3 Little Greenwoods

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February 3, 2014 by: Ashley Greenwood

DIY Lampshade Makeover

lampshade makeover

I am so excited to share this DIY Lampshade Makeover with you! These crystal ball lamps with the pretty pink shades so exceeded my expectations.

To tell the truth, this project almost did me in. I will spare you the gory details of burned fingers, ripped fabric, and bad words. All the trauma was worth it.

Let me show you how I transformed a plastic-y shade into a shade fit for a little girl’s bedroom. 

easy lampshade makeover

DIY Lampshade Makeover 

Supplies:

  • old lampshade
  • fabric (I used about 1/2 yard per shade)
  • hot glue gun
  • ribbon

Before I head to Hobby Lobby for fabric, I always double check my craft room stash to see if there is anything I can make work.

Baby Pink Gingham Flannel! Jackpot!

DIY Lampshade Makeover by 3 Little Greenwoods

Step 1: Deconstruct Old Lampshade

Pull. Yank. Cut. Basically rip it to pieces.

DIY Lampshade Makeover by 3 Little Greenwoods

Step 2: Begin to Attach Fabric

Turn the stripped down shade upside down then begin hot gluing the fabric to the bottom of the lampshade frame.

Attach the fabric using hot glue completely around the bottom of the lampshade. Make sure to leave an even “hem” of 1/2 inch all the way around.

DIY Lampshade Makeover by 3 Little Greenwoods

Step 3: Create Bottom Seam

Carefully run a bead of hot glue on the bottom of the frame then fold over the hem to create a finished seam. Do this *carefully*. They don’t call it hot glue for nothing, people!

DIY Lampshade Makeover by 3 Little Greenwoods

Step 4: Attach the Fabric to the Top

Flip the shade frame up right.

Run a small bead of hot glue on the frame. Quickly and carefully pull the fabric taunt up and over the frame. By creating small folds as the fabric was pulled tight and glued down it made the pleated look I was going for.

DIY Lampshade Makeover by 3 Little Greenwoods

If you accidentally do not have enough fabric to cover the entire frame, simply cut another strip of fabric and hot glue that baby right on down to cover up the gap.

diy lampshade

It’s going to be on the back anyway! Right?

Because this lampshade frame was larger on the bottom than the top the fabric will not lay smooth and straight. Okay… maybe it would if you create some sort of mathematical template for it. My kindergarten teacher brain doesn’t work that way.

Sad but true. 😉

Step 5: Create Top Seam

Remove excess fabric but leave 1/2″ hem.

DIY Lampshade Makeover by 3 Little Greenwoods

Carefully hot glue the hem down to create a seam along the top of the lampshade.

Step 6: Add Ribbon Trim

Adding this frilly, girly pink ribbon is the perfect finishing touch to this lampshade.

DIY Lampshade Makeover by 3 Little Greenwoods

Those burned fingers were so worth it!

lampshade makeover

So pretty!

DIY lampshade makeover

Want more of Tootsie’s Bedroom Makeover?

Scrapbook Paper Pinwheels

girl bedroom wall art

Add color and pattern to a space with this easy DIY project!

Little Girl Dress Up Station

dress up area

                       Your comments totally make my day! They give me huge motivation to                    keep creating and having fun with my 3 Little Greenwoods! 

~ Ashley

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I link up with these fun parties!

 

Visit Ashley @ 3littlegreenwoods’s profile on Pinterest.

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  • DIY Wall Art with a DIY Paint by Numbers TechniqueDIY Wall Art with a DIY Paint by Numbers Technique
Finally… A Southern Snow Day!
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Comments

  1. 1

    Kathryn says

    February 3, 2014 at 8:22 pm

    This is perfect for that room. Nice job!

    Reply
  2. 2

    3littlegreenwoods says

    February 3, 2014 at 9:32 pm

    Thanks so much Kathryn! Hope you are doing great!

    ~ Ashley

    Reply
  3. 3

    Kris Bridges says

    February 3, 2014 at 9:39 pm

    Love it! It turned out great! 🙂

    Reply
    • 4

      3littlegreenwoods says

      February 3, 2014 at 9:44 pm

      Thanks so much, Kris! Miss you and your sweet children!

      Reply
  4. 5

    Tracy F says

    February 4, 2014 at 1:15 am

    Love reading and seeing your posts. Very inspiring.

    Reply
    • 6

      3littlegreenwoods says

      February 4, 2014 at 2:25 am

      Thanks for the blog love, Tracy!

      Reply
  5. 7

    Sheila says

    February 4, 2014 at 5:31 pm

    I am really impressed! Great job!

    Reply
    • 8

      3littlegreenwoods says

      February 4, 2014 at 6:05 pm

      I told you they would be too cute!

      Reply
  6. 9

    Lindsay Eidahl says

    February 4, 2014 at 7:03 pm

    ADORABLE!

    Reply
    • 10

      3littlegreenwoods says

      February 5, 2014 at 12:59 am

      Thank you, Sweet Friend!

      Reply
  7. 11

    Pam@over50feeling40 says

    February 6, 2014 at 12:26 pm

    Cute idea and you made it look so easy! Thanks for sharing on the Thursday blog hop!

    Reply
    • 12

      3littlegreenwoods says

      February 6, 2014 at 12:44 pm

      I am in LOVe with these sweet lampshades! Thank you so much for your comment!

      Reply
  8. 13

    Debi and Charly @ Adorned From Above says

    February 7, 2014 at 7:47 pm

    This is such a cute lampshade.
    Debi @ Adorned From Above

    Reply
    • 14

      3littlegreenwoods says

      February 7, 2014 at 8:17 pm

      Thanks so much! Your chocolate mint hearts look so good!

      Reply
  9. 15

    Cathy says

    February 9, 2014 at 10:05 pm

    Great post! Thanks for sharing at the Happiness Is Homemade Link Party! Pinning to the party board and can’t wait to see what happiness posts you share next week! Have a terrific week!
    Cathy
    APeekIntoMyParadise.com

    Reply
  10. 16

    Jann Olson says

    February 10, 2014 at 1:42 am

    Ashley, it’s so cute! I love the checkered fabric and the pretty trim! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

    Reply
    • 17

      3littlegreenwoods says

      February 16, 2014 at 12:07 pm

      Hey Jann! Thanks for the sweet comment and for hosting your fun party! Once we get thawed out down here I’ll jump back on the “party train”! 😉

      Reply
  11. 18

    Lori @ A Bright and Beautiful Life says

    February 10, 2014 at 5:04 pm

    I’ve always wanted to try my hand at covering a lamp shade but have been a bit too nervous to actually do it. Your tutorial is so good that I’m no longer afraid. Yours turned out so cute ~ perfect for a little girl’s room. Thanks for sharing this at Making Monday. Have a great week.

    Reply
    • 19

      3littlegreenwoods says

      February 10, 2014 at 6:50 pm

      So happy you liked (and understand) my tutorial on how I recovered the lampshades. That’s the best compliment ever! Thank you so very much for hosting Making Monday!

      Reply
  12. 20

    Jess says

    February 11, 2014 at 3:55 am

    So cute! 🙂

    Thanks for joining the Link Up this week!

    Reply
    • 21

      3littlegreenwoods says

      February 16, 2014 at 12:05 pm

      Thanks so hosting your fun party, Jess!

      Reply
  13. 22

    Marti says

    February 11, 2014 at 4:55 am

    This is so cute! I love the color of the fabric! Thanks so much for sharing it with us! Pinned to the party board. 🙂 Marti

    Reply
    • 23

      3littlegreenwoods says

      February 16, 2014 at 12:04 pm

      Hey Marti! Thanks so much for pinning my DIY Lampshade Makeover Project!

      I appreciate you! 😉
      ~ Ashley

      Reply
  14. 24

    Carrie Groneman says

    February 11, 2014 at 5:01 am

    Wow, you are so talented in many areas! Stopping by as co-host of Homemade link Party.

    Reply
    • 25

      3littlegreenwoods says

      February 11, 2014 at 6:19 pm

      How sweet of you to say! Thank you, Carrie!

      I am planning on making your Sweetheart Muddy Buddies recipe for my 3 children tomorrow when we are “iced in”. 😉

      Reply
  15. 26

    Natasha @ Epic Mommy Adventures says

    February 12, 2014 at 1:29 am

    What a great idea! And it’s so perfect for that room! I wish I was more creative! 🙂

    Thanks so much for sharing on Turn It Up Tuesday! We love having you!

    Reply
    • 27

      3littlegreenwoods says

      February 12, 2014 at 11:11 pm

      You are so sweet, Natasha! Thanks for your kind words about my pretty pink Lampshade Makeover!

      Reply
  16. 28

    svee says

    February 13, 2014 at 11:17 pm

    sweet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have a plan to redo my lamp too

    Reply
    • 29

      3littlegreenwoods says

      February 15, 2014 at 2:19 pm

      I’ve still got a hot glue burn mark on my pinkie but it was so worth it! Tootsie’s crystal ball lamps are perfect for her Big Girl Room Makeover! I’ve got several more projects planned. Hope you will follow along!

      Reply
  17. 30

    Linda says

    February 14, 2014 at 2:22 am

    Nice work.

    Reply
    • 31

      3littlegreenwoods says

      February 15, 2014 at 2:17 pm

      Hey Linda! Thanks so much!

      Reply
  18. 32

    Mary @ Ms. Redo says

    February 15, 2014 at 9:36 pm

    Gorgeous, love it! Hope your fingers have healed by now, they should make heat-proof gloves for us crafty girls!

    Mary

    Reply
    • 33

      3littlegreenwoods says

      February 16, 2014 at 12:09 pm

      Oooo! We need to invent some Crafty Mama heat-proof gloves! We could make a million!

      😉 ~ Ashley

      Reply
  19. 34

    Laura@baking in pyjamas says

    February 16, 2014 at 2:03 pm

    Very pretty. Thanks for sharing your craft at Sweet and Savoury Sundays, we hope you’ll stop by and link up with us again this weekend!

    Reply

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