Sunday, February 26, 2012

Light the Way

When I find a piece of furniture that's seen better days, I can usually see what it can be.  But I think I've always taken lamps for granted.  They were what they were - take 'em or leave 'em.  Then I realized that the shade is actually a canvas.  It screams for creative expression.


I did this wordy lamp a few months ago.  You can read about it here.

Recently, my daughter found this awesome turquoise lamp at a thrift shop and thought I'd want to do something with it. Ummm, Yes!

So I started looking for a shade and found this cool one at Target.

The turquoise reminded me of road maps, so that's what I decided to use to cover the shade.  

First, I laid the shade on the map and rotated the shade to make sure the map would cover.  Kinda like flipping a box on gift wrap to make sure it will cover.  Then I traced the shade as I flipped it.

Next, I cut it out on the trace lines.  Notice it's not a straight rectangle because the shade itself slopes inward.

Then I taped it to the shade using painters tape, and used a razor blade knife to trim the map closer to the rolled edge of the shade.  I cut lightly so I didn't cut through the shade.

Then I used a spray adhesive and sprayed both the back of the map and the shade.  I tried to stay away from the rolled edges, since they  wouldn't be covered.  Then I simply stuck the map to the shade and smoothed out any bubbles.
Not bad, but I wanted to cover the raw edges of the paper.  Since I was afraid that finding a match for the turquoise might be hard, I decided to go with another color.  Orange or red?
I decided to go for red.

I put a thin bead of craft glue on the lamp and then glued the ribbon in place.

Voile!

Makes me wonder why I settled for boring lamps all these years!

Pin It

I've linked up to these amazing parties:





The Southern Institute
Boogieboard Cottage
Becolorful








Photobucket

HOGThree Mango Seeds
The 36th AVENUE
The Shabby NestFurniture Feature Fridays
Redoux

Whipperberry

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Gotta Love Blue

When I started this blog (6 weeks ago) it was to give back some of the inspiration that I had received from you fellow bloggers.  So pardon today's post.  Today, it's all about me...
and my daughter....  and her husband.... and their new baby!


See, I've got three grown kids.  Megan, my only middle daughter, is expecting her first baby in July.  Last night, she and her husband hosted a gender reveal party to announce the sex of their baby.


She and I spent Sunday evening making decorations with my new Silhouette Cameo.  



Waddle it be?  Boy or Girl?





She polled her guests...

and her students at school...

She asked her guests to wear pink or blue to demonstrate their vote.

The brother and sister-in-love are hoping for a girl to play with the cousin.

After dinner, we all grabbed a cupcake and bit in for the big reveal...



BLUE!
It's a boy!

Watta is sharing the news!


I'm pumped!
(ugh, can I have a re-take and some air brushing?)


Megan and her man are thrilled!


So prepare yourself.
When Jay Louis arrives in July I'll have to deviate from the DIY posts again!
But that's ok.  
People are more important than things!


Pin It

I've linked to these awesome parties: