I seem to be dreaming about
lamps and lampshades lately. Every
old fashioned, broken or damaged lamp or shade I come across speaks to me as a
project just waiting to be upcycled.
My son understands this about me and “gifted” me with a lamp to fix
up. It has nice lines and a pewter
finish. It used to have a purple
glass globe forming the column.
But it became a bit wobbly, fell over and broke. Well once again, ribbon to the
rescue!
First I had to stabilize
the base so it wouldn’t wobble anymore.
Most wobbly lamps simply need to be tightened. You might need to remove a covering on the underneath side
of the base to check the nut that holds the lamp assembly tight. If you tighten that and your lamp still
wobbles, look for other nuts closer to the socket that might need
tightening. It is such an easy
fix! Inspect the wiring to be sure
there are no breaks or tears that could be a fire hazard. If it looks troublesome, you can pick
up a re-wiring kit at the hardware store and do it yourself. It is a fairly simple project.
I wrapped the column with a
length of ribbon to cover the metal.
Then I simply tied on 6”-8” lengths of ribbon clustering them closely to
fill it out. It was fun, inexpensive
and very easy!
For my shade, I used
another fabulous Thrift Shop linen skirt.
What a find! The cutout
design around the hem of the skirt was just perfect for the look I wanted to
achieve. I had to fiddle with it a
bit to get the fullness that looked proportional. I left the lining of the skirt intact for extra
support. At the top edge I made a
narrow hem, then a casing. I was
going to pull ribbon or string through the casing to draw it up but ended up
using a piece of 1/4” elastic.
That provided it a little give and made it easier to adjust the
fullness. When I had it looking
the way I want, I simply stitched around the elastic and the top frame of the
shade to keep it secure.
I seem to be dreaming about
lamps and lampshades lately. Every
old fashioned, broken or damaged lamp or shade I come across speaks to me as a
project just waiting to be upcycled.
My son understands this about me and “gifted” me with a lamp to fix
up. It has nice lines and a pewter
finish. It used to have a purple
glass globe forming the column.
But it became a bit wobbly, fell over and broke. Well once again, ribbon to the
rescue! 
I wrapped the column with a
length of ribbon to cover the metal.
Then I simply tied on 6”-8” lengths of ribbon clustering them closely to
fill it out. It was fun, inexpensive
and very easy!
For my shade, I used
another fabulous Thrift Shop linen skirt.
What a find! The cutout
design around the hem of the skirt was just perfect for the look I wanted to
achieve. I had to fiddle with it a
bit to get the fullness that looked proportional. I left the lining of the skirt intact for extra
support. At the top edge I made a
narrow hem, then a casing. I was
going to pull ribbon or string through the casing to draw it up but ended up
using a piece of 1/4” elastic.
That provided it a little give and made it easier to adjust the
fullness. When I had it looking
the way I want, I simply stitched around the elastic and the top frame of the
shade to keep it secure.
