The new space I’ve moved into had two rooms with bare bulbs as the light fixtures…up until recently. 🙂
I had seen several ideas on Pinterest for making your own light fixture shades using old sheet music, so I decided to try my hand at prettying up those bare, hanging light bulbs.
I’m happy with how it turned out. 🙂
Here’s how I made mine:
For paper, I used an old paperback hymn book, aged to a delicious golden color. Smaller page-size is definitely a preferable look for this project in my opinion, versus using full-sized sheets, unless you are using very large embroidery hoops.
I happened to find two embroidery hoops at a local thrift store, but they are fairly inexpensive if you purchase them new. Ideally, there should be only an inch or two difference in diameter between the two. Mine measure 14” and 12”.
I used small binder clips to fasten the sheet music along the inside rim of the embroidery hoops. Don’t make it too perfect-looking. It actually looks better if it has some character!
I cut three equal lengths of twine string (I bought my spool at the dollar store, but you can also find it at any hardware store or craft store), knotted them at one end, and with permanent marker marked about 2/3 the distance of the embroidery hoop’s diameter.
At the marked spot, I clipped the twine to the embroidery hoop, allowing the tail to hang down inside.
I used the tails hang the second embroidery hoop. Rather than tying a knot, I used another binder clip. That way, I could easily make adjustments in order to level the hoops.
To hang the entire thing, I fed the knotted twine through a chain link of the light fixture and stoppered it with yet another binder clip. It’s non-permanent, and easy to make adjustments to.
Note: For safety, be sure to use an LED or at least an CFL light bulb (but definitely not an incandescent bulb) that will not emit much heat.
Here’s the end result!
