Is is still re-use if you steal them from home depot?

its not stealing if you ask to take more than your fair share....which she did, if you read the link that's attached. and who cares, why not make something you enjoy out of something that someone else would instead throw away. lay off the haterade.

I actually like the shade, but agree that it's not re-use *UNLESS* she happened to buy 40 cans of paint from Home Depot.

i dont think they would have sold them to her if she tried. Not that it's ok to take more than you need of something just because it is free, but it's not as if they went to waste, she clearly used them.

personally, i would have painted them. and used the narrow part of the stir stick to allow some light to filter through.

WOW. A lot of angry, judgmental types, huh? I think the shade is fun and well designed. I look forward to seeing what color Laura Lynn chooses. Nice job.

this is a cool idea for something that many people have lying around the house. I think staining them will bring out the color nicely, and turn this shade into something sophisticated.

Meh.

On the other hand, it might be interesting to use truly "used" paint stirrers to make the a shade in a rainbow of colors -- now that's recycling and "green"!

@Mid-C Frank: now that sounds worthwhile! anyone painting their housea rainbow of colors needs to get on this.

I'm all about creative reuses and downcycling things that would otherwise end up in the waste-stream, but the problem here is that this site often showcases ideas like this as inspiration for others to do the same. And if what is being suggested is following the lead of this post's author, then yeah, we can judge freely.

I like the ninja Idea personally.

But this is definitely a clever use for old paint sticks! I most likely would have painted them (only because the natural "wood" wouldn't go with anything in my apartment).

I wonder if this could have been done using the shade as a "template" instead of gluing them to the shade itself? Just a thought!

Oh, jeez! Seriously? She said in her blog that she ASKED the clerks if they sold them and they told her that it was OK to take some. Laura Lynne, I love it!

i think it's a creative way to not pay for materials! strong work!

So if she found an unused pile of paints sticks by a dumpster about to be tossed then this would be great? Pretty fine line people. What if you use the paint sticks to make an ugly shade you have into one you like instead of tossing it or buying a new one?
Some of you need a life.

Yeah, I don't like the way the article implies that she some how did some good by finding an alternative use for an unused item.

Agreed; I blame the write-up, not the crafter.

It's like that poor kitchen that got ripped to shreds recently because the headline/writeup built it up as the second coming.

Also, when I buy a can of paint, they usually give me a handful of stirrers- much more than I need. Clearly, HD has plenty of these and they cost them nothing. No, it's not a re-use, but I think it's pretty neat.

I agree, Mid-C Frank - that was my first thought, too. Paint drips of different colors would have been made a bigger impact!

er.."would have made"

Jeez people! This is a design blog. Why can't we just view this post as what it is: a craft project and a neat idea?!
Like the look or not, it can serve as an inspiration to spin-off into something else. Who cares if the person got her materials from HomeDepot or a junk yard?
I really like this idea. You can use so many different materials for this. I personally don't care for uniform looks, so perhaps I can use some trigs to glue onto the lampshade instead.

I think the thing that's really throwing me off here is the black chain on the fixture itself. To me, it doesn't really go with either the stained or unstained version of the wooden stir sticks. Although I liked it slightly better before it was stained. I do like the suggestion of using paint stirring sticks that had already been used to stir different colors of paint, but I'm sure even that would require some careful orchestrating to ensure the colors all looked good together (5 different shades of relatively muted colors might not look so fantastic, ,for instance). My suggestion would be to use the very brightly colored, slightly-transparent stains (think blue, red, yellow, green, and also some wood tones thrown in) instead. Lots of great colors, but you would still see the wood grain coming through.

Dezine,
The fanatical of us hold the writers to perfection because we really care that this is done right. So if we are cynical, nitpicky and critical it's because we care the most. Probably care too much.
And it is a repurpose, but it could, as other people put out there be a re-use. Using used ones could tell an interesting story and be flammable.

hmm.. it's nice.. could maybe use a little color. paint perhaps

Its not "hating" to point out a simple fact. Simple fact is those paint stir sticks arent "un-used" they will be used by people... for painting. Home depot is of course willing to give you more, but for each one of those you take they must be replaced, that means cutting more wood.
Its a cool project, I think its a beautiful lampshade, but the same effect could be achieved with strips of wood (shims would work great!). I think its a great use for them if you happen to have a bunch lying around and such a cool suggestion from Frank to use already "used" and painted sticks!
I dont blame her, shes totally honest about how she aquired them.

wow purpose made sticks for stirring paint? Whatever next? What happened to a bit of offcut or whatever that you kept and used time and time again? You know like your dad and your grandad and great grandad did....that is reusing something.....(off soapbox now). p.s I actually like the shade but be ace with some drips.

I think it would look pretty cool having each stick having been dipped in different colors, having actually been used before.

If some of you think a few critical comments is "hate" you must be new to the internet.

I love it. I think used sticks with different colors of paint on them would be too much. This is very understated and very clever!

Anytime words like "re-use", "recycle" and "green" are used, the green police come out to critique every word. Can't you just accept that Laura made something cool out of an old lamp shade? Can you accept that this website is sometimes 1) showing things that people have already created and sometimes 2) showing people ideas of what they COULD do, using an example post as inspiration?

Maybe, just maybe, someone at home has a hideous lampshade and has just recently painted their house. Maybe, just maybe, they don't want to throw away all the used and unused sticks. Maybe that person would like this idea!

Laura, can't wait to see the finished product after you stain!

interesting idea, could probably use the idea later for something else, thx

I think it looks GREAT! And could work with many types of decor. Nice work, yo!

the delightfull diy "genius" that installed the kitchen in my apartment placed the cabinets too far away from the wall so no generic countertop fits. I opted to change the countertop when I moved in to a nice birch one and it came up short. Stir sticks here in Denmark are made of birch and has no curves like the ones on the picture so we glued paint stir stick to the back of the counter top to make it wider. With a good and wide trim to finish it of no one's the wiser. Also why no use the stir stick to make that cool chevron patern on the front of the drawer in this post: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/inspiration/wood-white-furniture-inspiration--149324

1. Idea is very clever.
2. The person who suggested using used paint stir-sticks - also very clever.
3. People hating on the original concept because it flies in the face of their notion of "reuse" can get off the bus. K. Thx. Bye.

@mindjudo - awesome.

Wow. I never knew there could be so many opinions about a lamp shade made of stir sticks. Anyway, I love it. A lot! I actually looked at one of my lamps and tried to visual it with this neat project. I think this is a great reuse seeing as stir sticks that are used to stir paint get THROWN AWAY. At least she's using them for a cool purpose, hence the word REuse. Makes sense?

Wow, some of these people are crazy haters! It's all about CREATIVITY people! Geesh!

Kudos, Laura. And to the person who doesn't like the black cord, its called contrast, as in what makes things visually interesting! So there!

Personally I've used about 10 containers of paint over the last year. The paint techs gave me (unasked!) about 5 of them per gallon. One individual laid a stack of about 10 down and only took a few. I still have a minimum of 20 of these things around.

I hardly think this is taking advantage of Home Depot or its customers.

And the idea that the write up is irresponsible because it's going to influence unmanageable droves of people to do the same thing is hilarious. Really folks, the "if everyone did it" argument is rarely valid.

Wanted to add that I love the idea! I probably would have shortened the shade so that it cam above the notches. Would look more interesting with light shining through them.

Annoyed that we have to pay for those at our hardware- I want free ones!

Thanks for featuring this!
It's finished now (stained and hung in place) and looks great, especially when lit.

It's a really cool idea. Anthropologie Has one hanging in the store in Rockefeller Center. They dipped the sticks half way into paint and let them drip dry.
It is cool use of old lamp shade and if sticks given with paint, this will be a few dozen that won't go in the trash.