Embroidery lessons learned...

Well, I got a hair brained idea to try to embroider on a large old lampshade of mine.  Just for fun.  Make it My Little Ponies, for Emmie.  OK.  No problem.  She has about a thousand coloring book pages to make a pattern and embroider for my own personal use.  So I start to attempt to sew on this big hard to hold shade.  After 20 minutes, I feel my fingers are going numb and very sore.  I stop sewing because I need to get a thimble or three.  Next day I run out to get a beautiful leather finger cover by Clover brand, but instead I see a really cute orange silicone finger cover with a metal tip at end of finger to punch the needle through the darn lampshade with (same brand, Clover).  I decided this is the thing for me.  Wrong.  I get home, and soon discover that I do not push the needle through with the tip of my finger, but the pad of my finger.  So that one got returned.  Thanks to Micheal's, who took it back without a receipt and gave me store credit.  By this time I have decided NOT TO EMBROIDER DIRECTLY ONTO LAMPSHADE any more.  Another reason for this is because I had to sit with the lampshade to where I could direct light down inside while trying to find where my needle tip was on the other side (the inside of lampshade).  Rarely would I have the location correct due to the shadow on the needle!!!  All the more agony for my damn fingers!!!!!

Here is what I started that I won't finish now:

So bottom line is that I then started watching YouTube videos on how to make a new lampshade (which I figured I could do all the embroidery on prior to actually putting the fabric on the rings to remake the shade), but then saw a woman who decoupaged lampshades.  That gave my big silly brain something else to think about.  Now I have in mind to cover with different fabrics representative of each Pony, and have the embroidered one on each piece of fabric to end up covering the entire lampshade.
Here is my first complete pony, shaded with colored pencils.  I think she turned out kinda cool.

  Heck, we may just decoupage so she can help.  That would be real fun for her.  Knowing me (much more of a crafter, than seamstress), I bet I will decide to make it a fun, gluey mess.  Probably.  Should we add glitter too?  I'm thinking YES!!!!