How To Make A Lampshade Template

We have been looking at formulas for making different shaped lampshades and finding it increasingly difficult to find a formula that would works for us. My wife Rachel has come up with one that works and we have used and tested it. What it saves us is spending £15 plus on someone else making our templates for us and means that we can now make lampshades in pretty much any size or shape. Hurrah!!!

The formula and process:

This is for a 20cm x 30cm diameter lampshade with a height of 25cm

Draw a right angled triangle with a base as 30cm and mark the height at 25cm. 

Either using fomex or a long piece of baton, secure using a screw at one end. Measure (in this case) 75cm and 50cm from the secured end and drill a hole big enough to put a pen or pencil through. Make sure that its just the tip that's poking through as you don't want any movement. Draw an arc by placing your pen in the 75cm hole (this will be for your 30cm ring) then draw an arc at 50cm. Then draw a straight line connecting the two arcs. It doesn't really matter where just a straight line somewhere near the middle. Cut a piece of string for the bottom and top arc.Then measure out- in this case- 957mm for the bottom bigger arc and 643mm for the smaller arc using the centre line as your centre reference (you can get these measurements by going to the Needcraft website if you want to use bigger or smaller rings). Then draw your end lines connecting the ends of the arc. Cut out your template.

Lampshades Made At Our Workshop

Very proud to show you these lampshades as they were made by the people attending our workshop after just 20 mins of instruction and then just a few mistakes later and voila!

You can check out our courses at www.iekoenvironments.co.uk 

Crackle Glaze Made Easy

Here are a couple of non toxic, environmentally friendly techniques that can either replace or compliment the Shabby Chic ageing look.

The technique is the same for both only the crackle medium differs. 

Method Using Gum Arabic:

Gum arabic, also known as acacia gum,chaar gund, char goond, or meska, is a natural gum made of hardened sap taken from two species of the acacia tree;Senegalia (Acacia) senegal and Vachellia (Acacia) seyal. It is widely used in the food industry as a glaze for confectionary.

Mix the Gum Arabic with a little water until  you have a double cream consistency. 

Paint on your first coat of water based paint remembering that this is what the top layer of paint will crack back to expose. Leave to dry.

Coat on a thick coat of Gum Arabic and leave until tacky. I dry the gum with a hair dryer to speed up the process.

Then paint on a thick coat of paint. Do this quickly and try not to overwork it as it will drag. Immediately you have finished painting then dry using a hair dryer. This will help the paint to crack. Either use a varnish or wax to finish off. 

Method Using PVA Glue.

Replace the Gum Arabic with PVA Glue and follow the same process. The glue isn't as natural as the gum Arabic but performs pretty much the same. 

Hand Wound Jute Standard Lamp Base.

I've just been experimenting with winding coloured jute twine onto lamp bases. The process is simple but requires patience and concentration. Only the base requires glue. The curved mouldings require double sided tape but the rest just requires you rolling it tightly. 

Latest Special Paint Finishes Course

These are some of the paint effects we created on our most recent course.

From top left clockwise: Colour Washing, Gilding With Water marked Gold Leaf, Gilding and Antiquing, Crackle Glaze.

Turmeric Mixed With Glaze And Water

Vibrant Mexican Colour

We are often concerned with getting colour right to the extent that many people in my experience just close down and opt for white. White can be great of course, as can the muted heritage colours that various designer paint companies sell, but how exciting it can be to have the freedom that people have in Mexico and throughout South America in their use of colour. Of course you can get it terribly wrong but more often than not colours even from very different colour palettes will work together. Do we ever say in nature 'that's a bit of a clash of colours'? Be bold!

Waterbased Eggshell Painting Tips

Eggshell Painting Tips

1. Earthborn Eggshell doesn't require an undercoat and can therefore be applied directly to either wood or a previously painted surface.
2. The secret of a great finish is in the preparation (boring I know!). To prepare a previously painted surface sand down with a suitable grade of sandpaper. The reason for sanding is to provide a key for the eggshell to sit on, so any shine should be removed -you don’t need to remove the paint .This may require a rough grade of sandpaper to begin the job-say 60 grit and then finishing of with a finer grade 120 grit or finer. Make sure that you don’t leave scratches on the surface as this will look ugly and always sand with the grain of the wood even if the grain can’t be seen. If you are painting directly onto the wood then you are sanding to provide a smooth surface.
3. If you are painting directly onto wood, your first coat of eggshell can be watered down with approximately 10% water. Water can also be added to subsequent coats but for aesthetic purposes only. Eggshell can be applied with either a roller or a brush. I often apply the first coat with a mini foam roller and the second coat with a brush. This technique confuses any brush strokes.
4. As water based eggshell dries quickly you will need to be organised when applying it. Don’t paint too large an area unless you have to. If you are painting a panelled door then use the diagram below. Any time that you go over onto another surface of the door that you aren't yet painting then just feather out to make sure their are no lumps of paint that will show up under the second coat.

After applying the first coat sanding the paint is usually suggested but as Earthborn Eggshell dries so hard I recommend that you skip this process.