Let's Make a Lamp!

Cloudy day here...the perfect day to make a little lamp 

for the kitchen counter.

I said the other day that I've been looking for a tiny

lamp for awhile to go with the other two tiny lamps

on my kitchen counter. I don't have under cabinet lighting and 

need the extra lighting there. 

I needed one more little lamp to place in a corner 

on the other side of the sink.

I could not find a tiny lamp anywhere but found this 

Christmas candle at Joann's for $3.99 and knew I could make it work.

 

 Here's my lamp parts. 

I bought that little ironstone creamer a couple of years ago 

and knew it was just the thing today for the base.

I will miss it on the kitchen shelf but hey...an excuse to find another!

 Just in case I decide I don't want to use this creamer as a lamp 

in the future I decided to attach the candle with double stick tape

instead of using a permanent method such as glue.

I have used this incredible heavy duty double stick tape on several projects

and it is a game changer!

 

 I made a trellis for my climbing rose with it. 

Sticks to bricks! 

But does not harm bricks!

See that post here.

 I also used it to secure the mailbox on my house.

I had hung this box but it would move and fall off

if the postman wasn't careful. And of course he

wasn't careful. A few pieces of this tape on the back

side and it's stuck tight. Never moves. And again it does

not damage the bricks. I could take it off if I wanted.

The trellis and the mailbox have been up since August

and doing great.

You can order this tape here.  

I am in no way affiliated with that company I just think it's a great product. 

 

So back to the lamp. 

The candle was not as tall as I'd like so I stuck a small cap from

a hairspray can to the bottom of it. 

I ended up removing the felt from the bottom. 

Tape did not want to stick to the felt.

 

Then a couple pieces of the tape on the bottom of the lid.

And stuck it inside the creamer.

 There you go!

 Stuck tight!

And finished lamp.

 Easiest project I've done... maybe ever.

Now I want to turn everything into lamps.

I know you can buy a lamp kit and make things into lamps.

I've done that before but this was even easier than that.

Of course this little candle only does a 7 watt bulb but

that's enough for my countertop.

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Lampshade Jewelry

aka: Fun with Magnets and Stuff

Remember last month when I made this....

see post here

Well, I'm finally back with the tutorial on how I created that shade.

There is no big secret to covering a lampshade in burlap.

In this case, I tore off the fabric that covered this shade but left the lining.

I've found with burlap shades...you need the lining or you can see right through the shade.

I cut the burlap to the width and length of the shade and simply hot glued 

it to the wire frame.

I covered the edge with gimp and now the shade was ready for embellishment.

I promised I'd tell how I achieved the button tufted affect of this shade.

This shade's structure has metal wire running up and down in two spots on each long side

and one on each short side.

It's an oval shaped shade.

I already knew I was going to use this shade for an embellishment idea I had

and in experimenting I discovered the tufted affect.

I wanted to be able to change the look of this lampshade.

I didn't want it to always look the same, though.

So to do this...I used magnets hot glued to the back of my buttons.

Here I've gathered up some supplies.

Buttons, flowers, jewelry odds and ends and magnets.

Earlier in the summer I'd made this huge adornment for another lamp.

It's hard to get a good photo since this lamp sits in front of a window.

Here you can see it better.

The living room is a mess with projects strewn about.

The large pink flower really adds whimsy to this lamp and shade.

For this flower I cut the stem off.

I had to hot glue the layers of flower back together to keep the flower from coming apart after removing the stem.

I then hot glued a rhinestone button in the center of the flower.

I had to use large magnets I found at Lowe's for this flower since it's large.

One magnet glued to the back of the flower and one magnet goes on the inside of the shade.

If you get tired of this look...switch it out with something else!

You can have a different look with each season.

Or for that matter....each day!

I liked this so much...I decided to do some embellishing on my burlap shade that I made.

The first look was this. Achieved with six buttons placed horizontally around the shade.

I sewed with embroidery thread back and forth in the button holes before glueing to the magnet so they would look sewn on. The magnets pulling the fabric to the metal gave the tufted affect.

After that I was hooked...I created several pieces of jewelry in a very short time.

I found a large package of magnets at Walmart the other night and this little package

of flowers at Michaels. I couldn't resist those flowers.

Here are my other looks created with magnets and hot glue.

This one a burlap bow with crystal prism and rhinestones.

White burlap flowers give it another look.

A large wood button with gathered burlap and rhinestone makes another embellishment.

I was really on a roll, now.

This is my favorite...it's very much my style.

But not very fall like so will most likely not make an appearance again till spring here 

at my cottage.

These of course can move around in any configuration or get moved from lamp to lamp in my home

or they could end up on my refrigerator!

This is a really fun and easy project...I hope you give it a try.

I'm thinking I need to do some scary embellishments for Halloween.

Which version of this of this lampshade do you like best?

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Salvaged Baluster Lamps

Wishing, Wanting and Waiting

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I've wished for a salvaged baluster lamp for quite awhile. 

Something like those above from Pottery Barn.

Without the Pottery Barn price tag.

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They show up on Etsy and Ebay from time to time.

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Made from recycled vintage porches or staircases.

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Love the patina on this one and the shape.

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Green chipping paint....yummy....this one off Etsy.

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One of my own has eluded me.

Till yesterday....I found this one at Goodwill for $4.99.

It's bad now...that's for sure...but I think it has the potential to be great.

Just a little chippy paint and I'll have my own salvaged baluster lamp.

I'll be back with this lamp revamp.

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