This is Truly Amazing!

I kid you not.

It's the little things that really make your day, right?

For whatever reason (some shortcoming on my part, I'm sure)

 I cannot for the life of me get lampshades to fit or sit straight

 on all the great lamps I find thrifting.

Like ever.

Does that happen to you?

I was straightening lampshades constantly.

I would look at photos I had taken at parties and get-togethers 

and there in the background was a lamp with a wonky shade.

Then a couple of weeks ago I read a blog post - and now I honestly can't remember which blog- about this very same thing.

They had posted about a moldable, air dry clay that you could wrap around a lamp socket and it would hold the lampshade in place. 

They gave the name and that it could be found at Target. 

I was off. I found it.

 It cost $11.99.

 It was on sale for $9.99. 

It was a small pouch and I have a lot of wonky lampshades. 

I couldn't do it. 

I kept thinking there had to be a more cost effective solution.

(I'm sure their product is awesome - I was just being cheap!)

I thought about moldable air dry clay to create the collar that would hold the shade in place but I was concerned about the heat generated by a lamp socket and burning the house down.

When my handy hubby came home that night I asked him if there was an inexpensive, moldable air dry adhesive or whatever that was heat resistant that would do the same thing.

He said, "Yes, the JBWeld that you used a while back to repair the pond."

Duh. It's less than $5.00 for a tube of the putty and bonus - he had some downstairs. 

And the stuff at Target hardened in 24 hours. JBWeld is just minutes.

You can run around your house eliminating wonky lampshades in no time flat.

And it's formulated to use on cars and things that get really hot

 so my concern about something catching fire or melting was alleviated. Whew!

( Please read the JBWeld product information for yourself and decide if it's something you feel comfortable using in your home. I am not a fire safety expert)

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It comes in a clear tube and is like medium-soft clay.

It is comprised of two different colored materials which you work together by kneading

 and then it's ready to use.

I rolled it into a little tube and pressed it into a collar around the socket.

The thickness of your JBWeld tube depends on the lampshade and how much area you need to provide to hold the lampshade.

 

( I realize now that I could have adjusted the size and thickness of this ring to be a little less obvious because the JBWeld is really strong and hardens rock solid. This was a learning curve.)

 

You can barely tell in these late night, bad iphone pics but if you look closely you can see the gray JBWeld showing up inside the too big ring of the lampshade.

I'm sorry the pictures aren't better but I was so excited to solve the lampshade dilemma that I almost forgot to take pictures.

But a saner mind prevailed and I snapped these because I knew you would want the deets. 

This is amazing. 

( Looking up under the lampshade. If your lamp is somewhere that you might look up under and see the gray putty then you could paint it the color of the lamp socket. In this case, gold. I may give it a try and let you know. Most lamps don't require a putty collar this large but I was determined to pair the wicker shade and the blue and white lamp)

There is one little thing you need to remember - this stuff hardens pretty quickly.

You need to create your "collar" around the socket and be sure that when you rest the lampshade on the collar and press it in ever so gently that it is perfectly straight from all directions because in a few minutes your shade will be bonded to the collar.

Another option is to create your collar and press your shade gently into it and then quickly remove the lampshade while the JBWeld hardens. You can then rest your lampshade back on the collar. It will be much straighter than before but it will be removable. It would possibly still wiggle a bit. I don't have to remove the lampshade to change light bulbs so I let it harden and bond .
 

No more wonky lampshade on
 my cute little blue and white lamp!

See? Amazing!!
#gamechanger

Linking up at Craftaholics Anonymous