The other day I noticed something about Kaia that wasn’t there a few months ago. What is it? My tiny baby girl isn’t really a baby anymore. Sure, she may look like an infant but this one year old is rapidly approaching toddlerhood like nobody’s business! When we first moved to this house I was super excited to finally give her a nursery, but what I didn’t consider (because I was blinded by baby bling) was that my then 6 month old wouldn’t be an infant much longer. Her room is currently decked out with gear she has outgrown, bins of clothes that will go to Goodwill and tons of toys she is too old for. It is time to give her room a bit of a makeover, but I don’t have a lot of money to spend on redecorating so I have decided to go with a few simple handmade accents to liven up the space. My first (and favorite) project in the lineup is this adorable DIY lampshade using Instagram photos I printed from my phone using the #WalgreensApp.
For this project you will need a lampshade, printed Instagram photos, hot glue or spray adhesive and laminating paper (found at craft stores for around $5). Make sure the lampshade will fit a few rows of 4×4 photo squares, but if you find it is a little off you can add embellishments or lace on the edges to make up the difference.
The first thing I did was choose and print my photos. Like I said earlier, I don’t have a lot of free time these days so I decided to finally try out the photo feature on my Walgreens app because I found out it will print Instagram photos from my phone (If you follow me on social media you know I am CRAZY about Instagram). All I had to do was tap the photo icon in my app, select Instagram, choose my photos and hit “Print to Wallgreens”. It took maybe five minutes and cost me less than $15! My photos were ready in about an hour and when I picked them up I was really impressed with how well they turned out!
Once my photos were printed and I was home I got to work. This whole project took me about 30 minutes from start to finish – talk about easy peasy! Before your start measure out your shade to determine how many rows/columns of photos you will need and lay everything out in the way you want so you don’t have to make it up as you go. You don’t have to do straight rows like I did – you can make them diagonal, tiled, have a single row around the center or anyting you want.
When everything is laid out start gluing your photos on. I used hot glue, but any quick drying adhesive will work. I started each photo with a tiny drop of glue in one corner, lined it up with the edge of the shade and pressed. Once it was bonded and couldn’t slip out of position I added a very small amount to the rest of the photo. If using hot glue, don’t make it too thick or your photos will be raised and bumpy.
After all your photos are glued on, measure and cut your laminating paper to fit the exact height of the shade. If you need to do more than one sheet, cut them both to fit as seamlessly as possible with each other.
Carefully lay your laminating sheet over your photos, making sure there are no bubbles or creases. If you do happen to mess up, try to ease up the sheet a tiny bit at a time so you don’t mess up your photos and reapply. Smooth it down as much as you can as you go.
Now you are finished, so stand back and marvel at your awesome new lampshade!
Now Kaia has a cute personalized lamp full of great memories! This project is great for adding a personalized touch to your room or gifting to a daughter, partner or BFF. Do you have a teen leaving for College soon? This would make a great going away present!
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