How to Make a Nature Lamp Shade

Summer and the trips I have been making up to the house we are building in Minnesota have given me many new craft project ideas. The house we are building is in a remote area in the woods and I strive to keep the decor very natural. I saw a lamp shade that I loved at a flea market and decided that it would be easy enough to make something similar myself.

If you are looking for a craft project that will not take a lot of money or time, this might be just the project for you. The first thing you have to do is decide what nature items you will want to use for your lamp. You might choose leaves or flowers or even twigs. Anything that is not too big or thick will work fine for this homemade lamp shade. Here is what you will need to get started.

Items Needed For Nature Lamp Shade
1. A plain white lamp shade
2. Parchment paper
3. Leaves, flowers, or twigs
4. Ribbon
5. A hot glue gun
6. Liquid glue
7. A paint brush
8. Scissors

How To Assemble The Homemade Nature Lamp Shade
You will want to start by laying out the items you will be using on the lamp shade. Gather these items from your yard or if you would rather purchase items you will find a very nice selection here. Group twigs or leaves so that they will lay as smooth as possible on the shade. You will find that it takes very little to give the shade a very natural look.

Plug in your hot glue gun and give it a chance to heat up the glue. Use very small drops of hot glue on the plain white lamp shade and add your flowers or leaves and twigs one at a time. Press each item that you glue to the shade so that it lays as flat as possible. Take your time and add a bit in different areas of the lamp shade as you work your way around it.

Adding Parchment Paper Covering To Nature Lamp Shade
Parchment paper can be found at many places and comes in a great variety of thickness. For this project you will want to use a very sheer parchment paper. You can purchase it at most craft stores but you can also find a very nice variety by clicking here. I used a medium to light shade on the homemade lamp shade in pictured with this article.

The first thing you will want to do is to pour your liquid glue in to a bowl. You will need to use your paintbrush to lightly paint the glue over your entire lamp shade. It is important that you work fast when applying the glue to the shade so that it will still be nice and wet when you apply your parchment paper.

After you apply the glue to the full lamp shade, carefully cover the entire shade with your parchment paper. Cut the paper so that there is a bit of an edge left and fold the edge in so you can glue it as a seem. Cut off most of the excess paper from the top and bottom of the lamp shade but leave enough to fold it inside the shade.

Finishing Touches
Now that you have your shade fully covered, you will want to finish it off by adding your ribbon to the top and bottom edges of the nature lamp shade. Use your hot glue gun to run a thin line of glue all along the inner and outer edge of the top of the shade. Fold your ribbon evenly as you work your way around and attach it to the glue.

Do the same for the bottom of the lamp shade to finish it off. Use your scissors to cut away any excess ribbon on both the top and the bottom of the homemade lamp shade.

This shade will make you smile every time you light it up and realize that you made it yourself. It is beautiful even when it is not lit but when you light it up and the leaves or flowers shine through, it is amazing. I hope you enjoyed this homemade craft project. If you liked this idea, you might want to click here for more of my craft and hobby articles.

Sources:
http://www.staples.com

http://www.michaels.com