Shabby Chic Lamp Inexpensive Update

This DIY shabby chic lamp is a labour of love.  My sons found it in my brother’s apartment and I remember this ugly thing sitting on his dresser.  Hubs had stored it in the garage and I knew I was not going to be able to just toss it away broken glass and all.  Thankfully the electrical part works just fine.  This may go in my grand daughter’s bedroom at their home, otherwise,  I am putting it in their guest room.
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The initial plan was to use it as part of a craft room destash challenge. Paint it, cover it with tulle and then add a large ribbon and flowers around the outside of the lamp to finish it.  Unfortunately, the lamp shade was the wrong shape for my idea.
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If this lamp hadn’t been my brothers I would have replaced the lampshade with a thrift store find.  As I wanted to keep the lamp as original as possible, the tulle went back into the stash and I went to the fabric store.

DIY Shabby Chic Lamp Tutorial

To make your own diy shabby chic lamp you will need:

An old lamp in safe working condition

Curtain Lace with a fused edge

Thin coordinating ribbon

Here is how the lamp looked before.  Not sure when the glass was broken.  The other piece of the glass was missing. So I couldn’t glue or paint them in any way so I tossed them.

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Always make sure the electrical workings of the lamp are working and in good repair.   Then remove the shade and the glass.  Once the lamp is disassembled give everything a good wash in Dawn, vinegar, hot water and then let dry really well.

Paint the Lamp

The base of this lamp was painted with two coats of linen white chalk paint.  The lampshade was spray painted with leftover white chalk paint.  Make sure to cover all surfaces very well.  It will likely take two coats dried well between each coat.  I like it better already.

Sew the Lampshade

The fabric I used is inexpensive lace curtain material.  It has a really pretty lace edging that requires no hemming.  To make sure I had enough of the finished lace edging I purchased two metres of the fabric.

Measure the height of the lamp shade and add two inches to give you the height of your material. Measure the circumference of the widest portion of your shade, multiply by 1.5 to get the width of your material and leave extra for gathers.  Cut your fabric.

Fold the top edge of the material over 1/4 inch and iron.  Fold the fabric over again at 1 inch.  Then iron and sew along the bottom edge.  Then make a second seam 1/4 inch from the top.  This will leave you a  space to feed your ribbon through.
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Fold your fabric in half good sides together.  Match the lace trim on the bottom and pin in place.   Sew the short seam together forming a loop.

Thread the Ribbon

Make two small cuts near the short seam of the fabric for the ribbon.  Feed the ribbon into the fabric through one hole and pull it out through the other small hole.

Place your fabric onto the lamp shade,  gather the fabric as you like and pull the ribbon tightly around your lampshade.  Tie the ribbon into a pretty bow.   If the lamp is going where active little ones may knock it around simply tack the fabric to the lampshade base in a couple spots.
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This is the perfect lamp for a little girls room.  It’s cute and girlish and best of all washable.

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As I had the leftover fabric from the upper portions of the curtain material leftover, I used the material to make a shabby chic hat box to match.
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