Painted Lampshade Redo

So I have 2 lamps in my living room that are tan. They are fine, and I have had them for 5 years. I bought them when I moved into my first apartment in Lakeland and was about to start my first teaching job. I am a cheapo so I am pretty sure that I paid no more than about $10 for the shades. Here is a picture of one of the lampshades (not the one I painted...I couldn't get a before, cause my camera was dead, but it is essentially the same lampshade.)


I was looking at them the other day and wondered "Can ya paint a lampshade?" So I googled it, and didn't get much. So yesterday I just went for it and figured if it turned out crappy, I would just buy a new lampshade. No biggie. It turned out great and cost me just $1 for the bottle of acrylic paint! Can't beat that!

So I first googled a geometric pattern. I considered free-handing a more floral/paisley pattern, but changed my mind and went with this:


I also didn't take a picture of the taping off process (sorry) but trust me, it wasn't measured (I HATE MEASURING!) and it wasn't scientific. I just eyeballed it and figured if it didn't work out, the backside wouldn't really be seen anyway. It worked out pretty alright. I just used masking tape and made sure to really seal down the edges so no paint would go under the tape.

Then I painted! Now here is something I learned FYI. I was was impatient and as soon as I painted, I pulled the tape off and thought "It looks good!" I failed to realize that when I turned on the lamp you would be able to see imperfections. So there were splotched areas where the paint didn't soak into the fabric of the shade as much as others and it looked yucky when the lamp was on. Tip: Put on 2 coats of paint BEFORE you remove your tape! I ended up free-hand filling in the splotches. I had to paint while the lamp was on last night while trying not to watch the scene in "127 Hours" where he cuts his arm off. (Good movie by the way!).

So anyways! Here are my results! I love it!