If you need to transform an old lampshade and give it a polish, then decoupage technique will be ideal. Such a budget lamp, made by hand, will give new life to the plafond and will fully match your interior.
What do you need for decoupage?
To carry out work in the decoupage technique, you will need the following set of accessories:
- directly the lampshade itself;
- napkins, drawings or printed fragments of pictures;
- fabric for decoupage;
- scissors;
- brush;
- primer;
- acrylic paints;
- PVA glue or special glue for decoupage;
- acrylic varnish (varnish or glossy);
- craquelure (necessary when you want to artificially age a thing);
- putty or structural paste to give the desired volume in certain places of the lampshade.
Some components can be replaced with alternatives, depending on the desired result.
How to make a decoupage lampshade?
First you need to completely disassemble the lampshade. It is better to wash and dry the plafond thoroughly. Then it must be degreased and covered with several coats of primer or acrylic paint. Glue is applied on top of the dried primer layer.
When the entire lampshade is covered with a layer of glue, attach your chosen fabric, paper or napkin. When using fabric or paper, you need to iron it with a warm iron before work, and only the top layer is needed from the napkin. If you use a printed picture, then it must be pre-treated with varnish, and the fabric is covered with the same glue as the shade, but only on one side.
Carefully place the prepared patterns on the lampshade, combining the patterns, and be sure to smooth them out so as to remove all air bubbles accumulated under the material. On the rounded sections of the plafond, it is better to cut a little tissue or napkin. This will avoid unnecessary seams and overlays.
When the pattern is laid out over the entire surface of the lampshade, it must be carefully covered with glue. You need to use a brush for this, but you need to act very carefully, especially when working with such a thin material as a napkin.
Then the product should dry completely. On average, this takes about a day. The lampshade should dry out completely.
If you want to add extra volume to some of the details of the lampshade, or to make your own new elements, use a structural paste, and to give an old look to the selected picture or pattern, you will need craquelure. There will be small cracks in the material and the final version will look like it was a custom-made vintage lampshade.
Before finishing decorating the lampshade, cover it with a layer of varnish, let it dry. The work is over, you can assemble a new decor object.
By the way, you can apply the decoupage technique not only to the lampshade, but to do the same with other parts of the lamp, for example, the place where the lampshade is attached or its very leg. This technique will help to complete the decor.
