DIY: Chandelier Shade Covers

This is what I was up to over the weekend – working on a production line.   I started making some holiday chandelier shade covers for my foyer chandelier and the project kind of morphed into making enough different covers to be able to change the covers on my chandelier on a whim or seasonally.    Looking at them all lined up like this reminds me of the chandelier shades in the Ballard Designs catalog.

This is what my chandelier looks like.  I re-did this chandelier back in the Spring.  You can read about it here – Thrifty Chandelier.  I painted the shades using my summer colors.  Now that the holidays are approaching, it was time to update them using my holiday color scheme – which is lime green, pink, and purple.

While thrifting over the summer I found these 6 brand new cloth shades for .99 cents a piece. I didn’t like the color but I knew I could cover them with scrapbook paper.

Materials Needed:

You can make these shade covers on a larger scale by using gift wrap or wallpaper in place of the scrapbook paper.

How to Make the Beaded Base for the Shades

The poster board base acts as a buffer between the actual shade and the scrapbook paper covers.  If you don’t want to add beads you don’t really need this base. The other reason you may want the base is that it stops the light from shining through the paper and changing the way the the paper looks when the light is on.

1.  Lay poster board on work surface and roll shade to make a pattern.  Use a pencil to draw the lines. I used a marker to demonstrate, but you don’t want any dark marks showing through the shade when the light is on.   Cut out and use this as your template to make  your shade covers.

2.  Thread a pin through each crystal bead. I used 8 per shade and spaced them 2″ a part. I marked these increments on my template so I could easily mark the rest of the covers.

3.  Use brand name tape or a high quality tape to tape each crystal/pin to the back side of the poster board base cover.  Inexpensive tape doesn’t hold very well.   Make sure each pin is secure by rubbing over the tape with your fingers.

4.  For extra holding power.  Tape bottom half of pin down.  Bend top part of pin over taped down section and add another piece of tape. This will keep the pins from slipping out over time.  (Sorry I don’t have a photo of this. Will add one soon.)

5. Turn over. It should look like this.

6. Wrap around the shade and use Tacky Glue to secure the ends to form a shade cover.  This will be the base for scrapbook paper covers that can easily be changed out on a whim.

The poster board bases covering the shades.

How to Make the Scrapbook Paper Shade Covers

The shade covers are made the same way you made the poster board base.

1. Place the template right side up on the scrapbook paper.   Trace around the template and cut out.

2.  Use Tacky Glue to glue down the edges around the shade.

3.  This glitter scrapbook paper is card stock. To make sure it dries flat use a Popsicle stick as a splint to hold the seam down along with clothespins until the glue dries.  Once dried, carefully remove splint and clothespins.

Place the cover over the poster board and bead base.  These are the ones I plan to use at Christmas.

I used regular weight scrapbook paper for the animal print shades.   These are much easier to make than the glitter card stock as the paper is thinner and wraps around the shade easily.

I did not need to add a splint to hold it down. I just ran my finger over the seam to make sure it was flat.

Prest -O Change-O a whole new look for only a few dollars.  I am liking these for parties.

AbbraCaDabra…. another new look that only costs as much as the scrapbook paper.  This paper would look perfect on a Nursery chandelier.

The possibilities are endless.  You can deck out any chandelier shade for a birthday party, the holidays, or seasonally.  The best papers to use should have an overall pattern.  Stripes don’t work as well because of the curve of the shade.

When the shades are not in use, they stack nicely for easy storage.

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Tagged as: Ballard Design Knock -off, Chandelier Shade Covers, DIY Decorating Ideas, Holiday Decorating Ideas