Fix-It Friday

Life has hit me hard the last couple of weeks. Between unexpected travel and a houseful of flu, I'm ready to burst! Luckily the Fix-It Friday on I Heart Faces came about just in time to save me today. :)

So here is the original photo, shot by Andrea Riley, straight out of camera.


The first thing I did was crop the image. Then I bumped the curves, added more contrast, reduced the red, burned the background, and finally sharpened the final image. This is my edited color version.


And here is my version in a soft black and white (my fave)...

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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

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