work with other paper flowers like peonies.
3. Coffee filters Unfortunately the blog showing the tutorial is no longer up, but thankfully this DIY idea lives on at Apartment Therapy! Building on the paper bloom theme, this project uses many tiny elements to create a big effect.
Paper coffee filters were scrunched into blooms, folded, and glued onto the lampshade to create an organic look.
4. Knitted lampshade cover Nicx from Next to Nicx upcycled an old scarf into a cozy knitted lampshade. Nicx said:
"When I decided that I wanted a knit cover for my lampshade and went hunting for yarn, I remembered I had the cream monstrosity and decided to save some money and modify it to fit."
Some basic crochet skills and a knit in need of a new life are what you need for this one.
These crafters used existing lampshades as a base for their creations. You could also make a custom drum lampshade from scratch and decorate it using any of the above methods with a DIY Lampshade Making Supplies from the I like that lamp shop.
