Decor 101 ( not! )

Ever have those days when you need to revamp a room TODAY - no matter what - it just can't wait? Yes, yes of course you do, so you will have no problem understanding that the revamp bug bit me today and well, there is just no going back once you start is there? My real dilemma was that I needed a lampshade. There is nowhere near me that sells lampshades that I can afford or like enough to put in my home so naturally I turned to the oppie. Always a good alternative I think but it was soooo cold today - I really wasn't keen to go out - but you know the bug had bit and I had an itch to scratch so off I went. I jumped in the trusty vehicle, cranked the heater and set forth. When I got to the store, the wind was obviously blowing in from the Arctic as my teeth nearly fell out of my head when I breathed in - truly - I am not exaggerating here! (maybe a little). So the only lampshade available was for a kids room but I was undeterred - I just couldn't face going on a hunt so I quickly parted with my two bucks and scurried home before I froze. I figured I would just work a little lampshade alchemy - how hard can it be I thought? Well, it is trickier than it looks so I thought I would share my adventure with you ...

Cute as Winnie is, this wasn't quite the look I was going for.

A quick coat of white paint (I only had some ceiling white so we will see how that goes!)

Big tip - wait for the paint to dry before you wrap the baking paper around the shade to make a pattern - so impatient! It took more than one go to get the right shape - and I had to join the baking paper which does in fact REPEL sticky tape - it got a little messy.

The fabric I chose out of the cupboard still had its label - love the idea of "no iron" but I ironed anyway - it had a 25 year old crease in it - boy it was stubborn!

A proper sewer might even have pinned the pattern to the fabric when they were cutting it out - meh!

Ok, so if I had pinned and cut accurately the edges would have been neater ... I fired up the hot-glue gun and stuck the fabric to the shade around the edges and hoped for the best.

Next, a bit of a rummage in the ribbon/braid department .

Hot glue again - braid and ric-rac covering up the unsewn, dodgy edges. Y'know hot-glue guns are great tools but what is the deal with all that stringy crap that seems to get on everything?

 Ta-Da!! Here 'tis on its rather dull base ( maybe I should paint it red?) - looking quite spiffy.

And in situ. It doesn't sit as snugly over the shade as it should and sadly Winnie is still a visible silhouette when the lamp is on but I satisfied the urge to redecorate, it cost me $2 and no doubt I will be better at it next time! Fortunately I have acres of that fabric if I want to make a better one but for the time being I am pretty satisfied - besides, I have run out of glue sticks!