The lampshades

Accessories often spell the difference between a merely successful decor and one that is a smashing success. They are the crowning touch.

It is not always easy to find accessories that adapt to a given decor. Often, the colour is the problem. In such cases, nothing stops you from making your own accessories. To help you along, the Paint Café would like to suggest a project you can execute with the help ILLUSIO products.

Let's first look at how you can improve the look of your bathroom lighting by making lampshades that match your decor.

Quantities of paint necessary:
Paint Café-approved latex paints, Velvet finish:
	Zen, DB118-10:		1 litre
	Artist's Studio, DB118-31:		1 litre
	Tortoise shell, DB218-22:		1 litre
ILLUSIO products:
	ARTIFICE Pearlescent Copper 8564-78:		250 ml

Required Materials

• A few paper lampshades



• One 5-cm paintbrush, round or flat, soft-bristle brush or small foam roller and pan (for lampshade #3 and #4 backgrounds)



• One round 5-cm soft-bristle paintbrush
• One flat 1-cm artist paintbrush



• One small paintbrush to use with stencils (for lampshades #3 and #4)



• Dry rag



• Masking tape for fresh paint



• Mixing stick



• Stencil



• Grease or colouring pencil in black or in another colour of your choice

Execution steps for lampshades #1 and #2

** No primer or base coat has been applied.

• Use the round paintbrush and apply Tortoise Shell (DB218-22) with a light, angled brushing movement.



• We recommend removing excess paint from the brush using a dry rag.



• The aim is to brush only that part of the lampshade paper that is in relief so as   to contrast it with the base colour.



• Let dry until tack free.



• Using fresh-paint resistant masking tape, delineate the areas to which you want to apply Pearlescent Copper (#1 - top, #2 - bottom)



• Using a paintbrush, apply a light coat of Pearlescent Copper on the delineated area. Gently remove the tape immediately, and let dry until tack free (in this case it is not necessary to let dry for 6 hours as required in the directions for use).



• Use the stencil and the grease or colouring pencil to draw the repeat pattern. In this case, the patterns have been drawn right from the stencil, at an angle, without tracing the actual contours. You can also use the stencil to draw the contours and fill in the colour when the stencil has been removed.



• You may either hold the stencil with your hand or affix it to the lampshade with masking tape.



• It is preferable to pre-select and mark the areas on which you wish to apply the patterns.



• Using the grease or colouring pencil, trace a fine horizontal line to link the patterns and/or delineate the copper part so as to make it stand out.

Execution steps for lampshades #3 and #4

• Using a paintbrush or roller (depending on the surface and texture of the lampshade), apply a coat of Zen (DB118-10). Let dry for at least 6 hours.



• No primer has been applied, to avoid making the lampshade too opaque.



• Using the flat 5-cm paintbrush, apply Artists' Studio (DB118-31) in a vertical rubbing movement to create stripes.



• We recommend removing excess paint from the brush using a dry rag.



• You may delineate the stripes using masking tape, or freehand for a lighter effect.



• Let dry until tack free.



• Repeat step 2 using Pearlescent Opal for lampshade #3 and Pearlescent Copper for lampshade #4 on the stripes that are still in Zen (DB118-10).



• Let dry until tack free.



• Use the stencil paintbrush and stencil to paint the repeat pattern. We recommend you remove excess paint from the brush using a dry rag or newspaper. Apply the Pearlescent Copper through the stencil openings using light buffering strokes.



• You may either hold the stencil with your hand or affix it to the lampshade with masking tape.



• It is preferable to pre-select and mark the areas on which you wish to apply the patterns.



• Use the grease or colouring pencil to outline the patterns in order to make them stand out.



• The vertical copper stripes on lampshade #4 have also been slightly outlined using a grease or ordinary pencil.