Repurposed Thrift Store Lamp

Several weeks ago I went "thrifting" with a few girlfriends.  We spent the whole morning shopping around the local thrift stores - Salvation Army, DAV, etc.  It was so much fun and each of us spent around $10 and came home with bags and bags of goodies!  

One of my treasures was this lamp I walked away with for $2.50!  It's in great shape and it works!  Sorry for the crummy picture - it was rainy outside and I didn't realized how bad the lighting was when I took these pictures!

I picked up this lampshade at a thrift store for $2 and the vintage floral sheet for $1.  

**Here's a great tip I learned from a friend of mine who makes quilts, pot holders, etc. - you can find some really great vintage fabrics at thrift shops!  Look for sheets and curtains that are in good shape.  A lot of the vintage sheets are actually good quality and the patterns are unique and can be really beautiful.  Here's a link to my friend's blog and her Etsy shop.

Ok, now for the tutorial!  First you'll want to paint your lampshade if it's not already white.  My fabric is mostly white, so I didn't want the shell pattern on the shade to show through!  If you find a white lampshade, you can skip this step.

To measure out the fabric, just lay your lampshade on its side and using a pen or fabric marker, draw a line next to each side of the shade (top and bottom) as you roll the shade in one complete circle.

It's hard to see in this picture, but you can (sorta) see the two lines on the back of the fabric

You'll actually want to cut about an inch or so outside of the lines you just made and just a bit longer than what will fit around the shade.

I used hot glue, but you can use a spray glue or fabric glue.  Glue one end of the fabric to the lampshade then roll the shade up with the rest of the fabric.

TIP - I didn't do this, but I learned my lesson.... if you cut your fabric a little longer than needed, you can fold over the fabric and glue it at the seam.  It just looks a little nicer than what I did, which was just to cut off the excess fabric (leaving a rough edge).  See how I fixed this below.

Once your fabric is glued around the lampshade, you'll need to glue the excess fabric over the edges.  I knew my lamp would be right about eye-height, so I didn't take too much care making this look very neat.  If the lamp will be on a table where people may be able to see down inside the shade, you'll want to trim this over hang so it barely lays over the edge.

The bottom side is easy, just flip it under and glue it.

The top was a little more difficult since it has the place where it attaches to the lamp base.

Just cut a line into the fabric perpendicular to the edge of the shade to  get it to lay flat and go around the metal pieces.

At this point, you could stop.

I decided to add a little ribbon to the top and bottom of the shade for a little more detail.  I also added a strip down the back of the shade where the seam in the fabric is (just because my seam was a little messy).

Unfortunately you can sort of see the shells through the fabric, but only when the sun is shining right through it!  Even with the light on, you can't tell.  Next time I'll look a little harder and find a plain white shade to prevent this!

Here's the final product again:

I love the way it turned out and for about $6 total, I have a unique and chic lamp to go by my crafting desk for a little more light on these cloudy and rainy days (ick).

Good luck with creating your own custom lamp!