Decoupaged Lampshade Makeover

4 Materials
$5
4 Hours
Easy

This decoupaged lampshade makeover is an easy way to give a plain shade a fun and colorful new look.

I've had this one dollar thrifted very sturdy lampshade for what seems like forever, and it was long overdue for a makeover.


For this project I'm using my stash of postage stamps, which I've organized by color.


I'm not a stamp collector, but I love the way they look. These stamps were purchased specifically with crafting in mind.

This is the kind of project that you just have to jump right into, without giving it much thought.


If I think about this kind of thing too much, I might never get started at all.


I just applied decoupage medium on to the lampshade, and put the stamps in place.

As I went along, I smoothed out the stamps with my fingers.

This is very much like a puzzle, especially when you make your way towards the bottom of the lampshade.

It's helpful to have different sizes of stamps to pull from.

That way you can fill different sized spaces.

After you've applied one coat of the decoupage medium to the stamps you can easily trim them with an xacto knife. The trick is to let the blade do the work. You don't need any pressure at all.I


If you fold the stamps over onto the other side of the lampshade you'll be able to see that when it's lit up, so it's best to cut the bits off.

I finished all four sides, just sort of winging it as I went.

And then I trimmed off the final corners.

A light sanding with a fine grit sanding block s a good idea to smooth down any bits that might be sticking out on the corners.

Also, it's a good idea to do this on the flat surfaces too, but make sure to support the lampshade with a hand underneath.


And this is just a light sanding, not much pressure needed.

I gave the decoupaged lampshade three light coats of the decoupage medium, with a light sanding in between.

At this point you could glue some kind of trim around the top and bottom if you wanted to, but I kept it natural because it goes with the outlines of the stamps.

You could also put some kind of trim down the outside corners, but again I decided to keep it as is.

There's no right or wrong here. It's really just about personal preference.

And here's one side lit up so you can see how it looks. It takes on a sort of antique-ish feel because of the creamy color of the lampshade material underneath.

Here's the before in my guest room.

And the after.


I wanted a colorful sort of random mosaic look, so my focus was on the colors and shapes of the stamps.


You could easily use stamps that are all one color, or you could go crazy and use one color per side. it's really all about getting a look that you love.


If you enjoyed this project click here to check out more decoupage projects on my blog.

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  1 question
  • Jlnatty Jlnatty on Aug 01, 2020

    How much did the project cost - the stamps, the Modge Podge, etc. and about how long did it take you to put this all together? Oh, and where did you buy the cancelled stamps?

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  • Elise Elise on Aug 01, 2021

    I love this! As a child I was an avid collector with 2 thick books, 100 blocks of 1st day additions going back to 1925 and lots of books to help educate. Packed them around for years. Went to a stamp show- they weren’t worth what everyone believed, was told to use them on letters & gave the books away to kids wanting to collect. If you have an upside down airplane stamp well that’s valuable. Now I wish I’d kept them for my lamp. Yours is beautiful!

  • Alicesfrakes Alicesfrakes on Aug 02, 2021

    I did one ( lamp shade) in my kitchen using labels from can goods and one using only coca cola labels for a friend !!

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