Lampshade Know How

After I covered all my lampshades for my classroom, I had quite a few inquiries about how to do it.  I finally have a good opportunity to show you in a bit more detail.

I found this lamp base at Goodwill for $6.99.  I’ve been in love with it at Target, but didn’t want to spend the money.  The taller one is $65.00 (!!!) so I knew I was getting a good deal.

  The goal here was cheap, cheap, cheap so I purchased this shade at Target for $5.00.  I would have liked a little bit smaller one, but you can’t beat that price.

I laid out the fabric I wanted to use and got my handy dandy spray adhesive.  The white underneath is a bunch of paper I laid out.  I was too lazy to get my tablecloth.  Be careful, though.  The adhesive is messy and gets everywhere.

If you have plenty of fabric, it doesn’t matter how you roll it out, but I was dealing with a scrap piece.  I had to make sure I rolled it pretty precise.  I sprayed the shade and the fabric then let it sit for a minute or so.  It gets tackier if you let it sit.

Once it’s rolled on and smoothed out, just trim the excess off.  I trim it pretty close so there’s no excess fabric underneath that shows when the lamp is on.

When the shade is round, I cut little slits every inch or so in order for it to wrap under well.This should be done at the top and the bottom.

Then, I line the edge with a fine bead of hot glue with my dollar store hot glue gun. 

I immediately tuck the fabric around the edge and burn the tips of my fingers with the hot glue.  Every time.

Lastly, I engage my new little sparkly lamp in a photo shoot to show off her new outfit.

She poses and smiles—completely aware of her newfound beauty.