diy {vintage hat box lampshade}

I have so many big projects going on around here. Sometimes I just need to ‘make’, but only have 5 minutes to spare. Earlier this week, I passed by our entryway. I’ve had the same little lamp there for 4 years. Previously it was our old house. I’ve never changed it. So, I decided that would be my 5 minute project for the day. I moved it to the kitchen table to decide what I could do with it. I thought about fabric, hankies, wallpaper, scrapbooking paper…none seemed right. Then I remembered a vintage hat box under a bench that wasn’t really being used. And, thus, a 5 minute project.

Here is the old lamp & shade. I tore off all the black & white paper to get down to the wire frame. I also spray painted the base glossy white.

Next, I marked the center of the box and cut out an opening using an X-acto knife. Finally, I hot glued the original metal frame to the hat box. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

By the way, I had time because I traded kids with a friend. Really trading kids for a day is a genius idea. My three that were at home were so excited about someone new in the house they entertained themselves all day. AND the kid that was traded thought he got the better end of the deal because he got to go a friend’s house. Trading kids…such a great idea 🙂

Can you put paper airplanes in the compost bin? Because, seriously what else are we going to do with all these?!