DIY Lampshade Challenge from Lamps.com

Y’all know I love a good lighting fixture, so when the folks at Lamps.com sent me a message asking if I would participate in their DIY Blogger Lampshade Challenge I jumped at the chance to flex my under utilized DIY muscle.  The challenge was simple, take a basic white shade and work my DIY mojo…..

We were given full reign on how and what we could do with the shade.  I  literally sat and stared at the shade for about an hour realizing that I needed to give myself some parameters, otherwise I would drive myself bonkers.  So I gave myself these rules: (1) the whole project couldn’t be more than $20, (2) the DIY had to take less than a hour and (3) it final look had to incorporate pattern in some way.

With the guidelines set, I then went about looking through the house deciding which room needed a mini-overhaul and I decided that while I ADORE my “music room” I haven’t done much with it in a while, so it was the perfect spot to shake things up.  Deciding on the room gave me a pretty clear direction on where I wanted to go with the shade.  So armed with $20 and one hour, I got to work and created this…..

I wanted to go for a more organic and batik-like feel for the shade but was having a hard time with the concept until I stumbled upon a purple lace at my local fabric store.   The fabric itself was horrible but what it did have go for it was a great overscale pattern that would make the perfect stencil.  It wasn’t overtly flowery or intricate and at $6.99 a yard, it was a definite winner.

I seriously thought about doing an in-depth DIY tutorial, but honestly, it may be insulting to some of you since all I did was take some spray adhesive, lightly coat the shade and then lined up the material ensuring it was straight.  Since I wasn’t going for a crisp line on my pattern as batik typically has a softer feel I wasn’t too worried about bleeding.  Once the step-up was done, I sprayed the whole thing with two cans of glossy Navy Rust-Oleum spray paint.  FYI, If I was spraying on anything but fabric, I would have bought matte spray paint.

One hour later and a little help from a hair dryer (because I am impatient), I was done and the shade was up in the room basking in the warm afternoon light…..

I even had $3 left over so I treated myself to a latte.  Not bad for a day’s work right?  But Lamps.com is offering more than a latte if you visit their site and vote on your favorite DIY shade.  Once you vote, you are entered to win a $100 gift card from them!  Some great bloggers contributed to the challenge, so swing by and take a look….and I promise I won’t be offended if you vote for someone else!

Photography Credit: Photo by Adza

Check me out  on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and Insta.gram for more musings on design, food and just plain randomness…

Disclaimer:  I was compensated for my participation, but all opinions are 100% my own.