50 DIY Lampshade and Lighting Projects

Make Your Own Lampshades with my Lampshade Craft Book, The Lampshade Lady’s Guide to Lighting up Your Life, Potter Craft, Crown Publishing, 2009!  Step by step instructions and sources for making your own lampshades. I share 27 years of tips and tricks of the trade.

Vintage White on White Embroidery Lampshade

Hit the flea market or Grandma’s Attic and see what YOU can find to make decorative lampshades. They’ll “light up your life”!

Vintage French Ticking                                                                 Vintage Feedsack Fabrics

I have a few workshops a year, usually in April and sometimes Fall Foliage

Students with Their Prize!
Great job gang!!

There is also lots of FREE DIY Projects on my Lampshade Lady Blog. Here is one of the most popular posts on making DRUM SHADES; they are pretty easy to make and so hard to find in shops. And of course sourcing is ALWAYS a tricky thing, check out this post! Using the correct materials is HALF the battle when making lampshades. The Lamp Shop in Concord, NH is one of the main distributors of lampshade materials. Here is a VERY important post I did on my blog about using the “right stuff”, must reading for the new lampshade makers!!! It answers many of the repeated questions I receive from befuddled lampshade makers. Of course I enjoy the emails and calls!

As I say in my workshops, I can teach you to make lampshades in one day, but it’s taken my 27 years to learn ALL the tricks of the trade. There is always something to learn about lighting and we can always become better designers!!