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Monday, April 23, 2012

Make Your Own Pottery Barn Grain Sack Lamp Shades


This is the story of how two thrift store lamps, a vintage suitcase, and a mini trophy cup changed to whole course of the bedroom decor...in an afternoon.  During nap time.  I even rearranged all of the furniture.
AGAIN!!
Funny how just a few simple items can do that to you.

It all started with these fabulous lamps that I found at the Salvation Army on Friday.
Yep...you read that price tag correctly...$5.00!
I needed them because Jack {the naughty puppy} chewed the cord on my favorite bedside lamp and then proceeded to knock the remaining matching one over about a month later - completely breaking it in half.
Anyway, I've needed some new lamps for awhile now but let's face it, they're expensive!


So I'm in the Salvation Army looking for something totally unrelated when this pair of lamps seemed to jump out at me.  It was love at first sight. 

But of course, I couldn't leave without this vintage suitcase or mini trophy cup either! 

Okay, so back to the lamps...

I had every intention of just using my existing drum shades on these new lamps, but when I got home, I happened to see these amazing Pottery Barn lamp shades here on Pinterest.
I couldn't stand it!

I HAD to make some for myself!
So I did. 


First, I made slipcovers out of some leftover drop cloth.
Then I just pulled them onto the lampshades that I already had...


...like this.


Then I taped off my pattern and used this method here for painting on the grain sack stripes.


Here they are all finished in the bedroom.  Pottery Barn inspired lamp shades.  Turns out I like these lamps even better than the ones that Jack broke.  I'm so glad that I came across those PB shades on Pinterest.  The best part?  They didn't cost me a dime.  {I already had everything I needed to make them}



I love them!

~ ~ ~

Have a wonderful evening!
xo and God Bless,
Kathleen

15 comments:

  1. I truly thought they were PB lampshades...great job. The lamp bases were a wonderful find too!

    Jane
    Flora Doora

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  2. Brilliant idea. I think they are beautiful!

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  3. What a GREAT idea! I've been thinking of alternate uses for duck cloth and this is fabbulous!

    Kathleen

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  4. Brilliant! I never thought of slipcovering a shade. Pinning! ~ Maureen

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  5. How serendipitous!

    Lamps *are* expensive, and here you have two for $10!

    Lovely!

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  6. Lucky you!!! Finding a pair of lamps. They are very handsome indeed. The shades are the absolute best...great job!

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  7. You are awesome - those lamps are beautiful! You are inspiring. Thanks for sharing.

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  8. hello! what a lovely blog! I am 10 days away from moving into my new house (out of the townhome, into a home with room for a garden!!!!). I am a bit frazzled, your blog is a bit like the rosewater I splashed on today to perk myself up :-) I am at www.sharis-orchidandmayhem.blogspot.com. I am very happy I found this, and your delightful family of links. Wonderful downtime when I have to decompress.

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  9. Your slipcovered shades turned out every bit as wonderful as PB's. Great job. You have inspired me to try something similar. Thanks

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  10. Hi there - I've just discovered you, thanks to Knock Off Decor. Your blog is fantastic. Thanks for existing! I have a question for you regarding creating a grain sack stripe effect - I see that you used fabric marker but I'd like to know if it can be done with paint and if so, what kind? Many thanks, Debra.

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  11. Hi Debra,

    Thank you so much for stopping by and for your comment! To answer
    your question, yes, you can definitely use paint. If you want to be
    able to wash the fabric after painting it, I would recommend using
    either fabric paint or adding fabric medium to your paint. For my
    lampshades, I actually used Tulip brand fabric paint in black. If you
    will be painting fabric that you won't need to wash, you can just use
    any acrylic paint (Apple Barrel, Tulip, Folk Art are a few brands that
    I have used in the past).

    Thanks again for stopping by!

    Kathleen

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  12. The lamps look great!

    Love the grain sack idea. May have to try that with some pillow covers I've been meaning to buy (but may now make!)

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  13. Such an amazing site with amazing ideas! I love your style. I want to use some of your ideas. I am trying to put a room together around the terre e provence pottery my sister gave me. Thanks for the ideas!

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  14. Absolutely loving your blog and all your amazing ideas! New follower!

    Jenna @ http://rainonatinroof.com

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Thank you so much for stopping by. I really appreciate your comments...I read every one and hope that you'll visit again!