Make a pressed flower lampshade - Part 2: Gluing your pressed flowers

Make a Pressed Flower Lampshade - Part 2: Glueing Your Pressed Flowers

The process of securing your design to the lampshade is a little trickier due to the curved surface, but very achievable with a little patience and technique.

You Will Need:

• Your lampshade and pressed flowers
• Masking tape
• Tweezers
• Scrap paper
• Glue - we use Mod Podge in the matt finish
• Eco-friendly baby wipes
• Small paint brush
• Scissors
• Pins

Glueing and Finishing

Step 1: Use masking tape to mark the positioning of the first stem you want to glue. It's a good idea to mark as many points as you can to help you match it back up later - this could be the edge of a prominent leaf, the top of a petal and the end of a stem.

Step 2: Remove the stem from the lampshade, and place it face down onto scrap paper.

Step 3: Apply the glue delicately using a paint brush in an upward motion being careful of any delicate areas. Leave any particularly flimsy petals to be glued at a later stage.

Step 4: Lay the stem back onto the lampshade, using your markers to get it in the correct position. Wipe away any excess glue with eco-friendly baby wipes.

Step 5: Gently press it into place using a scrap piece of paper - as it is a curved surface and you can't weigh it down with books, use masking tape to hold it down while the glue dries.

Step 6: Once all of your stems are glued down, work around the shade glueing any loose leaves. This is a delicate process, so take your time. Use pins or tweezers to carefully lift the leaf away from the shade, then if the leaf is sturdy enough, you can fold it up slightly and slide a scrap piece of paper beneath to apply the glue. You can then use the scrap piece of paper to fold it back into position and secure it onto the shade.

Step 7: Next, you can glue down any loose petals - they will be particularly delicate. Try to use your paintbrush and tweezers to apply the glue to the petal as this is the most accurate way. However, it might be easier to apply the glue straight onto the lampshade and then press the petals into place.

Step 8: If a leaf or petal breaks, don't worry - you can replace it with something from another pressing. You can also use any extra pressings you have to add extra detail to the end of stems.

Step 9: When you have finished, it's a good idea to leave the masking tape on your stems for at least a few hours to ensure the glue has fully dried and cured.

Step 10: Your finished shade is ready to be added to a lamp base!

Future Projects

These techniques can be used to create all sorts of decorative pieces for your home. As well as the surface you use, you can also experiment with using different stems and creating different patterns - the more creative you can be, the better.