Junk Style: DIY Garden Fencing Shade

Don't be offended by what I'm about to say. See this dining room light fixture? Maybe you have one just like it, or similar. Maybe it looks great in your space! I just don't like it in mine. 

 

It's not that there is anything really wrong with it. Just a "builder blah" light fixture. Every time I glance over at it (for over 2 1/2 years!) I think, "That's not right." Haha. As if I don't have bigger things to think about.

 It just isn't my style. I was after something a little more unique. Something a little...junkier. 
I've thought many times about taking it down altogether and hanging my mason jar chandelier here. But we are renting this home, and I just couldn't get totally motivated to take the fixture down knowing I'd have to put it back up if we move. You know me-I also wasn't going to spend any money to buy or make a new fixture!

A couple of nights ago I was looking at some blogs and thinking about how much I love the shape and look of a drum shade over a dining table and inspiration struck! What if I made my version of a drum shade shaped cover to slip over the light fixture I don't like? 
It took me about 30 seconds of contemplation before I jumped up and started grabbing together some possible materials for my idea.

I picked up this old garden fencing from a roadside junk pile last Spring. I have made a couple of other hanging chandelier type projects with it, so I thought this might be a good start for something that I could make big enough to slip around the ceiling fixture. I figured out how many panels it would take to fit around it and used needle nose pliers to connect the pieces to each other securely in a circle. 


 

I also had a large scrap of white fabric in my stash.  I decided to tear it into strips and hot glued them around the inside of my junk garden fencing frame so the pretty shape of the metal would show on the outside of the shade. 

After this, things got a little ugly. 

I wasn't sure how I was going to attach the shade to the fixture. Initially my daughter and I tried using the same fabric strips, tying them from the fence shade to the center ceiling chain. 

Uuum..no. 

I couldn't make the garden fence frame hold it's circular shape, and the fabric strips on the inside of the frame were originally much longer. The whole thing was starting to look like the mummy meets a giant octopus! 

 

Then, another idea. I had picked up two cheap hula hoops at Big Lots when we were in California. What if I attach the junk fence shade to a fabric wrapped hula hoop so it will hold it's shape? Great idea right? Until my 6 year old son walks into the kitchen and sees mom gluing fabric strips to his hula hoop :/ 
Well, a few unhappy moments (and the promise of another hula hoop) later, he and I were good, the plan was implemented and it worked!

Since tying the shade to the fixture chain with fabric strips just looked too sloppy, I had to come up with another solution. I had this hook with three pieces of chain attached on another hanging piece I made (but wasn't being used) and decided this was a much neater option. 

I simply hung the hook directly on the chain. The shade isn't heavy at all, so that wasn't a concern. 
 

 To hold the garden fencing to the hula hoop frame, I bent the wire pieces that would get pushed into the ground around the hula hoop. I slipped the ends of the three chain pieces over these to attach the chain to the frame.

I also trimmed up the fabric strips a bit for a simpler overall shape.

 

I added a few chandelier crystals I already had to the bottom of the shade, just for a little sparkle.

A new shade from roadside junk and a hula hoop? This is my idea of a junk style drum shade and I'm totally loving it. Why didn't I think of it sooner?

Just so you know, we've been home from our California trip for a week now, and I haven't fully unpacked my suitcase yet! And yet I spend an entire evening making a lampshade out of junk garden fencing. Go figure. 

I guess it's not called Creating a Life for nothing ;-)

I'm working on a few more simple summer-into-fall changes over here that I'll be sharing soon. I hope you'll come back soon for another visit!

Jeanette

Joining these fun parties this week!

Creative Things Thursday at The Vintage Farmhouse
Be Inspired at Common Ground  
Share Your Cup Thursday at Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson 
Tutorials Tips and Tidbits at StoneGable 
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage 
Junkin' Joe at The Cottage Market 
Fabulously Creative Friday at Jennifer Rizzo 
Party Junk at Funky Junk 
Inspiration Monday at I Should be Mopping the Floor 
Make It Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House 
Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch 
Creative Bloggers Party at Homemaker on a Dime 
Make the Scene Monday at Alderberry Hill 
The Scoop 
Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life 
Tweak It Tuesday at Cozy Little House 
Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style
What's It Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants
Blissful Whites Wednesday at Timewashed 
Treasure Hunt Thursday at From My Front Porch to Yours 
The Inspiration Gallery at Craftberry Bush 
What to do Weekends at Crafts a la Mode 
Junkers Unite at Knick of Time