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12/11/11

Burlap Chandelier Shades ~ Made by Me!

We have a nice chandelier.  It has great bones. I really like the black iron scroll work and it goes with the cottage/rustic feel that we've got going right now. I believe every room needs a little bit of black. It's like punctuation...the room feels unfinished without it. So, we weren't going to turn this chandelier down when it was offered to us as a hand-me-down. Hand-me-downs are awesome!!!   (If only I had felt the same way when I was a little girl getting all of my big sister's hand-me-down clothing!  At least she had good taste in clothing.)   For some reason this chandy never felt quite right. It may be because it's slightly too large for our little dining room. But that wasn't gonna stop us from using it in there! This room opens up to our living room and there are black iron elements in there also, so I don't think it's because of the black.

Here they are BEFORE:


Pottery Barn has burlap chandelier shades on sale now, 3 for $39.00.  But I don't have $80.00 to spend updating my chandy!  

So I scoured the thrift store shelves until I found 6 chandelier shades for a buck a piece. I thought if I put my mind to it I could find a way to update some inexpensive shades myself.

This is what the thrift store shades looked like before I started my handy work:

I spread out my burlap, placed the chandelier shade on it's side and starting at the existing seam, I rolled it along the burlap and drew a line marking where I needed to cut.  I don't have a photo of this, unfortunately.  I don't have enough hands!  But it is pretty simple if you start at the seam and end at the seam.   I did the same thing for the top and bottom.  I cut out the burlap, leaving a little extra fabric at the top and bottom as well as some overlap at the seam end, to be safe. Then I took the spray adhesive and sprayed the outside of the chandelier shade liberally (I know that's a dirty word to some of you, sorry ;) ) and pressed the burlap to the shade.  I hot glued at the seam to hold it on and trimmed the excess from the bottom with little scissors.  I folded the burlap over the top edge and hot glued it down there also. 

Here is what they looked like at this point:

Now it's time for some trim:
I wrapped the single fold, BIAS TAPE along the top and bottom edge and hot glued it down.  The end was cut at a diagonal because that just looks so much prettier!
AND HERE THEY ARE AFTER:



16 comments :

  1. I think you did a great job. I so love burlap and they really look so much better then the glass shades. You sure were lucky to find 6 shades, I find 1 or 2, but never 6. I think your light really looks good and congrats on a great job. Thanks for sharing at Sunday's Best.

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  2. Awesome job! I love burlap projects, they are a lot of fun and you get such a bang for the buck. Thanks for sharing.

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  3. Hi Sherry,

    Firstly I want to thank you for visiting my blog and leaving such a nice message. I am very thankful to Roeshel for sharing my post.

    Your post above is fabulous, you have done such a perfect job of covering those lampshades, probably a much better job than pottery barn....and their not made in China :)

    I also want to take great photos, on my Christmas list this year is a new digital to improve my photography but I think that lighting is the trick and it's what lets me down a lot. I don't have all those fancy reflective instruments...hmmm that's given me an idea for a post.

    Anyway thank you for adding yourself as a follower, I will be having a good look at your blog this week but have to dash to see my mum right now.

    Thank you again

    Lee

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  4. These are so fabulous!! Thank you for linking up and I love the slipcovers too!!
    XO
    kristin

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  5. Your shades look wonderful! I have tried this, but mine don't look this good! My seams look horrible! Great job, found you at Not Just a Housewife, and I'm a new follower.

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  6. Simple touches of DIY mean so much on a chandy-- love your new shades :D

    Visiting from Crafty, Scrappy, Happy linky party,
    Smiles and thanks for sharing,
    ~Suzanne in NW IL

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  7. It's amazing how something so simple can make such a big difference. Love it and love your beautiful home. I'm a happy new follower. Pop over for a visit sometime.
    xoxo,
    Kim

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  8. Sherry, I commented on this piece earlier and saw it at another party too (my romantic home) and clicked around and just noticed you are from Portland. I'm in the Midwest now (Illinois) but I'm an Oregonian too (Portland/St. Johns, many moons ago). I always loved NW Portland though- that was my fave neighborhood to live in.

    Smiles, Suzanne

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  9. These are soooo NIFTY THRIFTY...love them!!!

    Blessings,
    Linda

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  10. This is absolutely perfect. So proud of how you found those shades for $1 each. Nicely done. :0 I also think it is wonderful how you took your inspiration image and never lost sight of where you were going. This turned out so great and I definitely do not think the chandelier is too big. I think it is just right and these shades will give it more of that rustic cottage look that you are going for. The glass shades are a bit more Tuscan. I am so happy that you linked this up to Motivated Monday at BeColorful. You inspire me.
    Pam

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  11. Totally fantastic!! Way to go creating the look for tons less. :-) Thanks for sharing this at Inspiration Friday!
    Vanessa

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  12. I absolutely LOVE this! Is there nothing burlap can't do??? Your chandelier looks wonderful, and you did a fabulous job! Thanks for your 3 great posts you shared at the Head to Head Showdown! ~Jen

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  13. These look great. What a simple, yet lovely transformation!

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  14. I really love this not before with the glass but with the lamp shades you did very nice lady

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