I have been spending some time online recently, researching DIY sites to figure out how to make my own ceiling light shades. I am impressed with the amount of information there is out there. There are some seriously talented people! Anyway, I found a few that I really liked the look of, and decided that it was something I would like to try. I don't like spending money on things like light fixtures as I think they are heavily overpriced, and at the moment, not a necessity.
So with the thought in mind that I would make my own, I set off to our local op shops (Salvation Army, Vinnies, Family Life, etc) to see if I could find any preloved lamp shades or ceiling lights that I could work with. I was in luck too, as I found the perfect shade for $5 at my favourite shop! It was a tacky terracotta colour, but I looked beyond that to the perfect frame underneath.
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| The original shade - yucky terracotta! |
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| After a good strip down and scrub, a workable frame for my shade. |
Once I pulled away the terrible original coverings and cleaned all the dried glue off the frame, I was ready to cover it. Another stroke of luck for me, my mum has cupboards full of fabric that she has bought over the years and she had the perfect piece for what I had in mind. It is white, sheer and covered in little hearts. So with the pattern from the old covering, I was able to cut out the 6 pieces I would need to make the cover. I spent the morning at mum's, cutting, stitching and then gluing with her hot glue gun. I put the sewn cover over the top of the frame, glued down the seams, and then glued them shut again on the inside of the frame. At the bottom of the shade I added a little white frilled trim for a cute finishing touch. I am really happy with how it turned out!
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| Working with the hot glue gun, I stretched the fabric around the frame. |
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| Pretty little hearts. |
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| Finished project. Hanging in my youngest daughter's room. |
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