Your next Christmas tree collar is sitting in the lampshade aisle at the thrift store, pretending to be a lampshade. I turned a $5 thrifted lampshade into a velvet ribbon Christmas tree collar. You’re got to try this easy upcycled Christmas DIY with ribbon you already have!
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I found this one at Goodwill for $5, and I turned it into the prettiest tree collar I’ve ever had, using ribbon I already had from other projects over the years. No sewing, nothing fancy, just a hot glue gun and a little bit of looking at an ordinary thing sideways.
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If you love thrift store Christmas decor and budget Christmas DIY as much as I do, this is the project for you.
What you’ll need
– A thrifted lampshade, any plain shade with a good shape that slips over your tree base ($5 at my Goodwill)
– Velvet ribbon, leftover from other projects works perfectly
– A hot glue gun
– Scissors
– Contrasting ribbon for the trim
– A brooch or pin for the finishing touch (I used my grandmother’s old pin)
How to make a DIY Christmas tree collar from a thrifted lampshade
I’ve made tree collars before by cutting the inside wire out of a lampshade and painting it. This time I planned to do it the way I did my mini lampshade DIY, by covering the whole shade in ribbon.
Start with the widest piece of velvet ribbon you have. Glue it down and wrap it around the shade, smoothing as you go, and securing on the other end on the inside. You can continue this the entire way around your shade until it’s covered, OR you can allow some of the lampshade to peek through like I did creating stripes.
My stripe spacing isn’t perfect because I just kind of eyeballed the whole thing. If you want to be more precise then grab a fabric measuring tape and mark your spaces evenly around the shade. Honestly, that’s way too much match for my holiday brain!
Then a contrasting trim around the edges. I added a thick dusty blue at the bottom (honestly because I ran out of burgundy) and I love the way it looks. I added a thin ribbon in that same dusty blue at the top to tie it all together. Just go with your gut and creative intuition. You could weave different colors together to make a plaid pattern, attached ribbon horizontally like a drum. The possibilities are endless!
Then I added my grandmother’s old brooch, right at the front, because of course!
And I know I made this, but I am still absolutely blown away by how incredible it turned out. Five dollars, ribbon I already had, and a tree collar that looks like it came from a fancy Christmas shop.
Why a thrifted lampshade makes the best tree collar
A lampshade already has the shape. It’s wide at the bottom, narrower at the top, and it sits perfectly around the base of the tree. You don’t have to build anything, you just have to see it differently. That’s the whole trick with upcycled Christmas decor: the piece is already there, hiding in plain sight, waiting for someone to look at it sideways.
The pin is the part that makes it mine. The ribbon I already had. The lampshade nobody else wanted. Put them together and it’s not just a craft, it’s a memory sitting under my tree.
Your turn
So here’s my challenge: next time you’re at the thrift store, don’t just check the Christmas aisle. Check the lampshades. Let your creativity run wild, because your next favorite thing in your whole house, your next special home accent, might be one treasure hunt away from becoming a reality.
What ordinary thrift find would you turn into Christmas decor? I’d love to hear it.
