I've been searching for a lamp replacement for a few months since my last cool lamp fell and broke. I did try multiple repair efforts but none of my efforts worked. Once again I didn't quite realize how expensive lamps are. I found a neat one at Target after Christmas (my sister has it), the sign underneath it said $15 so I decided to get it only to find out at the register it was $25! I said no thank you.
I came across this Pinterest picture of a DIY lamp shade and thought "yes I must make this". http://pinterest.com/pin/383720830720606690/ I set out to find myself a lamp base and the correct lamp shade and it took a bit. Eventually after going to two Savers Stores, I hit the jack pot and found everything on my list at one of them. I purchased this new (but ugly colored) lamp base and a beat up lamp shade for about $6 with a 20% card.
I got home and ripped the lamp shade apart, used a file to sand down the glue and extra fabric adhered to it, spray painted it black, ripped lots of extra fabric into strips and went to town tying a ton of knots while watching the latest episode of Vampire Diaries. :) The fabric ripping and tying took about 1.25 hours. I then moved down to the basement, laid down some plastic, decided on using black spray paint (was going to try for a green/blue but thought it would be to much in the room it was intended to go in), and proceeded to spray on a couple coats of paint.
The next day I put it all together and I loved the results. I may want to someday paint the lamp base a more daring color like the green/blue I originally thought of but it's good for the space it's in now and looks pretty neat lit up at night.
My next project using this idea comes from the original link; http://thepleatedpoppy.com/2011/02/scrappy-lampshade-tutorial-and-long-story/. I want to get a shade like this and tie fabric further apart and create a hanging lamp for our group therapy room at work. We are in need of additional lighting for the room and I love the effect this lamp shade has on the ceiling with the main light off.
Below are some pics of the steps I took. Sorry for the poor quality photos. I went with the quick and easy "craptastic" phone of mine instead of my camera.
*Not to fond of the energy saving light. May have to switch it out.
No comments:
Post a Comment