I know it might sound crazy, but I love old lampshades. There are so many unique shapes and sizes that I can’t pass them up when I see them at the dump reuse centre.
While they can be used for lamps and lights, I had something entirely different in mind for this pile I collected last year.
Prepping the Lampshades
To start this project, I had to remove the fabric from the lampshades I wanted to use. The easiest way to do this was to use a boxcutter or a straight-edged knife. This allowed me to slice the fabric to grab ahold of it to remove it.
Some of the fabric was glued in place so it took a little tugging, but eventually, it all came loose and the frames of the lampshades were revealed.
Here is what the lampshade looks like without the fabric. You can see the beautiful shape… does it remind you of anything?
I needed the lampshade to slip over a wooden pole so I removed the centre piece on most of the frames. Some wire cutters helped to snip away the centre pieces.
Painting the Lampshade Frames
To give the lampshade frames a little continuity, I painted them all white. I wasn’t worried about covering them completely but I didn’t want them silver either.
Creating the Base and Frame
To create the base for the tree, I used an old broom handle that I sanded the stain off. It was placed in a container of pre-mixed cement and once it was hardened, it was all slipped into a vintage stone crock.
I needed to give the lampshades a way to hang so I laid out the order of the lampshades and then wrapped thick jute twine around the pole at the spot each lampshade would hang. This provided a little ledge to catch the wires so the lampshades didn’t slip into one another.
Assembling the Christmas Tree
I finally slipped all of the wire lampshades onto the pole and the vision came to life. The last touch was to add some lights. I used thin, small lights on a copper wire that I could turn on remotely so I didn’t need to worry about having a plug nearby.
While I realize this Christmas tree might not be everyone’s cup of tea, I love that some old lampshades could be turned into a unique tree. It was the perfect way to save something old and recreate it into something new.
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Have you created anything unique out of old lampshades? I’d love to see it!
