Cool Personal Stuff

Give your room a hip new look when you decorate a plain lampshade with bright-colored paper designs, beads, and trims.

• Smooth lampshades
• Bright-colored tissue papers
• Gold and blue vellum scrapbook paper
• Beaded trim or ribbon trim
• Paper punches: star, spiral, large circle, and 1/4-inch-diameter circle
• Mod Podge decoupage medium
• Small paintbrush
• Hot-glue gun and glue sticks

1. Download the free patterns for this project. (Downloading requires Adobe Acrobat software.)

Funky Lampshade -- Flowers

Funky Lampshade -- Space

Download Adobe Acrobat

2. Use the patterns as your guide to cut out tissue-paper shapes.

3. Punch the detail shapes on each piece before attaching them to the shades. The paper punch works better on heavyweight handmade tissue papers. If you want to punch regular tissue paper, stack four sheets and punch them together.

4. Carefully brush Mod Podge on the back of a tissue paper cutout; then gently apply it to the lampshade. Smooth out wrinkles and bubbles with your fingertips. Continue applying cutouts until you're pleased with all sides of the lampshade. Let it dry.

5. Brush a thin coat of Mod Podge over the tissue-paper designs to ensure that they're firmly anchored to the shade. Let it dry.

6. Ask a grownup for a helping hand with this step. Hot-glue beaded trim or ribbon trim along the bottom edge of the lampshade, allowing the beads or sequins to hang below the lampshade and reflect the light.