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How to Make a Pleated Lampshade

Here's a great recycling decor project that will coordinate your lamp to your newly wallpapered room - or add pattern to your painted walls using inexpensive wallpaper scraps.

Pleated Lampshade Craft

Materials

You will Need:

- Ruler
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Measuring tape
- Lamp shade base for your shade - white paper or plastic lampshade or wire shad frame (available from craft shops or from an old lamp)
- Approximately 30" of decorative cord in a color that coordinates with your wallpaper
- Craft glue or hot glue
- Hole punch

Directions for Making a Pleated Paper Lampshade

1. Determine depth of paper. Measure your lampshade from top to bottom add 1/4 inch to this measurement.

2. Measure the circumference around the bottom of the shade and multiply this by 2 1/2 times for the length of the wallpaper strip you'll need to fold into pleats.

3. Cut wallpaper to your measurements.

4. Place wallpaper strip on a large flat surface with the pattern side down. Using a ruler, mark a pencil line parallel to the length of the paper 1 inch from the top and repeat the same measurement at the bottom.

Measure 1 1/2 inches from the first line and make another mark at top and bottom. These are your pleating guide lines. Continue to mark pleating guideline 1-1/2 inches apart running parallel to the width of the paper. For larger lamps you can adjust pleat size measurements to your taste.

5. Fold the wallpaper on each pleat line so that the fold is facing you then crease the line sharply using a ruler or bone folder. Create an accordion fold measuring 3/4 inches by aligning each adjacent pleat line and continue creasing your folds.

6. Overlap the end folds of the shadel glue and trim excess wallpaper.

7. Punch holes in each wallpaper pleat about 3/4 inch from the top of the shade.

8. Lace the cord through the punched holes around the top of the shade. Place the pleated wallpaper shade over the lampshade frame and tighten to adjust top.

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