Hanging Herb Baskets from Lampshade Frames

Lampshades are a pretty common item at thrift stores, in every size and shape you can imagine. So, I felt a compelling need to come up with an upcycling idea for them, starting with these small lamp shades that I found at Goodwill. I had this niggling feeling that lampshade frames could be repurposed into herb hanging baskets for a vertical herb planter.

Don’t they look like little Fez hats?

They were cheap and the outer layer of string was starting to come undone on a few of them, so I knew they were destined to be repurposed.

The most important aspect of these small lamp shades was the lampshade frames that were hidden underneath the covering.

The metal frames were key to my upcycling idea, and I was ready to put my creativity to the test!

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Upcycling the Lampshade Frames as Hanging Planters

First, I continued to remove the string and paper that covered the lampshade frames. Then, I bent the light bulb cage portion until it was relatively flat.

This would provide a platform for the potted herbs to sit upon inside the lampshade frames.

Once all the small lamp shades had been “disrobed”, so to speak, I was ready to take the next steps. Now I could transform them into wire hanging baskets that would become a vertical garden planter for my front porch!

Because I love to use what I already have, I decided to use this lightweight chain to create the vertical herb planter.

It was a yard sale find that I hoped would come in handy one day, and well…it finally did!

I wasn’t particularly fond of the maroon paint on the lampshade frames, so I spray painted them gold to match the chain. 

With wire cutters in hand, I carefully cut the chain into matching lengths to go in between the  wire lamp shades. This way, the hanging baskets would hang evenly and perfectly spaced out.

Then, using inexpensive gold-tone jewelry wire, I carefully connected pieces of chain to lampshade frames. Once I was done with that, I connected the small lamp shades together, just like wire hanging baskets.

And yes, even though I started out with four, I ended up only using three. What can I say…I like things in odd numbers!

Hanging Herb baskets from Lampshade Frames

Finally, I popped some herb pots inside the wire hanging baskets.

Worth noting: When I was shopping for herbs, I carried one of the lampshade frames with me to make sure it fit perfectly inside!

How cool is that? I have it hanging on our front porch for now, but I’m already thinking about making a second one to hang out back- to hold entirely different herb pots!

Isn’t that a fun and unexpected upcycling idea for small lamp shades? But I’m telling you, with a little lightweight chain and some jewelry wire, you can make your own set of wire hanging baskets in no time.

And if you don’t want to use them for a vertical herb garden, you could use lightweight flower pots or even artificial plants just for decor!

Looking for more upcycling ideas to create garden planters? Then check out this amazing collection here before you go!

Craft on!

S

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