~VINTAGE LACE LAMPSHADE TUTORIAL FOR YOU~

~PAINTED LAMP and VINTAGE LACE SHADE~

One of the things I love about creating things for both my home and business is being inspired by all the incredible talent out there in Blogland and beyond!  Years ago we had to purchase craft and decor magazines in order to get our weekly/monthly jolt of ideas~but these days just a couple clicks on one's mouse and you can find most anything your heart desires.

~ORIGINAL LAMP~

I've loved following Karen over at My Desert Cottage.  She is so talented and I love her spirit and I love her home.  A few years ago (2010) Karen gave us a Tutorial on how she recovered a lampshade with stuff a crafter might already have on hand.  Well...I missed her original post, but I found it thanks to Pinterest.

~ ORIGINAL SHADE~

I loved her transformed shade so much that I decided to use the basis of her idea and fashion a shade for a lamp I snagged last week at a tag sale.

~PAINTED BASE~

I started off by painting everything a soft white.  This included the shade's frame and the entire lamp.  After everything was dry I went over everything with Annie Sloan's Dark Wax.  Just love that stuff!  First apply clear wax and let it dry.  Then go over everything with the dark wax and wipe off the excess leaving some in the cracks and crevices!

~ATTACHING FIRST PIECE OF LACE~

After removing the original fabric on the shade and cleaning off all the old glue (Googone) I painted it and let it dry.  I then pulled out my big bag of scrap lace (tattered and fine) and began covering the shade by hand-stitching the lace into place.

~MORE LACE WAS ADDED~

Fabric glue is a mess and hot-glue won't hold due to the heart of the lamp's bulb.  So...I stitched away.  Now...I have to tell you that this all took a long, long time.  My back was aching by the time I was done!

~AND MORE LACE~

~AND MORE...~

~MORE...~

As each piece of lace was chosen I stitched it onto the piece already secured onto the shade.  I stitched right over the metal leaving the prettiest scalloped-edge-lace for the edges (if possible).  I just kept layering and stretching the lace and hand-stitching it into place as I went.

~LAST OF THE LACE~

After the entire shade was covered I added the pretty insertion lace (gorgeous vintage French? find!) around the top edge leaving the tattered and well loved portion sticking up over the shade's top edge.

~REMOVABLE ROSE PIN~

Lastly a removable rose pin was added to the front along with a gathered vintage lace doily and some ruched  up rayon ribbon...

All in all this was a fun project!  It really was.  I used up tons of my lace scraps (a good thing!) and the project was something new for a change after lots of pillow making of late!  I've done lace lampshades before, but seldom without removing the original fabric first.
 
~LIGHT OFF~

 Downside to the project was that the shade alone took me about 6 hours plus to cover.  So...it was fairly labor intensive...at least it was time-wise.  And like I already said my back is hurting from standing for too long!  I never sit when doing projects like this~way too much moving around to remain in a chair...I'd be up and down and up and down....

(Thank you Karen Valentine for the inspiration on making the shade! ) 

Today I'm linking up with the following:

Green Willow Pond for What We Accomplished Wednesdays

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays

Ivy and Elephants for What's It Wednesday
DIY Design for It's a Party
Timewashed for Blissful Whites Wednesday

Hope your Wednesday is awesome.  Crummy weather is suppose to come to Oklahoma and I'm praying our fairly new roof doesn't go sweeping down the plain...

Love to you... 

 

~ A SHABBY FUNKY PINK and BROWN LAMP~ Restyling a Thrift Store Find

 

~SO NEAPOLITAN ICE-CREAM-ISH~

A few weeks ago I visited our local Goodwill Store and found a charming little lamp for $4.99.  My daughter-in-love, Sarah, has been working on my Miss K's bedroom and earlier this year they picked out a sweet little duvet set from Penny's.  It's all done in soft whites, pinks and chocolate brown.  It's just darling and perfect for a nine year old girl.  The set came with a comforter, shams and sheets, but no bed skirt, decorative pillows or window treatments.  So...I had her order a second set of sheets (which is the striped fabric) so we could make some fun little extras!

~ORIGINAL PINK DOTTED LAMP~

The original lamp was actually pretty cute the way it was, but the color wasn't a good fit for Miss K's new room.  Also...you can't see it but the lampshade had yellow ribbon rosebuds glued all around the top and bottom edges... :(  Not too cute I'm afraid~I took them off right away!

~FUNKY, SHABBY and SOOOO COOL~

In addition to buying the extra sheeting we ended up paying a visit to both Hancock Fabrics and Wal-Mart and at one of them (I can't remember which) we found some dark swirly brown fabric and another bright pink cotton the exact colors that matched the striped fabric...  We were able to fashion a dust ruffle, several toss pillows, a valance and this totally funky looking lamp from the extra fabrics...

I did a lampshade tutorial last year and just in case you missed it you can find it

HERE!

 ~GREAT PRICE AT GOODWILL~

~MISS K IN HER NEW ROOM~

The lighting was pretty crummy when I snapped this picture last night after her birthday party, but here's what my Miss K looks like now that her full-sized front teeth have grown in!  She is certainly growing up fast!  And...she's absolutely lovely and she's totally DIGGIN' her new lamp from Nana and Papa (and her gift cards from JUSTICE, too!).

Today I'm back working in my studio!  I'll be snapping pictures of the hand painted pretties I finished over the weekend later today!  My Mr. AGPMan did manage to snag a Christmas Tree Friday night...we ended up settling on the one at SAM'S CLUB.  Home Depot, Lowe's, Target, Michael's and Hobby Lobby were sky-high in their prices and we didn't find a single one at any of the thrift stores we visited.  If possible I'll be showing you how to paint a tree later in the week...if not, soon! 

Hope your Monday is fabulous!

Love to you...

~HOW TO MAKEOVER A LAMPSHADE - A Tutorial For You~

~How To Cover A Lampshade~

(and make it look fabulous!)

 **Left Click Pictures to Enlarge**

Ever see those lovely little lampshades in those charming boutiques that are decorated with the latest fabrics and trims and found yourself wondering how they were made?  Well have I got a treat for you today!  I'm going to show you how and share with you some tips on how I get mine to look the way I do.

I've made and sold refashioned lampshades for over 20 years and the basic way of covering them hasn't changed much at all.  The fabrics and trims have changed, but not the instructions!  So...I've a put a little tutorial together for you with seventeen pictures with notes at the bottom of each one and hope you'll try your hand at making a few for your own home.  The tutorial is for the shabby cottage chic shade you see above, but you can tweak it for any style you like best!

You will need the following:  Lampshade, Scissors, Fabric, Ribbon, Gimp and/or Braid(several kinds), Hot Glue & Gun, Sewing Machine (or needle and thread for gathering ribbon), pen and paper and a tape measure.

Begin by removing the binding from around the bottom of the shade.  Be careful not to pull too hard or you may tear the inside lining of the shade.

Next make a paper template by tracing around one section of the shade.

Cut out your choice of fabric making sure you have enough to cover all sections of your lampshade.

Next, using the Spray Adhesive (DURO) you see above, on the back side of the fabric spray ONE PIECE (more will dry out) at a time making sure the glue generously coats the fabric.  Use too little and the fabric will pucker on the shade.  Use too much and the glue will come through to the other side. 

Begin covering your shade until all sections are completed.

Next, hot glue your gimp (braid) down the spines of the Lampshade cutting it off just short of the top and bottom edge.  Do this until all the spines are covered

Your Shade should look something like this!

There are lots of things you can use to embellish your Lampshade.  Ribbon, Lace, Rickrack, etc.  Use your imagination!  I chose to use loops of ribbon around the top edge and base of my shade.  However, lots of things will work.  You may even choose to leave the top edge plain.

After hot gluing your top/bottom trim in place, use a complementary trim to cover your raw edges.  Hot glue in place.

After hot gluing your top/bottom trim in place, flip the lampshade onto it's top and begin hot gluing your choice of gimp (braid) in place.  This covers up any old glue residue from the original banding.

It should look something like this when you are done.

Your final touch can be either ribbon or braiding (tassels, etc.)!  Just tie your favorite little find around the top edge and you are done!

Here's mine again...

And with the light on...

And here's one I have in my studio!  They can be made to fit into any decor and look beautiful in most any color!

My only word of caution comes regarding the thickness of fabric.  The best fabrics for this kind of shade covering are light to medium weight cottons.  Anything thicker just doesn't want to stick!

Hope you enjoyed a peek into one of the many things I love to do!

Blessings for a wonderful day.  I'm going to take a nap now!

Love to you~

~LAMPSHADE TUTUORIAL COMING LATER TODAY~

Good Morning and Happy Monday!

I'm putting the finishing touches on my Lampshade Tutorial and hope to have it for you later this afternoon!  I must say I had a great time digging through four humongous bins of scrap fabric to find the best pieces of cotton for the redo!

SUCH FUN!

***More soon***

Thanks for stopping by...hope you had an awesome weekend!