How To Create A New Lampshade

Sources: Tomboy Tools, The Scrapbook Cottage

Dear Marc:
I love your projects! They are so much fun. I have an old kids’ lamp that I found in the attic. Years ago, it sat on my son’s dresser when he was a toddler. He is now grown up and has moved out on his own. The house seems empty without him around so I’m turning his spare room into a guest bedroom. The lamp is still in good shape although the shade is childlike. How can I create a new shade for this lamp?
Yvonne

Dear Yvonne,
The best cure for “empty nest” syndrome is to keep busy. Many are accustomed to living their lives around the energy that children bring to a household. As the kids grow up and move out on their own, the house may feel empty, and somber.

Redesigning a room is a great way to cure “empty nest” syndrome. Small decorating projects, depending on what they entail, can be quick and easy and bring new life to a home. A well designed home should reflect the personality of the homeowner. Every quarter of the house should have a different mandate. The common living quarters are to reflect the overall design style of the homeowners with pops of societal influences. Guest living areas, whether they are a guest house or guest room, should reflect a neutralized design style. For instance, nobody wants to stay in a guest bedroom filled with the homeowner’s puppet collection contrasted against lime green walls.

A wonderful theme for a guest bedroom is an oasis where a guest may rejuvenate after a long trip and feel at home. The amazing thing about redesigning a room is that one doesn’t necessarily have to spend a lot of money to achieve a designer look. I love taking unused items from a childhood bedroom and making them appear new again. Today, we will revitalize a lamp shade using inexpensive scrapbook paper to replace the childlike lamp shade.

The following materials will be needed for this DIY Scrapbook Paper Lamp project:

– Two sheets of graphic scrapbook paper
– Two sheets of neutral coloured patterned scrapbook paper
– Scrapbook knife
– Surface protector
– Ribbon
– Scissors
– Scrapbook quality double-sided tape

– Hot glue gun

Step 1:
Remove the plastic shade covering the lamp.

Step 2:
Measure the lamp’s height where the old shade sat. Layer one sheet of each scrapbook paper over the surface protector. Cut the scrapbook paper to the length measured. Apply double-sided tape to the back of the first sheet of scrapbook paper and adhere it to the second sheet of paper.

Step 3:
Measure the width of the scrapbook paper and cut two pieces of ribbon to the length measured.

Step 4:
To cover the seams between the papers, apply doubled-sided tape to the back of the ribbon and glue it to the scrapbook paper.

Step 5:
Using a hot glue gun, place a bead of glue in the joint where the shade meets the lamp. Gently place the new scrapbook paper shade in the joint. Repeat the same process on the opposing end.

Step 6:
Repeat Steps 2 to 5 on the other side of the lamp.

Step 7:
This childlike lamp has been transformed into a mature looking decorative accessory that fits perfectly in a guest bedroom oasis.

Marc Atiyolil, celebrity designer and home trend expert is the Editor-in-Chief of Canadian Home Trends Magazine, regular contributor to CTV and the host of the Marc Atiyolil Show on www.MarcAtiyolil.com. Catch Season 2 every Thursday at 2pm.

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