Friday, March 25, 2011

DIY Lampshades

A few years ago I bought a pair of basic lamps at where else...TJ Maxx. Basic black post, neutral linen shade. Then I decided I wanted to them to "pop" a little bit. I went through my acrlyc paint container and picked out 3 neutral colors: white, ivory, and khaki. I cut a stencil from the bottom of a cup and traced circles all around the shade. After squirting various plops on paint on a paper plate I went to work. Not wanting every dot to look and same, I dipped and swirrled until all the circle were filled. Finished?...not really. When the shade was dry I put it back on the lamp and turned it on. The light flooded through the linen and all of my cute dots turned to dark...not good. So, I took the good old aluminum foil from the kitchen, a roll of scotch tape, and lined the inside of my shade. It was super easy and only took about 5 minutes. I tore the foil into several sections and folded each one to fit. I taped each section at the top, middle and bottom. If it's strong enough to withstand a hot oven, a 60 watt bulb should be no problem...








Here's the downside to lining the lamps...while it's great in the daytime and the dots really stand out, the lamps don't give out a lot of light. It's perfect for the bedroom, especially when one person is sleeping and the other turns their lamp on...light doesn't flood the room. I am happy with how they turned out, but wouldn't reccomend it for a living room.

Shine a little light on me!
Rachel :)





Somewhat Simple





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3 comments:

Patti @ Pandoras Box said...

This is adorable...you placed the circles so evenly...and aren't we always fixing our mistakes and finding ways to make it better, foil was good solution!

the nichols' family said...

cute!! i love the way your lamp turned out! :)

Jennifer Dawn said...

It looks great!