BobVila.com

Making Custom Lampshades

Local artist Linda Gavin is on site creating custom lampshades. Gavin uses a piercing and painting technique to create lampshades out of both fabric and watercolor paper. The first step is cutting material into an arc to form the cone shape of the lampshade. Next, Gavin transfers a decorative pattern onto the material, and then paints it with watercolors. Using a fine brush, Linda then outlines the pattern so that it will stand out once it's been cut. Next, using a specialty tool called a piercer, Linda punches holes along the lines of the drawing, and then cuts along the lines with an X-Acto knife to create a three-dimensional effect. Finally, the decorated material is secured to a metal frame. More information