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Are you familiar with the Sizzix Big Shot? If you are a crafter or scrapbooker then chances are you have either heard of it or may even own one. It’s a shape cutting and embossing system that I first learned about during the Haven blogging conference, and I was blown away with how easy it was to use!

Easy Lamp Shade Update

Today I’m sharing a super simple way to update a lamp shade using this machine, which took less than 5 minutes!

Need to spruce up a lamp? Update a lamp shade in as little as 5 minutes using contact paper and the Sizzix machine! upcycledtreasures.com

Sizzix Big Shot

Set of Sizzix Cutting Pads

Sizzix Bigz Die – Writing Desk

Copper Contact Paper

Lamp Shade 

My lamp shade was a $5 Target clearance find that I previously spray painted navy. Thrift shops are a great place to find lamp shades too.

mint-border-mountainmodernlife.com

Let me first say that when I first took this baby out of the box it felt like Christmas. In fact, as a kid, some of my favorite presents were boxes filled to the brim with crafting supplies. I also sorta made a mess all over our living room because I was having so much fun testing out different materials along with the dies in the Sizzix Big Shot.

Need to spruce up a lamp? Update a lamp shade in as little as 5 minutes using contact paper and the Sizzix machine! upcycledtreasures.com

That’s because most of the dies can be used with paper, fabric, chipboard, foam, magnets, leather, metallic foil, etc. So you can see why I was so excited to play with my new “toy” 🙂

One of my favorite materials used was…. contact paper, which won’t be much of a surprise if you follow my blog or have seen some of my posts. Yes, I am #addictedtocontactpaper. I’ve used it on a wall in my studio, as art in our bedroom, to decorate an old mouse pad, on the back of my business cards, and I could go on and on… I love me some contact paper, that’s for sure.

Need to spruce up a lamp? Update a lamp shade in as little as 5 minutes using contact paper and the Sizzix machine! upcycledtreasures.com

I have tried to cut out shapes using shape type punchers in the past, but most of them get stuck on the paper and jam up {oops}, which is why I was so excited when I saw how easy it was to cut out shapes using the Sizzix. Seriously soooooooooo easy!!

I have a lamp shade that I recently painted, but wanted to jazz it up a bit.

Need to spruce up a lamp? Update a lamp shade in as little as 5 minutes using contact paper and the Sizzix machine! upcycledtreasures.com

I love feathers and thought it would be fun to add them to the lamp shade, but also like the idea of using contact paper because although it will stick to the shade, it’s not permanent which means I can change it up in the future if I want to.

So I took the Writing Desk Die {foam side up}, placed my contact paper on top, and sandwiched it between the cutting pads. I then placed it on the machine and cranked the handle until it went all the way through. Super easy!

Need to spruce up a lamp? Update a lamp shade in as little as 5 minutes using contact paper and the Sizzix machine! upcycledtreasures.com

Need to spruce up a lamp? Update a lamp shade in as little as 5 minutes using contact paper and the Sizzix machine! upcycledtreasures.com

I only cared about the feather shape, so I mostly just covered up the feather section with contact paper, and just discarded the other pieces.

Need to spruce up a lamp? Update a lamp shade in as little as 5 minutes using contact paper and the Sizzix machine! upcycledtreasures.com

Here is what my feathers looked like afterward, which from start to finish took less than 30 seconds! Oh and don’t freak out when you see the design is “etched” onto the top of the cutting board. That’s normal and it will still last a long while before it will need to be replaced.

Need to spruce up a lamp? Update a lamp shade in as little as 5 minutes using contact paper and the Sizzix machine! upcycledtreasures.com

Also, you can do multiple layers at once so I think I used 3 sheets of contact paper at a time. When I used 4 sheets, one of the sheets didn’t go through as much, I guess because it was too thick.

So all I did was un-peel the back of the contact paper, and stick them onto my navy lamp shade!

Need to spruce up a lamp? Update a lamp shade in as little as 5 minutes using contact paper and the Sizzix machine! upcycledtreasures.com

And here it is on a lamp in our entryway:

Need to spruce up a lamp? Update a lamp shade in as little as 5 minutes using contact paper and the Sizzix machine! upcycledtreasures.com

Need to spruce up a lamp? Update a lamp shade in as little as 5 minutes using contact paper and the Sizzix machine! upcycledtreasures.com

Need to spruce up a lamp? Update a lamp shade in as little as 5 minutes using contact paper and the Sizzix machine! upcycledtreasures.com

Need to spruce up a lamp? Update a lamp shade in as little as 5 minutes using contact paper and the Sizzix machine! upcycledtreasures.com

Of course, you could use this same method for creating decals to place on an accent wall, or some wall art, or gift wrap, jars, etc. The list could go on and on. I actually took some leaf dies and created some window decals by our front door as you can see here.

If you are looking for some fun holiday gift ideas, especially for a crafter, I would definitely look into the Big Shot or other Sizzix products, plus there are tons of dies and embossing shapes and patterns available. My mom wants to borrow it so she can make a quilt.

The only disadvantage of this machine is that you can’t create your own designs {at least not that I know of}, so you have to use pre-made designs. I think most people will appreciate this, but just FYI in case you are looking for more flexibility.

So what do you think? Have you used this machine before and what did you create with it?

{This post is sponsored by SizzixAlthough I wasn’t compensated for this post, I did receive free products in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.}

4 Comments

  1. That is really cute, I didn’t even know copper contact paper existed! But what really caught my eye as the navy lamp shade, I have 3 I’ve been trying to work up the courage to paint for some time now, but I don’t want to mess them up or make them too dark to read by. They’re cream now, but I wanted to do them black on the outside and metallic copper on the interior.

    1. Hi Barb,

      I didn’t know about it either until my sister-in-law sent some to me a while back. As far as painting lampshades go I would say the turnout depends mostly on the fabric of the lamp shade. This one wasn’t very textured so the spray paint worked really well. I would say to test it one one lamp shade and see what you think. You will want to spray in slow even strokes and will likely have to go over it a few times. You may even want to just use a paint brush if the shade has a lot of texture. Worst case scenario, you can paint over it 🙂

      ~Katie

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