Guest Post: Tracy from Mama Olie’s Musings

Tracy is visiting today from Mama Olie’s Musings with a tutorial on how to recover a lamp shade.

Hi! My name is Tracy and I blog over at Mama Olie’s Musings. I want to thank Allison so much for the opportunity to guest post for her while she is making the move to a new home and new adventure in her life.

First up…a little bit about me and my blog. I have 2 beautiful children and a wonderful husband who works very hard to support us while I hold down the home front. Mama Olie’s Musings (formerly Cut it Out!) has evolved from a scrapbooking/crafting blog to a healthy mix of just about everything. I still share layouts and cards, but those are now mixed in with recipes, everyday life, my quest to learn how to use my camera, home decor and organization.

This year I am on a mission to make my house a home (it is about time). I have found so many wonderful blogs that have given me inspiration and a push in the right direction. Someday (years from now) I will have that brand spankin new kitchen, finished basement, etc. etc. Until then, I want to be proud of my home so it is a DIY work in progress…on a budget. I have a long way to go, and the going is slow…but I would love for you to stick around for my journey.

Today – I want to share a simple tutorial for recovering a lamp shade:

What you will need:
-a lamp shade that is past its prime
-roll of paper
-fabric (enough to go around the lamp shade)
-ribbon (optional)
-trim (optional)
-high heat glue gun
-spray adhesive
-pencil
-scissors
-common pins

Step 1:
Lay the paper out flat on a table and place the lamp shade on the edge. I placed the seam on the edge of the paper for a reference point, however, you could always mark the lamp shade with your starting point if your shade doesn’t have a seam.

Step 2:
Begin rolling the shade onto the paper while tracing the top edge with a pencil. Continue doing this until you reach the seam or starting place again.

Step 3:
Return the shade to the edge of the paper and begin rolling on the paper again, this time tracing the bottom edge.

Step 4:

Cut out your traced pattern and pin to the wrong side of the fabric. Cut the fabric, following the pattern, but allowing at least a 1/4″ margin on all sides. Remove the pattern.

Step 5:

Step 6:

Apply trim/ribbon to the top and bottom of the shade if desired using a high heat glue gun. For the pom pom trim, I found it easier to secure the first piece to the shade and then pipe a line of glue around the shade, securing the trim as I went. With the ribbon, I secured the first piece to the shade, and then placed a dab of glue every few inches around the shade (not every part of the ribbon is secured with glue…but it isn’t going anywhere.)

That is it. If you have a different type of lamp shade, there are numerous tutorials on the Internet showing the process for all different shapes of shades. I am not one to reinvent the wheel, a google search pulled up pages of tutorials, some with pictures and videos, some without. I found this one helpful when recovering my shade…although I am a visual type of girl so some pictures would have been nice.

I want to thank Allison again for this opportunity. I hope you find the tutorial helpful. I would love for you to pop on over to my blog and visit me again.

Tracy

Thanks so much Tracy!
Love the lamp. I’ll have to try this out! 🙂