Lampshade makeover

This has been a project a long time in the making. I was so thrilled when I found my beloved Pottery Barn-esque chandelier at IKEA for 35 bucks. It didn't come with shades, but that was okay, because I would keep an eye out for the *perfect* ones. I didn't know exactly what I was looking for, but I would when I saw them.

That was 5 years ago.

And here we are. I still have my "temporary" cream colored clip-on shades I got at Michael's on clearance. Ugh. Thankfully, after a post from Nester about her fabulous thrifting finds, I was inspired. She got her perfect ones for less than $1. Some girls have all the luck...

Inspiration? Check.

Here's what I did...

First, I had to figure out the exact size and shape of the shades for a pattern. This was harder for me than it looked, since it involved, like, math and stuff. I think I needed a protractor or graphing calculator or something. I never was much good at math. Anyway...

Much swearing and frustration later, I decided to "build" a pattern. I used what I had handy, the Ace sale paper, of course. I cut it into strips and taped it around the shade until I could peel it off and make it into a pattern. This was tedious and a huge pain in the butt. Don't follow this step. There's definitely a better way.

Next time, I will save the paper wrapper!

Then I Modpodged the crap out of it. The Modpodge kind of works like Fraycheck, so the raw edges are okay.

Now this is where I got impatient and quit. I had to see what they looked like, so I put them up. I think I'll still put grosgrain ribbon or some other trim along the edges, but for now, they're totally fine. And who can see the details up there anyway??

I love the way they turned out and how my dining room looks now!