DIY Lampshade Face-lifts

Hello all!

So, I don't know if you've been there, but I have had the worst crafter's block these last couple weeks. You know... no motivation, no ideas, procrastination... the usual. 

I decided to try to get myself back into the swing of things. 

If you ever find yourself in that boat, either take a break from it or try to make something just for fun, no special occasion required. :)

Just do something you enjoy, to remind you that it's fun to be creative!

Here is the new friend I made to help break me out of my rut:

Not sure who will own this little deer, but she was fun to make. :)

After getting a little crafting energy back, I started looking around the house to see if anything needed fixing or updating.  I found two lamps with incredibly sad, dingy and tired lampshades.  

Lampshades aren't cheap, so I wanted to find a way to give these two a face-lift.

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I scanned Pinterest for ideas, and found this great post from Mari Makes.

Check out the link below for this great tutorial!

"Well Defined Lampshade" Tutorial from Mari Makes

I decided to warm up by trying out this tutorial for one of my seen-better-days-lampshades.  Instead of a vintage dictionary, I used my Spanish-English dictionary... who doesn't like educational redecorating??

If you need to look up a word in Spanish that starts with the letters A-G, just come check out my lamp. :)

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Next, I wanted to make-over another lampshade by changing out its tired trim for a new trim I made from fabric.

Materials:

-Plain lampshade, any size would work!

-Fun fabric to make trim 

-Iron

-Hot glue

Ok, this is pretty simple, and you probably don't even need a tutorial. :)  But here we go anyways!

1-- Strip your lampshade of any previous trim. I was able to just sort of tear it off without damaging the shade fabric underneath.

2-- Select your fabric! For the trim, I actually used a fabric napkin I bought at Target a few years ago.  You never know where you'll find a great print! I've used pretty fabric napkins from World Market and Target several times for throw pillows, artwork.... and now, a lampshade. :)

You could certainly use any fabric you like, but the fabric napkin has the added benefit of having finished edges which I used on the lamp too.  Reduce, reuse, recycle, right?  Nothing is wasted!

3-- Determine the width of the trim you want for your lampshade.  For the bottom trim of this shade, I cut strips that were 2" wide and used the lines on the print to make sure each strip showed the same view of that print.

4-- Use the iron to fold in the raw edges.  I folded 1/2" in on each side to leave 1" wide trim with no raw edges showing.

5-- For the vertical seams and the top of this lampshade, I wanted a smaller trim.  You could just cut a smaller width of fabric (maybe 1 or 1.5") and repeat the same process as for the 1" wide trim.  Since the fabric napkins had finished edges that were ~1/2", I just cut out the the finished edges, trimming them so no raw edges from the fabric would be visible.  No ironing necessary for these because the manufacturer already did the work for me!

6-- Now it's time to start applying the trim. I think you could do this in any order, but I started with the vertical seam trim, then the bottom and top.  

Use hot glue sparingly to apply the trim.  Some thinner fabrics or ribbon could show the lumps and bumps from hot glue, but this fabric concealed it well.

Time for the bottom of the shade...

Whenever you finish one section of trim, just fold over the end, to hide the raw edge, and glue it.

The corners of this shade were a little tricky; I tried to make it work, lining up the trim with the bottom of the shade and cinching the fabric on the tapered corners.

 Last step: use the last of the ready-made trim from the napkin for the top of the shade.

  

I think this would work well with any shape/size lampshade.  Just follow the curves and lines of the shade, and have fun!  

Done!

Crafter's block reversed! (for now)

Thanks for reading!

Picture Frame Front Door Decor

Hello!

After Christmas, I always feel like the house is a little sparse.  You know, no lights, greenery or jingle bells... kind of sad, right?  It is for me anyways. :)

So, since it isn't quite Spring yet, I wanted to come up with some options to liven up the entry way that could work in any season.  I found some old frames that I couldn't use inside the house and decided to scan Pinterest for some frame/wreath ideas.  

Here are a couple of ideas I found!

This project was absolutely trial and error.  I'll show you the different versions I came up with along the way to the final product.

First, I started with a frame.

 I decided to dress up the frame with a happy greeting. :)

I made small bunting by cutting out small rectangles of burlap.  I used acrylic paint and foam stamps to write "HELLO."

Next I made a little "rope" by braiding some strips of scrap fabric together, knotting both ends.

I used hot glue to attach the bunting to the fabric, and then I glued the fabric to the frame.

I used scissors to help press the burlap onto the fabric-- I'm not into crafting injuries.

Next I made some rolled fabric flowers and loopy flowers and attached to the frame. 

You could hang this frame, as is, on your door or in your entryway!

I tried it for a while, but it seemed a little small for the space to me, so I decided to keep working.

The first thing I tried was to decorate another frame using an "S" for a monogram and stamped burlap to make our house number.

I used a chipboard letter from home that needed a makeover.  I wrapped it with twine and used hot glue sporadically to secure it. 

I cut more rectangles of burlap, like with the last frame, and stamped the numbers for our address.

Next, I glued the letter to the frame and added some more of the fabric flowers to the letter and the frame.

I tried hanging both frames outside for a while...

Nothing was quite working like I had hoped, and I worried that the wind would carry the light frames away.  At the very least, I knew they would make a lot of noise when the wind blew.

I decided to attach one frame and the "S" to a twiggy wreath to simplify the decorating and make one substantial piece rather than two small ones.

I used hot glue to attach them to the wreath.

First, I tried with both frames:

I didn't like either of those options, so I decided to go with just one!

Now it's ready to hang!

Don't let the winter blues get you down--- just make something colorful! :) Have fun!

Thanks for reading-- have a lovely weekend!