How to Craft a Leather Lamp Shade

The look of time worn leather always adds an elegant and old world appeal to home decor. You can use this project to spruce up your old lamp shades and give them an air of sophistication. Learn how to make your own faux leather lamp shade with these easy to follow directions.

Materials:

A fabric or paper lamp shade
a jar decoupage glue (glossy finish)
a package of metallic copper color tissue paper (in gift wrap dept.)
1" paint brush
craft acrylic paint in contrasting color
small sponge

Directions:

Before you start your faux leather lamp shade, wipe the lamp shade with a damp cloth to remove any dust and let it dry. Now tear the tissue paper into large pieces. Be sure to keep the length of the tissue paper long enough to reach from the top of the lamp shade to bottom of the lamp shade, extending the tissue paper a 1/2" on both ends.

Now you are ready to begin adding the tissue paper to create the faux leather look on the lamp shade. Take a strip of tissue paper and paint the glue onto the back side of the paper (not the shiny side). Working from the top to the bottom apply the paper to the lamp shade. Smooth out any wrinkles. Attach the second piece of tissue paper in the same manner, overlapping the first piece by a 1/2". Continue applying the tissue paper until the entire lamp shade is covered.

Once you have finished covering the lamp shade, add glue to the 1/2 inch underside of the paper and fold over the top and bottom rims of the lamp shade. If you would like to add more texture to your faux leather lamp shade, simply rip and add a few more pieces of the tissue paper.

Let the faux leather lamp shade dry completely. Once the shade has dried, you can add depth and shading to the faux leather lamp shade using the contrasting acrylic paint and sponge. Pour a small amount of the acrylic paint onto a paper plate. Lightly pounce the sponge into the paint and dab along the paper plate a few times to remove some of the excess paint. You just want a thin coat of paint remaining on the sponge. Pounce the sponge lightly onto the faux leather lamp shade, creating depth. Let dry.

Once the paint has dried, cover the entire faux leather lamp shade with another coat of glue. You can use a clean sponge or damp washcloth to tap on the surface of the wet glue to add even more texture. Let the lamp shade dry completely. You are now ready to use your faux leather lamp shade.

Hint:If you would like to embellish your faux leather lamp shade, you can add fringe on the bottom or apply some brass head upholstery pins.