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Easy DIY Ruffle Lamp

August 1, 2014 by Alli 6 Comments

A quick and easy DIY - upcycle an old thrift store lamp into something beautiful with a little spray paint and burlap!

A couple of years ago, I had been reading some crafty blogs. I’m not sure what overcame me, but I decided that I really wanted to “upcycle” something. I went to my local thrift store in search of something ugly, that I thought I could turn into something beautiful. I walked out with this little number… Everyone thought I was crazy for buying this lamp, and I kind of thought I was too 🙂

Turn an old, unattractive lamp into something beautiful!

Who wouldn’t love that shiny gold and baby blue combo?? Um… ok. It was horrendous.

Turn an old lamp into something beautiful with just a little spray paint and burlap!

And the lamp shade was… just as bad.

Don't throw out those old lamp shades just yet. Upcycle them into something beautiful!

It’s amazing what a little TLC can do! I coated the base with some spray-on primer (no sanding required!) and 2 coats of black spray paint. Spray paint is so easy to use – it took no time at all.

For the shade, I started by tearing off those dusty blue pleats that were probably older than I am. I decided to use burlap for my ruffles, so I cut my burlap into strips, about 1 1/2 inches wide. Then, using a hot glue gun, I glued the strips onto the shade, creating the ruffles as I went.

The ruffles were very easy to make. Just pinch a section, fold it over, and glue! I glued the first part of the ruffles down all the way. When I folded it back for the second part of gluing, though, I only glued the top (where my finger is) so it would flare out a bit at the bottom.

Use a hot glue gun to create beautiful no-sew ruffles!

Then just keep going with the ruffles! For part of the lamp, I created the ruffles first, then glued the strips onto the shade. For the other part I glued onto the shade as I made the ruffles, and I think that worked a lot better. When the shade was covered, I finished off the top with a little bias tape.

And here is the final result! Not too bad for a just a few dollars 🙂

A quick and easy DIY - upcycle an old thrift store lamp into something beautiful with a little spray paint and burlap! No sewing required!

Final Signature 175

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Filed Under: Crafts & DIY, DIY Projects, Uncategorized

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Comments

  1. Theresa @ AMomInTheMaking says

    August 1, 2014 at 3:46 pm

    Wow girl! I am impressed… It is making me think about the ugly lamps I have in my basement… they are truly the worst. A really terrible orange, it matched our carpet when we moved into our house. You know the kind of orange shag carpet that you could mow 🙂

    Maybe instead of giving those lamps a home on the curb I could make them beautiful… My wheels are spinning now 😉

    Reply
  2. Alli says

    August 1, 2014 at 8:35 pm

    Do it!! Then send me a pic 😉

    Reply
  3. Gwen Lords says

    August 3, 2014 at 2:27 pm

    Love how this turned out Alli! See you can be creative!

    Reply
  4. Alli says

    August 3, 2014 at 5:18 pm

    Thanks, Mom! I learned from the best 🙂

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 29 Creative DIY Lamp Design Ideas - Decorextra says:
    May 31, 2015 at 11:52 pm

    […] Source […]

    Reply
  2. DIY Lamps: Making Something Out of Nothing | Decozilla says:
    July 15, 2015 at 2:59 am

    […] Source: takingcareofmonkeybusiness […]

    Reply

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