Table Lamp Transformation

 I have a lamp that I like a lot. It was handmade by a great-great-great uncle (I think that’s the number of greats, at least) in 1942. I recently had it rewired but haven’t purchased the entirely right shade for it yet. The shade I’ve been using doesn’t fit quite right, and it seemed a bit boring to me, so I decided to change it up a bit.

boring lampshade – before

I had an idea to wrap the shade in garden twine (jute). It seemed like a great idea until I was attacked by a yellow jacket! In my living room! In January! The poor thing had been lying dormant inside the roll of twine, but I guess by bringing it inside, shaking it up, and sticking my finger into the center of the roll I woke him up. So, much yelling and cursing ensued, followed by a stomped flat yellow jacket. The good news is after 37 years I now know I’m not allergic to wasp stings!

So back to the project. It turned out I didn’t have very many refill sticks for the hot glue gun, so I didn’t wrap the shade as much as I wanted to. I’ll have to add more twine once I get more glue. I like how it turned out so far, although my daughter asked me why I wanted it to look more “barnyardish”.

not-quite-as-boring lampshade – after