How to Make a Leaf Lampshade

Instead of spending a lot of money on a fancy new lampshade, I made my own using an old lampshade and a few materials.

Materials: lampshade, rice paper, craft glue, and pressed leaves.

Step 1: Remove material on lampshade.  Be careful not to put too much pressure on the hard plastic or you can crack the shade.

Step 2: Cut out rice paper to fit the lampshade with about an inch of excess on all sides  You want excess paper so you don't come up short!  A helpful hint is to make a pattern by rolling the lampshade on a large piece of packaging paper. This way you have a pattern for future projects and you don't risk wasting the rice paper in case you trace incorrectly.  For large lampshades, you may need to have 2 pieces of paper because the rice paper roll is narrow.  Rice paper can be purchased at craft stores such as Michael's. 

Step 3:  Apply the glue.  In the picture above you can see globs of glue; it doesn't take much to cover a large area. 

Step 4: Smooth out the glue and add leaves.  If the glue isn't spread out, there will be dark areas on the lampshade when you turn on the light.

Step 5: Lay the rice paper over the leaves and lampshade.  I like to crinkle up the paper a little bit to give it texture.  Note: glue is not put on top of the leaves. 

This is what it should look like before the top and bottom paper is trimmed.

Step 6: Cut off excess rice paper on the top and bottom of the lampshade leaving a little excess.  Apply a little glue along the edge and then wrap the paper around the ring.  Don't leave too much paper on the inside of the shade because it will show when the lamp is illuminated.  In the picture above you can see the strip of tape that was removed from the bottom of the lampshade.  Most shades come with tape because it holds the hard plastic to the metal ring.  You don't have to remove the tape but I do because it gives the shade a cleaner look (in my opinion).