Thursday, March 14, 2013

Trash Find Lamp Makeover

~Finders Keepers~ 
The rake holding the curtain was found at spring clean-up in Kerrville, Texas. 
Someone threw it out.  Mine!

The lamp was in my neighbors trash. 
She was sweet when I showed interest and passed it on to me.  Mine!


Except....it needed a lamp shade.  I had a cheap plastic one left over from a broken Wal-Mart lamp. 
I hate plastic lamp shades.  Blech. 
I love to glue paper on things and got the bright idea to give it a try. 


This paper is almost 200 years old, from some books I inherited.  The books are ruined, but I can't bear to throw the paper out.  I use it for art projects. 

 I tore it up into tiny random pieces and glued it down to the outside shade with Mod Podge. 
I didn't glue the paper to the inside,
as I was worried about heat messing with the paper or glue. 
The outside worked fine. 


It turned out waaaaay prettier than I had imagined.  I had nothing to lose since it was just a plastic piece of junk.  It turned out so beautifully. 
It looks like a piece of Tiffany. 


Mind you, I lost a lot of light covering the shade with paper.  I wouldn't do this on a lamp you are depending on for reading or sewing.  For a nice glow in a dark corner, it's perfect. 

I gave it a quick coat of Mod Podge to seal it.  Done! 

What's your favorite piece of "trash" in your home? 

Need some ideas? This is a fun book for upcycle eye candy:
1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse: Remake, Restyle, Recycle, Renew (1000 Series)





Sharing with these nice blogs:
(Go check them out and be friendly)


*******************************************************************************
 Dear Watson, our smiling kitten, wants everyone to know Pooh is fine. 
Pooh is just in a very bad mood and not talking to anyone right now.


Choose Joy.
Be Blessed.

~The End~

11 comments:

Linda @ A La Carte said...

Love what you did with the lamp! I think my favorite piece of 'trash' was a Ikea chest of drawers I use to hold place mats and napkins. It was next to the dumpster and my son in law grabbed it for me!

hugs, Linda

Sweet Woodruff said...

Yes for sure!!! IKEA trash is the bomb. I found IKEA curtains in the trash once. I will have to take a picture of them sometime.

Gerald (SK14) said...

Never heard of "Mod Podge" but then I'm not into crafting stuff these days.

Sweet Woodruff said...

LOL Gerald. I'ts just a brand name for an expensive glue. You could use regular school glue just as well, I'm sure.

Cindy @ Dwellings-The Heart of Your Home said...

I've been know to love the neighbors cast offs! Love your kitty...adorable!!!
Thanks so much for finding me...following you back!
Blessings,
Cindy

Laurie said...

What a lovely way to makeover the lamp! I think it's a beautiful fix and a completely fun way to reuse 200 year old book pages. What a great repurpose for both!

mail4rosey said...

What a great way to create the new look, I really like it. :)

Thanks for sharing. I'm visiting today from Thursday's Favorite Things. :)

Katherines Corner said...

very creative! Thank you for sharing your lovely blog at the Thursday Favorite Things hop xo

Thia said...

Quite pretty!

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson said...

Just the fact that the book pages are over 200 years old makes this lamp shade extra unique. Very creative. Thanks for sharing with Share Your Cup.
hugs,
Jann

Kathy said...

Two awesome things - creative way to hang a curtain! and love the lampshade transformation - inspiring! I do appreciate you sharing with Home and Garden Thursday,
Kathy

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