DIY Lamp Update

School holidays have finished, and we are now back into the regular routine. Our holiday was filled with a bit of relaxing, and a lot of fun with family and friends. There was our annual big family group visit to the Sydney Royal Easter Show, along with the usual Easter bun and chocolate egg eating; my birthday; and my cousin’s wedding! So that’s why things were a bit quiet here on the blog.

Anyway…now I’m back 😉

Recently, Annabel over at The Bluebirds Are Nesting had a post about using pretty, old sheets in ‘new’ ways. And I’ve been following Sweet Melanie for a long time, she makes some beautiful furnishings with sheets. And I got to thinking…

I have a pair of lamps that mum bought me when I moved out of home. They are practically vintage! Well, not quite lol. I like them, but I don’t use them much and they need a revamp.

So I pulled out an old, pretty blue floral sheet I’d saved and decided it was going to become new lampshades!

Like I did with the pyjama shorts recently, I used the existing shades as a pattern for the new ones.

Removing them from the lamps, and cutting out the perished elastic, I found that they were simple tubes of fabric. So I laid the old one on top of my sheet, and cut two lengths of fabric, one for each lamp.

I used the hem from the bottom of the sheet, so I only had to hem one side myself. Once the top and bottom were hemmed, I joined the short sides together.

Then it was just a matter of threading an appropriate amount of elastic through each hem – a short length for the top hem, longer for the bottom.

A narrower strip of fabric became the tie. I didn’t even bother hemming that!

I did tie them with a big floppy bow like the originals (rear), but think they look much better without (front).

They were very quick to make – both done by lunchtime! They remind me of the lamps my grandmother had beside the beds in the guest rooms.

Our bedroom walls are painted a soft green, so these look lovely against them. As for the pink table, that was my other grandmother’s old sewing table 🙂 I painted it pink a few years ago when I decided to use it as my bedside table.

I really like how they’ve turned out! I think they look a bit ‘cosier’ than the plain cream they were originally

I wouldn’t use the floral sheet on the bed, so I think it has been put to a much better use. And saved it from being tossed out. Winning!

Linking up with:

Nifty Thrifty Things, Love of Home – Sundays at Home, My Husband Has Too Many Hobbies – Snickerdoodle Create, Bake, Make, That Recipe – Happiness is Homemade, Plucky’s Second Thought – Cooking and Crafting With J&J, Claire Justine – Creative Mondays, Create With Joy – Inspire Me Monday, I Should Be Mopping the Floor – Inspiration Monday, The DIY Mommy – The Creative Corner, Yesterday on Tuesday – Project Inspired, My Husband Has Too Many Hobbies – Brag About it, DIY 180 – Dishing it and Digging it, Lou Lou Girls, Our Home Away From Home – Tuesdays at Our Home, Epic Mommy Adventures – Turn it Up Tuesday, Cedar Hill Farmhouse – The Scoop, The DIY Dreamer – From Dream to Reality, Oh My Heartsie Girl – Wonderful Wednesday, Savvy Southern Style – Wow us Wednesday, Claire Justine – Wednesday Blog Hop, Little Bits of Home – Dream. Create. Inspire, 21 Rosemary Lane – Share Your Style, Coombe Mill – Trash 2 Treasure,