Life as a LEO Wife

My husband bought this Paw Patrol lamp from Target about 6 years ago. It was cute for 3 year-olds, but my son just turned 9. He still used it in his room because he needed a lamp. We looked around, and he liked the lamps that used comic book pages that included all of the superheroes. That is how this upcycled superhero lamp was born.

For an upcycled superhero lamp you’ll need:

• an old lamp- If the base isn’t painted red already, you’ll need to spray paint it red or other color that matches the superhero you want to use.
• Printer to print superhero comic book pages or old superhero comic books ($.60- $.10 per page printed)
• Mod Podge in matte ($1 in the Target dollar section or Dollar Tree)
• Foam brush to spread the Mod Podge ($1 for a 3-pack at Dollar Tree)
• Scissors (Dollar Tree also has adult size scissors for $1)
• Superhero figurine- he got several “string heros” from the quarter machines in front of Walmart & the Dollar Tree; he chose to use Flash as the on/off pull string ($0.75 from the machine) You can also use small figurines they sometimes have in the toy section at Dollar Tree, Walmart, Target, etc.
• If you use a toy figure & not a string character, you’ll need E-6000 or hot glue gun & glue

Clean & Paint the Lamp

First you’ll want to clean the soon-to-be superhero lamp. Get any dust or stray Crayola marker streaks off. Mine came clean easily. If you need to spray paint your lamp, do so now. While it’s drying, you can print some superhero comic book pages online. If you have old comics, that’s even better. You don’t have to waste your ink!

Cut Up & Add Comic Pages to the New Superhero Lamp

My son wanted all different superheroes, but if your child wants all Batman or Iron Man, you can do that too. For my comic book lamp I cut the pages at different angles or chunks of this page & that one. If you want a more uniform look, you can cut squares of each section from pages.

Use your foam brush and add Mod Podge to the hero lamp shade and a little to the back of the comic. Add it to the area of the lamp you’d like. Do that all around your lampshade. Just turn it, find the best spot for each cut out & glue it on. You’ll see you can cut smaller pieces as you go, or you can layer the comics on certain parts of the lamp. I went with layering mine. You may also want to have enough paper to fold under at the bottom & over the shade at the top, so you can’t see the old edges. Finding the best spot for each piece is what takes the longest, so be prepared with your newest binge-worthy Netflix shows!

Add Mod Podge Over the Comics

Once all pieces are placed, spread another layer of Mod Podge over the entire shade, ensuring it will stay on & look nice & smooth! Allow it to dry before you place it in your child’s room. They can’t help but touch, ha!

While mine was drying, I tied “String Flash” onto the silver on/off chain. However, if you’re using a solid type figurine, add E600 to the bottom, then a little hot glue over it. Then place it on the lamp base, holding it down for a minute while the hot glue dries.

Complete Upcycled Superhero Lamp!

It took about 2 hours to complete, not including drying time at the end. Printing & piecing the pages on the hero lampshade took the most time, around an hour & a half. You won’t regret it if you upcycle an old lamp. It’s cute & functional! How could that go wrong?

I hope you enjoyed this superhero lamp tutorial!

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Don’t go yet! There’s more to see!

There’s plenty more to see here on the blog! If you’re looking for something specific, use the search box in the sidebar to look it up. If not, you might enjoy these ideas. Don’t have time to read them all now? That’s ok, just click over to the posts using the pictures and pin them for later. You can also add Life as a LEO Wife to your favorites and check back for new ideas and free printables and SVGs every Wednesday and Saturday, as well as link parties with tons of shared ideas on Sundays and Thursdays!

More Kid’s Decor

Looking for more decor ideas for kids? You will love this Spiderman superhero wreath! I’ve also created wall art signs for the little gamer in your life. Print and frame them for extremely affordable (free is super affordable right?!) and easy decorations. I had mine printed at Office Depot as 11×14 prints. Another piece of gamer decor is this DIY tabletop sign made using a Dollar Tree square sign. The free SVG is available in the post.

Family Fun

Family Movie Nights

Every year I share a new family movie night for Halloween, Christmas, and Easter. These nights are wonderful experiences that your kids will look forward to year after year and will make memories that last a lifetime. Be sure to follow me via email and social media so that you never miss them! These movie nights come with free printable invitations, decorations, special food and drink ideas, printable games and photobooth props! For free!!!

Last year (2021) I shared a Beetlejuice movie night for Halloween and an Elf movie night for Christmas. Head over and pin them for later!! (For personal use only, not for commercial use or on items to be sold. Please only share them by sending your family and friends here to LifeasaLEOWife.com or by sharing the posts on social media. This allows me to keep these free printables and cut files coming to you for free! Thank you my lovely readers!)

Family Traditions

Here are some great things to do with your family throughout the year. Make sure you head over to those posts and pin them for when it’s time to use them! In our home we have a fun Valentine’s Day tradition. We go all out, decorate the dining room, and have a special dinner. The kids look forward to it every year.

This family Thanksgiving journal is such a great tradition to add to your family’s holiday. Each year each person in the family adds what they are thankful for that year. It’s an amazing thing to look back on for years and years.

Free Printable Family Fun

These free printable letters from Santa along with random acts of kindness to do during the Christmas season are so cute, and the kids get so excited about them! If you’re looking for a letter to Santa from your kiddos, there are many printable options in this post. There are plenty of other free printable holiday ideas here on the blog, so stick around and check them out! You can use the search box in the sidebar if you’re looking for something specific. You might like these: Christmas wish list for everyone on your list, a Christmas light scavenger hunt, and these New Year’s Eve photobooth props.