Lamp A&E

“There is a crack in everything.
That's how the light gets in.”

Leonard Cohen, Selected Poems, 1956-68

 



Poor old lamp

 

Now happy and cheerful

I have a collection of old lamps. This collection mostly consists of small table lamps that have travelled with us from place to place. They now lie sad and beaten in the garage amongst the bicycles and boxes of old college assignments. I always had a plan for them, they still work - they have plugs and only require a bulb. However I don't claim to be a genius crafter so I'm starting small.  I think the finished piece looks better now and it fits perfectly on my computer desk (even if the lace ribbon is covering a fingerprint in the paint. But you didn't hear that from me) ;-)

I used the original black shade as a template and cut the new one out on some floral paper from the Docrafts Papermania 'Happy days' designstax papers collection. www.docrafts.com

For the metal base I spray painted five, yes FIVE! coats of Rust-oleum Painter's Touch in candy pink, gloss finish. I think in this process I spray painted more of the patio outside then the actual lamp due to the wind changing and all my newspaper blowing away. Now, I know there are easier ways like I always advise you to get a cardboard box, place the object to be painted inside it and spray to your hearts content. However I have no patience. I had no cardboard box and I wanted to paint my lamp NOW. Hence me chasing newspaper around the garden and trying not to spray paint the cat. On the final coat I ran out of paint. No surprise there. Fortunately it was finished, but it took ages to dry and all the cats wanted to scratch their hairy bodies along it while it sat drying on the grass.
Now finished and cat hair free with ribbon and pom pom trim as well as the original shade wiring underneath, I think my lamp looks nice  on my desk beside my newly needle felted mouse or is it a squirrel?