Pretty Up a Lamp Shade With Cutouts.

This kind of gives a light show effect. Sorta, I mean, it's not exactly a Kanye style light show, but it does throw pretty patterns onto the wall and ceiling and it's dead easy to make.
I think I've covered the basics here, but if you get stuck (or you're looking for some other ideas on Dirt Cheap Decorating) go here

I used:
a Grundtal lamp base from Ikea
a Skimra lamp shade from Ikea
craft paper
scissor
a craft knife
tape
pencil

Draw 'round your lamp shade, to figure out it's surface area.

Bear in mind that you won't be cutting out the whole outline of your design, just peeling up the edges.

Pop the template over the lamp shade and secure it with a bit of tape. Then peel and pinch out the edges of your design, this will let you see how it's going to look.

This time you'll be marking out your design onto the actual lampshade, using a pencil and your pre-cut outlines as a guide. Once that's done, carefully cut out your design using a craft knife.

This is slightly harder than it is with the paper template. Clean hands and patience come in useful here.
Also try folding your edges back a few degrees at a time rather than jamming them back all the way in one go.

Once you've pinched out all your egdes your lamp is done!
It looks ok in daylight, but best when it's lit up in a dark room.