Photo-Slide Lampshade (Tutorial)

[OCEANofAWESOME]

Here is the ridiculously sweet Lamp I made from various slides I collected over the years.  I am sooo proud of it cause I think it turned out awesome!!!    It was probably one of the most tedious projects I’ve done, but if you think you can rough it out then there is a tutorial at the bottom.  Hope you like!    [/b]






Materials[/b]
-Lamp with shade (I got mine at Walmart for $20)
-Drill
-Photographic Slides-anywhere from 60 to 120, I used 120 *see step one before you do anything!
-Metal Rings (in the jewelry department of craft stores) *read steps 1-2 to find out how many to buy
- 2 pairs of Pliers
-Parchment Paper (the stuff in the Wilton Cake decorating section of your craft store works great; it comes on a roll like wax paper and is a cheaper option)
-Glue (see step 4)
-Scissors/Slicer (slicer works best for speedy results)

Instructions[/b]
1.  Buy Your Lamp before you buy any supplies!!!  Remove the fabric from your lampshade so that there is just a top metal ring.  Then use a slide to figure out how many slides it would take to go around the entire ring.  Afterwards multiply that number by how many rows you want there to be; this will get you the number of slides you need to use.
2.  Use an extra slide or a piece of paper in the same shape as the slide and map out the position of where you want your holes to be drilled.  I did 2 holes on the top and bottom of each slide, and 1 hole on the left and right; this is the perfect amount of security(Refer to pictures for placement of rings).  Make them close enough to the edge so that the metal rings will fit on.  Drill a hole over each marking for a stencil.
3.  For each slide, place the stencil or pattern on top and drill all your holes.  Be prepared, THIS IS TEDIOUS!!!
4.  Now cut pieces of parchment paper out big enough to cover just the photo part of each slide, but leaving enough overlapping so that you can glue it to the slide.  The Parchment paper is really just to make your photos stand out more; if you hold your slide up to a window or light bulb, you can see that the picture is sooo much more vivid with the paper behind it then not.  Glue each piece of paper to the back of each slide- this is tedious as well.  I used a Tombo Mono Adhesive Permanent Strip Glider tool that I got in the scrapbooking isle at Michaels and it worked great and is a much cleaner and speedier option.  All you do is glide it over the section you want to be glued and it comes out in a clear 1/4" strip of tape-like residue.  It was a lifesaver for I had to do 120 slides.
5.  Now layout the order you want your slides to be in and start hooking them together with the metal rings.  It is easier to do each column individual first, and then start hooking the columns together.  When that is finished, then hook it to the lampshade ring.  Pliers are a must to open the rings and to close them believe me!  This is the most tedious and painful step of all!!!
6.  Turn on your lamp and ENJOY!

[smprncs]

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! I must transfer my pics to slides. I need one of these lamps. Thanx for the great tute and the inspiration!!!

[rissaroo]

they had this on Ready Made a while back...i printed and saved it, cuz i want to make one! I think yours looks even cooler than the pictues they have...nice job!

[elmonerd]

That's Gorgeous! I absolutely will try this project. Thanks for sharing! 

[LoneCheeze]

oh man, that is wonderful!!!
if only all my dad's old slides weren't presentation slides from work or pictures of trains...

[plumpea]

This idea is completely awesome! I love it. I was just wondering-- does the light coming out from the cracks between the slides bother you when you're trying to see the slides? Would this work if you left the lampshade fabric in place (if it was light colored and thin)??

[Nightblue Fruit]

You lamp turned out fabulously!  Those slides are wonderful - so colorful!  I've made two of these now myself, so I think I've got the process down pretty well...

A hint for getting a lampshade:  I believe slides are a standard size:  2" x 2".  This means that the ring on the top of the shade that you will hang them from must be divisible by 2, since you can't use partial slides.  I've used thrift shop lampshades for both of mine and they were very cheap.  It was a bit tricky though to find one that was divisible by 2", so bring your measuring tape with you. 

The rings were a bit tricky to find also, until I knew exactly what to look for:  the Readymade instructions were right on:  10mm Jump Rings.   Perfect size to keep the slides close together.  (I don't know if they come much bigger anyway)

This idea is completely awesome! I love it. I was just wondering-- does the light coming out from the cracks between the slides bother you when you're trying to see the slides? Would this work if you left the lampshade fabric in place (if it was light colored and thin)??

If your slides are as close together as the 10mm jump ring allows, the little bit of light coming through is no problem.  I think that leaving the fabric on (even a thin layer) would really detract from the form and visual appeal of the slides.  But if you really wanted to do this, you could skip the step of attaching the parchment paper to the back as the fabric or paper of the shade would accomplish the same thing.

[OCEANofAWESOME]

This idea is completely awesome! I love it. I was just wondering-- does the light coming out from the cracks between the slides bother you when you're trying to see the slides? Would this work if you left the lampshade fabric in place (if it was light colored and thin)??

I don't think it would work if you left the shade on because...
     1.  There would be nothing to hook the top rings onto unless you drilled holes into the shade.
     2.  The slides do not bend that easily so it would be hard to get them to wrap snugly around the shade just so.  It would probably work if you didn't mind space in between the slides and shade, but I am still not sure that the pictures would show up as crisp without the backing covering it completely.
But hey, if you decide to try it with the lampshade still on be sure to post the results.  If I can get away without putting parchment paper on each slide then I am totally down for it!
     As for the cracks in between the slides, the camera exaggerates the light and projects a glare much more than in actual life; when I have the light turned on I really do not notice it at all. [/b]

[BlueEyedMary]

this is really beautiful! it should be a featured project for sure

[colie]

I saw this in readymade, and I instantly knew I had to have it. Unfortunatley the only slides I have at the moment are leftovers from sending in a portfolio- i have a ways to go before I will have a lamp. i am sure my collection will grow immensely with my photo class next semester. waiting is so hard! patience...