Budget Anthropologie Tutorial: Well Defined Lampshade

As promised in my previous Budget Anthro post, I put together my own version of Anthro's Well Defined Lampshade! (See it together with my DIY vintage book lamp base!)

Materials I used :

1 plain Lampshade - $5 

(I used a cheap one I already had from Target, but you can use any plain colored lampshade; one with bold prints may show through the pages when the lamp is lit.)

1 bottle of Mod Podge - approx $8 for 16 oz bottle 

(I recommend getting the weekly coupons from Michaels and using that to purchase a bottle if you don't already have one!)

1 Thrifted Dictionary -$2 

(You can use any old book, but I easily found a vintage dictionary at a local thrift store. You only need about 10-15 pages of a decent sized book. My book was a little over 9 x 11")

Scissors, Paint brush or Foam brush ( I switched to a foam brush after trying a large paint brush, it worked a lot better for me!) and Tray for Mod Podge (I used a Chinese food takeout container)

Project total: $15 (though I only spent an extra $2 since I already had mod podge and a lampshade.)

Keep in mind, Mod Podge can get messy so put something down to protect your work surface! I used some Kraft paper that came in a shipment box.

Cut your pages into strips, then into smaller rectangles, trimming the empty space around the text. You can cut as large or as small pieces as you would like, depending on the look you want. I tried to get close to the size used on the Anthro version, though I probably could have gone a little smaller.

Begin applying page pieces by first painting a layer of Mod Podge directly onto the lamp shade, then place pieces onto shade, and paint Mod Podge over the piece, smoothing out bubbles with your fingers and wrapping paper over edges of shade.

Repeat this process and continue to cover shade with book page pieces. I did 3 layers of pages, you can do as many as you want to get the look you want when the lamp is turned on. Fewer layers = more light coming through the shade. 

Let each layer dry before you do the next, and pay attention to pieces bubbling! Smooth them out gently with your fingers.

This is how the shade looks with 1 and 2 layers of pages respectively.

 

By the third layer your shade should look like this! 

 

Do a final top coat of Mod Podge to seal everything up, and you're done! Easy peezy lemon squeezy.

Enjoy your new lampshade, and thanks for reading!