Hope you all are doing great! The festive season is over and I am back with another DIY!

More often than not we come across this complaint from a lot of people who want to take up serious crafting, that supplies are very expensive. They might not be very far from the truth as indeed some supplies are expensive but then creativity is not limited to just those. The concept of ‘Best out of Waste’ is trending and is here to stay and is environmentally friendly too. There are a lot of art and craft ideas which are majorly based on recycling.

In fact, creating something out of junk gives a new high to the creative souls. Many new uses of a product are also found this way and not delving too much into how much I love doing it, I am going to introduce you to this Dennis the Menace lampshade made out of a corrugated box and newspaper cuttings. Isn’t this best out of waste idea totally cute?

Dennis the Menace is one of the most lovable cartoon characters, always up to tricks and yet loved all the same. Taking Dennis the Menace as my inspiration for this lampshade for my kiddo’s room space, I used the decoupage technique to make this. Decoupage is a French art that translates sticking of paper. It’s become a very popular art for as it virtually looks as though the surface has been painted rather than paper stuck. No doubt the technique requires precision and placing is important for it to look aesthetically good.

For making this we need a recycled corrugated box, lots of newspaper cuttings of the cartoon, Fevicryl Acrylic Colours – Black, Teal Blue, Neon Yellow, Green, Orange, Pink, Fevicryl Fabric Glue, Fine Art Brushes, Modge- Podge, Pencil, Ruler, Scissors and Jute Yarn.

I began by taking a corrugated box that was rectangular in shape. Made sure the corners and the shape are precise and neat. The lampshade would be rectangular in shape.

Then I took sufficient Fabric Glue and diluted it with water and applied it evenly on the surface and carefully stuck the newspaper. Making sure there were no creases and bubbles. I let it to dry completely before I progressed further. The reason I diluted the glue was more for the spread and evenness of the glue coat. It would result in a better finish. Newspaper craft requires a bit of dexterity.

Then was the time to choose the Dennis the Menace pictures that I found interesting. I neatly cut them along its borders using a pair of scissors and kept them aside. I intentionally chose black and white images as I had in mind to paint them brightly towards the end.

I then pasted the images once again with the Fabric Glue and water mixture, again very delicately making sure of no creases and bubbles. All the four sides of the lamp had Dennis the Menace images. I left it to dry completely. Make sure while sticking that the edges too are stuck or else it would look sloppily done.

Once dried completely was the best part, “painting” the images with Acrylic Colours. Do colour and paint them in vibrant hues and shades and make it as happy and fun as you can. Outline the characters and the wording with Black so that it stands out. After all, it is Dennis the Menace we are taking inspiration from. Once completely painted leave it to dry completely.

Using Modge Podge seal the image by giving even strokes vertically and then horizontally, giving a drying period gap between each coat. This not only secures your images, it gives it a sheen and gloss that would last. Modge Podge also gives that final finished look to the project.

 

This is how the lampshade would look having been completed. Pierce the holes on the top edge of the jute thread if you want this to be a hanging lampshade.

So here you have your cute Dennis the Menace lampshade, once lit up it would brighten up your child’s room and would render a playful and happy aura around. This one is for all those little munchkins who make our life a tad difficult but then so much sweeter too!

For more best out of waste for kids ideas stay tuned!

Ciao!