Rustic Lighting - How To Craft A Whimsical Lampshade

If you are tired of standard white lampshades and buying a different color isn't quite going to cut it, try making this whimsical shade. Not only will your lamp give off light, but with this shade it will add some life to your room. The best part is, it is not a difficult craft to do. All it takes is a grommet hole punch, some barked covered wire and a little peaberry garland or birch branches. You can find all of these items at your local arts and crafts supply store. With the easy step by step instructions, you can't go wrong.  Once the project is complete, you have a custom lampshade that fits nicely into your decor.

Step One: Punch holes along top and bottom of shade with grommet hole punch. These should be about and inch apart and a half inch from the edges of the lamp.

Step Two: Cut off a long piece of barked wire. Put one end through a punched hole. Make a loop and twist it in place.

Step Three: Grab a few strands of your peaberry according to the thickness that you want. Start winding the wire over the peaberry and through the next hole. Keep weaving the wire and adding more peaberry as you go.

*If you run out of wire before winding all the way around, simply twist it off where you are at and cut another length starting again.

I would recommend using parchment lampshades. A linen shade will not work as well because the holes will fray when punched. I like using a cream color for this craft but you could use a colored shade for more decorating options.

Barked covered wire can be found at hobby/craft stores. I love using this because it looks so natural and gives a nice finished look to whatever I am wrapping around the lampshade.  It ends up looking like part of the branch or stem itself.

Peaberry is such a fun and colorful craft item to use.  I like using peaberry strands, cut from garland, for this craft. They can be found in a multitude of colors. Another option I have tried is thin birch twigs. This works well in a more rustic setting.

 As you can see, using the birch twigs instead of the garland gives more of a rustic feel.  This is a great look in a log cabin or lodge.  Although,we add rustic touchs throughout our traditional style house so there is really no limit on where to add this look.

Besides table lamps and floor lamps, there are other light fixtures you can make that are fun and simple.

A pool table light can be a fun project. Create a chandelier style light fixure and attach decorative chandelier lampshades.

Wall sconces are another option. If you don't want to directly wire them into your wall, simply hang them over an outlet and let the wire hang down. You can buy metal wire covers, to keep the wire straight and more decorative, at a hardware store.

I have included pictures at the bottom of this page of a wall sconce and a pool table light.  You can get an idea of how the chandelier would look in a rustic game room.