When my daughter was about 5 we decorated her bedroom with a Disney Princess theme, but now she's a sophisticated 12-year-old young lady she wants to update her room with more appropriate decor. She knows what she likes, and what she doesn't like. I recently found her old Disney Princess bedside lamp dumped in the bin in favour of a grey metallic desk lamp she found in the shed. But I couldn't bring myself to throw it out because I felt certain it could made into something fabulous.

So I dismantled it and cut the paper shade off the wire frame. I used the paper to make a pattern and cut a piece of card the right shape for a new frame, then covered it in decoupage images I thought my daughter would enjoy. A few coats of Mod Podge sealed it all together.



While that was drying, I scrubbed the base clean and painted it with some black gloss paint. Then I glued some images to the back of glass nuggets and hot-melt-glued them around the base.



I re-assembled the shade and finished it off with some black brocade ribbon and some wonderful dangly crystal trim.



It looks even better lit up because the crystals and glass nuggets really catch the light, but my photography skills aren't up to capturing the effect.

Disappointingly, my daughter loves it and has claimed it back. But last night whilst I was sitting in bed I started picking at the faux-suede cover on the base of my own bedside lamp and wouldn't you know, it fell right off! Now it needs a bit of a face-lift, too.