Silhouette Nature Lamp Shade

As the season turns to snow and cold we often want to hold on to nature a little longer by bringing decorative grasses, gourds, bittersweet, leaves and other reminders of nature into our homes.   Silhouette lampshades have been decorated in many ways but, living in the country, I decided to make one using natural materials for the decoration.   

Materials:
Used lampshade from a thrift store
Leaves of various shapes and sizes
Arborvitae sprig, pine needles, fern frond, etc.
Wax paper
Flower/leaf press
White glue, spray adhesive, or tape
A small plastic bag of rice, beans, etc. 

Gather a couple dozen leaves of various varieties, arborvitae sprigs, sprigs of pine needles, fern fronts, grasses, etc.  Put them into the flower/leaf press, each sample between pieces of heavy paper, one or two per layer.  Assemble the cover and tighten it down.  Wait a week or two so the samples are completely dry.  

Remove the leaves etc. from the press.  Select the best variety and decide how many you want to use in your shade.  For example, my shade is 11" high and 17" in diameter at the bottom and I used 12 leaves etc.  They are spaced 2-4" apart.  

Lay the shade on its side and either put glue on one side of the leaf or spray one side of the leaf with adhesive.  Remember that the leaves go on the inside of the shade.  If you use spray adhesive also spray the spot where you want the leaf to go.  Position the leaf and place a sheet of wax paper over it.  Place the bag of rice etc. on the wax paper to hold it in position until the glue dries.

When the glue is dry, remove the bag of rice and the wax paper.  Repeat the process until you have added as many as you want.

Assemble the shade to your lamp and enjoy a reminder of the outdoors every time you turn it on.   

This shade isn't for everyone but the idea can be adapted to create a variety of seasonal shade.