Tuesday, February 1, 2011

From Drab to Fab - January Creative Challenge

So for my project with a $20 maximum, came in at $18.44. It was a lamp that someone had given us long ago. I had kept it in my basement for ages because I really disliked it (that's really an understatement). I had to buy a new lampshade because I couldn't find one at the thrift store that was the shape I wanted. I'm sure I could have scoured more, But I was still under $20 so I didn't sweat it. So here is what I started with.


Pretty bad, huh? Not to worry. The first thing I did was to give the metal a little rub down with a fine grade sand paper to give it some tooth, then gave it a couple of coats of a red spray primer that was made for metal.


After priming it, I left that to dry for a bit while a freehanded a simplified leaf shape in pencil on the new lampshade. Next, I used thick artist acrylic black paint to fill in the pencil sketch. This was a silk lampshade, so anything too wet will spread. I went back and painted a black border on the top and bottom to give it a bit more punch.


By now, the primer was dry and I gave the base a couple of coats of matte black spray paint.


I then took a copper patina glaze and drybrushed all of the edges and surfaces that would normally show wear, topped it with the new shade and called it a day!




I joined the party at:
DIY Project Party monthly contest
Creative Share Wednesday @ Trendy Treehouse
FFA Friday @ Sassy Sites
Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest
Just Something I Whipped Up @ The Girl Creative
The DIY Show Off Project Parade
Amaze Me Monday @ Dittle Dattle
Letting the Creative Tuesday Juices Flow
Restored It Wednesday @ Restore Interiors
Trash 2 Treasure Tuesday @ Sassy Sites

10 comments:

Ash said...

Love what you did with this lamp. I love seeing transformation projects were not so pretty everyday items are turned into fantastic "I want the world to see this" pieces!
Just joined your Creative Outbursts Blog Frog community!
~Ash
http://creativity-piece-by-piece.blogspot.com/

carol l mckenna said...

Don't ya just love to reinvent something ~ feels so productive ~ hugs and namaste, cz:) (artmusedog) from BlogFrog ~

Kelli W said...

Such a great change! I love the shape of the new shade and I really like the black borders you added to the top and bottom!

Jamie @ DIY Home Sweet Home said...

That turned out beautiful. I'm your newest follower from frugal Friday's link party. I'm throwing my very first link party tomorrow (Monday). I would love it if you stopped by an added your project.
http://diyhshp.blogspot.com/

Melanie said...

What a cute lamp! I love how the shade turned out. Thanks for sharing! I am now a follower.

Melanie
youmadethat.blogspot.com

Its So Very Cheri said...

Very Pretty--I love your lampshade.

Cheri

Unknown said...

Love it! Great tutorial! I like the patina on the base, and love the graphic leaves on the shade.

I shared it on StumbleUpon for others to enjoy too!

Amanda said...

Love it! Looks amazing

Unknown said...

Me, again! Just wanted to let you know I wrote about your shade this morning!

Lauren @ Love, Water and Wine said...

This is a great upcycle!