Marbleized Shades

With a couple of easy steps you can add swirls of color to purchased lampshades.

What You Need:

Make Dad a shade to match his
favorite room in the house.

Metal pan
Liquid starch
Acrylic paints in Dad's favorite colors
Skewer
Small lampshade
Waxed paper

Instructions:

Step 2

1. Pour liquid starch into the metal pan, filling about 1 inch. Drip desired colors of paint into starch. If the paint is thick, thin with water to the consistency of cream. Use no more than two colors of paint at one time. If more colors are desired, let the lampshade dry, clean the pan, and repeat the steps.

2. Use a skewer to gently swirl the paints in the starch. Do not overmix. The paint will float on top of the starch.

Step 3

3. Carefully roll the lampshade over the surface of the liquid. For darker designs, hold the shade in the solution longer.

4. Remove lampshade from the pan and let dry on waxed paper.

More Ideas:

For an even more artistic rendition, add hand-painted touches over the marbleizing.
As a finishing touch, you can glue rick rack or fringe to the top and bottom edges of the shade. Be sure to use glue that doesn't melt with heat!
Is Dad a sports fan? Top a sports-theme lamp with a shade painted in team colors.