The Original
This was just a plain cream lampshade beforehand, and using a piece of craft or wrapping paper, you measure the area you need to cover, and then cut your fabric to your new paper pattern and using craft glue you glue it on...Lindsay followed the directions and ran into some slight issues, check it out:
The Pinstrosity
It looks great before you turn on the light, and certainly brings some color and dimension to an otherwise boring lamp, but while in use the extra edges underneath create an icky shadow.
How to fix this:
-Lindsay measured the fabric correctly, there is supposed to be a little extra to place underneath, however her fabric looks fairly thin, and therefore is more prone to show a shadow of the leftovers.
-She might have been able to trim up the edges ( after all the gluing was finished) if she was super clean with her application of glue around the under edge, but if she was liberal with her glue (which is fine, you definitely don't want the fabric to go anywhere) than that isn't an option. Make sure your fabric isn't going to cast a weird shadow if you can't trim it.
-Another option is to line the lamp with a darker shade underneath, and then place your decorative fabric on top (if it is especially thin). The only issue with that is that you probably own't get as much brightness if you do that. For some projects, like purely decorative or mood lighting lamps that's fine, but if lamps are your only source of light this probably won't be ideal.
-I would suggest looking at fabric in the home decor section (it looks like that is what the original blogger used), it is generally really thick and they tend to have patterns that match most decor (imagine that! Decor friendly fabric in a home decor section lol). This is the stuff you would use for curtains, or reupholstering etc. Be advised that it is usually a little more expensive though, if you are doing a small lamp like Lindsay's though I don't think it would be too bad, however the lamp I will be doing will probably need a yard and half or more, it is a large antique decorative lamp from my grandmother that was damaged in our last home when it flooded, and I am hoping to be able to fix it on the cheap (Huge world map perhaps?!).
And there you have it, how to upgrade your lamp on the cheap and easy...does anyone have any fantastic lamp upgrade experience to share with the Pinstrosity world?!
Make sure to check in tomorrow for an awesome post from Marquette, and have a great weekend everyone!
**Update: So I must have been distracted, because the suggestion to add decorative ribbon to the bottom of the outside of the lamp to hide yucky edges, or to add ribbon to the inside to make a clean silhouette totally eluded me, but almost every single one of comments suggested that, an easy fast fix. This is why we ask for your feedback! Sometimes the simplest answer is the hardest to find! Thanks readers for your suggestions, y'all are awesome!**
I re-made a pair of lampshades this way (long before Pinterest!) and actually hand-stitched the fabric onto the frame of the shade. It took a long time, but it gave me a nice straight edge to trim along. I hit the raw edge with some Fray-Check, and voila, no funny shadow. There will always be a shadow where the seam is though, so make sure that is nice and thin too.
ReplyDeleteWhat about gluing a small strip of fabric on the inside of the shade over the folded under edges? It would still make a shadow but would be more uniform.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing you could do to get rid of the shadow is find a cute trim or add some rope or whatever your style is. Joanns has some cute beaded trim sometimes. You could also add a matching ribbon to cover it up too.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't you easily rescue the pinstrosity in this case by glueing a strip of fabric on the inside edge to even out the overlap? Or a pretty ribbon in a darker contrasting colour on the outside edge.
ReplyDeleteOne thing to also look at would be to get a little ribbon that's just wide enough to cover the weird shadow and glue that to the inside. This way you wouldn't have to cover the whole lamp in another piece of fabric, and you'd have a cleaner edge.
ReplyDeleteHaha, 4 comments with the same suggestion - great minds think alike :)
ReplyDeleteAnother idea to fix the edges on this would be to cut out some thick paper (scrapbooking, construction, etc) or some other fabric in some fun shapes, like stars, or animals, and then glue that to the inside. That way it will look like you MEANT for it to be a hidden surprise when the light was turned on!
ReplyDeleteI have painted the inside and outside of fabric/plastic lamp shapes successfully. Yep, plain 'ole craft paint. Using a metallic pain inside is great, it gives a super upscale look and it reflects out the light and/ If you use gold or copper you can use fluorescent bulbs and still get a lovely warm light.
ReplyDelete