Blog | Dannells Blog

5 days ago
4 min

#memadeshade May winner

The glorious weather has arrived adding a bright, light feeling to our days and as usual, we've been inundated with plenty of glorious shades. May's #memadeshade Instagram competition winner, brings fun, frivolity and a bold pop of colour and who doesn't need a bit of that in their lives? Made by Kura and Mark of @the_warren_crew_at_52 from a gorgeous African wax fabric, the orange fringing was a subliminal 'Strictly' inspired addition. We love the scale and size of this prin

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May 21
3 min

5 reasons to make a DIY lampshade

Yey! You've found us and now you know you can make your own lampshades with our Lampshade Making Kits, you might be asking yourself why should you? It’s the number one topic of conversation at here at Dannells (we could honestly wax lyrical about this all day 😁), and to make this easy we’ve put together our 5 reasons why you should get started with making your own DIY lampshade – and once you’ve made one, we’re fairly sure you’ll never buy shop bought lampshade again! 1. Bes

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May 20
4 min

#memadeshade April winner

April has already been and gone (where did that month go?) and we hope you've been making the most of the new outdoor rules? It clearly hasn't stopped you all from making plenty of amazing lampshades! As our #memadeshade Instagram competition goes from strength to strength, we never tire of seeing the stream of gorgeous lampshades made from our lampshade making kit, so thanks to all those who entered. This month's worthy winner is Lucy of @the_lightpunk, with her new design o

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Apr 15
4 min

#memadeshade March winner

As another month flies by, it's time to announce March's #memadeshade winner from our Instagram competition entries. This month was packed with an array of lampshades in all shapes and sizes using our lampshade making kits, but as always there is only one winner. Entered by @cottocc (COtoo), using a screenprint design by @sallyelfordillustrator, this month's winning shade encapsulates the stunning British coastline and the murmurations of starlings, which been seen during the

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Mar 9
3 min

#memadeshade February Winner

The nights are already lighter and there is a feeling of optimism in the air. We hope you're all feeling a little lighter and brighter too. February's #memadeshade Instagram competition has delivered a whopping amount of entries, over 300, and as always it's great to see such a wide variety if shades using our lampshade making kits. This month's stand out shade is certainly that and @emma_mckie_designs is our deserving winner and her £100 voucher to spend on our website, is a

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Feb 22
2 min

3 creative services for next level lampshades

Pimping your lampshade is easier than you think. There’s the DIY route, that we all know and love, using one of our lampshade making kits with beautiful fabric, sophisticated trims or coloured, metallic or even neon PVC's, to bring your shade to life. Or you could use one of our 3 creative services, to really enhance your shade making and take it to the next level. Pick from designing your own fabric, creating your own bespoke shade dimensions or trying out one of our excitin

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Feb 18
3 min

#memadeshade January Winner

After what can only be described as a very loooong January, #memadeshade is back for 2021! Yey! And we've got off to a great start with lots of fabulous shades, in all shapes and sizes to brighten up our #memadeshade Instagram competition and hopefully provide our makers with new inspiration and ideas for using one of our lampshade making kits. And this month's winner certainly sticks with the theme of 'bright'! This gorgeous fuchsia shade by Lauren of @juniper_and_spice is

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Dec 22, 2020
2 min

#memadexmasshade winner

We're finally at the end of what can only be described as a challenging year and we'd like to say a huge Thank You for your amazing entries to the Dannells #memadeshade Instagram competition, that have kept lampshade making inspiration and creativity flowing throughout the year. With nearly 2,500 entries, not only have you all had a chance of winning, but have helped create a fabulous library of gorgeous lampshades, to help inspire new and existing makers. There really is not

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Lampshade Hack #5 – 4 ways to add lampshade trims

Liberty Patchwork Lampshade DIY Tutorial

Aug 12, 2020
4 min

Lampshade Kit Hack #4 – Neon Stitched Empire Cork Lampshade

The trend for natural materials has been working its way in to our homes for a couple of years now with rattan, cork and cane making a big come back. We couldn’t resist jumping on the bandwagon too, by bringing some of our laminated cork lampshade PVC to life with an Empire lampshade kit and a pop of bold neon stitching. Made by laminating a thin layer of cork to 300 micron clear PVC, our cork lampshade making PVC lights beautifully and has a soft, warm feel. The bright contr

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Aug 10, 2020
4 min

#memadeshade July Winner

As we launch into high summer, the shades keep on coming for our #memadeshade - Instagram competition and the passion for reflecting your style and personality using one of our Needcraft lampshade making kits isn't slowing down! We've had a bumper month this month, with more entries than ever before. Our monthly #memadeshade winner for July is @shadydaisyco, who has made this amazing monstera shade as a commission for a client and she wins our monthly prize of a £100 voucher

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Jul 27, 2020
3 min

Unicorn gold lined lampshade by Three Bears Prints

Unicorns are here to stay! A trend that has pervaded everything from children's and adult fashions, to toys to homewares, unicorns are a symbol of a fantasy and magic. For our third lampshade tutorial in our series from Marliese of Three Bear Prints, she's taken this fantastical and mythical beast as the signature design for a fun shade for a child's bedroom. By adding a gold brushed Stick it PVC inner, the lampshade emits a soft glow when lit bringing an ethereal and magical

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Jul 20, 2020
3 min

You Tube Hexagon lampshade tutorial

If you missed our You Tube Live lampshade making workshop on Saturday, we had a lot of fun demonstrating how to make a Hexagon Lampshade Kit in real time to lots of keen lampshade makers. Thanks for watching if you managed to tune in! If you missed this, you can catch the video, filmed live from our Demonstrator Sam's home, on our You Tube channel, along with plenty of other lampshade making tutorials. There's nothing we love more than showing and sharing hints and tip for ou

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Jul 16, 2020
2 min

Eco Lamp video tutorials with Jules of the Haines Collection

Our resident Eco Hero, Jules Haines of the Haines Collection (read all about Jules here) loves a quick easy up-cycled transformation. Looking to brighten up her home desk and add a dash of contrasting interiors chic, Jules decided on using one of her recycled interiors fabrics to make these stunning matching empire shades and she didn't stop there! Picking a classic wooden June table lamp base from our range of wooden table lamp bases, and using left over paint from a kitchen

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Jul 9, 2020
3 min

#memadeshade June Winner

It's been another bumper month for our Instagram #memadeshade competition and it seems that staying at home has definitely released some inner creativity making our Needcraft lampshade making kits into some proper beauties! This month the #memadeshade title goes to this fabulous bamboo print cone shade made by Carolyn of @owlandcatinteriors, who wins our monthly prize of a £100 voucher to be spent at Dannells. With an equally good eye for a shades and lamp bases alike - who w

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Jun 24, 2020
4 min

Super Drum Parakeet Shade by Three Bear Prints

If you're looking for a true 'centre piece' shade, Marliese Richmond of Three Bears Prints might just have the answer. In the second of our series of lampshade collaborations, Marliese took on the challenge of making one of our largest shades. By using 70 cm diameter rings and our Fabric Printing Service she created bespoke fabric featuring the fantastic parakeets. To add extra drama, Marliese also used Dannells Stick-It ® Silver Brushed Self-Adhesive Lampshade PVC, to create

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#memadeshade May winner

5 reasons to make a DIY lampshade

#memadeshade April winner

#memadeshade March winner

#memadeshade February Winner

3 creative services for next level lampshades

#memadeshade January Winner

#memadexmasshade winner

Lampshade Hack #5 – 4 ways to add lampshade trims

#memadeshade September winner

Liberty Patchwork Lampshade DIY Tutorial

#memadeshade August winner

5 perfect fabrics for lampshade making

Lampshade Kit Hack #4 – Neon Stitched Empire Cork Lampshade

#memadeshade July Winner

Unicorn gold lined lampshade by Three Bears Prints

You Tube Hexagon lampshade tutorial

Eco Lamp video tutorials with Jules of the Haines Collection

#memadeshade June Winner

Super Drum Parakeet Shade by Three Bear Prints