As soon as I saw this lamp base, I knew it would be the perfect addition to my living room.
I loved the shape and the color was fabulous! It didn’t come with a lamp shade, but the price was right and I was sure I could find something somewhere, so I brought the lamp home and my search for the perfect shade began.
I searched.
and searched.
and I searched.
And months later, I still had nothing.
I knew what I wanted. In fact, I saw shades I really liked all over the place.
This one was a favorite of mine, but the price was not gonna happen!
One day I decided I didn’t need to sacrifice style with practicality, and so I set out to make my own.
I found the cheapest lamp shade in the size and shape I loved. It was five bucks- perfect.
I love the simple shape, and the size of it was perfect, but it was lacking color and I wanted this to pop.
First, I grabbed some paint- Kings Gold from Apple Barrel.
I painted the lampshade and because there was a texture on it, I had to do a pretty thick coat to make sure it got into all the fibers. But then it was really wet, and my patient self decided to help it dry a bit by rubbing the excess paint off with a napkin. Then I realized this actually helped bring the texture back into the lamp shade that maybe letting it dry on its own wouldn’t do. {For once my impatient-ness pays off!)
Now it was time to add some dimension and fun to this lamp shade!
I could’ve used a stencil, but instead I chose to use a baby food jar.
Just dip the jar into the paint and “stamp” it onto the shade. Do this over and over stamping circles side by side. Go crazy!
I taped off the rims of the shade with some painters tape so I can keep clean lines on the top and bottom.
I’ve used this circular stamping technique for 3 or 4 projects and I love it!
{It might just become my signature mark!}
It is easy and fun and adds a cool geometrical pattern. And you can use any object around your home to get this result- the baby food jar just happened to be the perfect size for me! Any bigger and it probably wouldn’t have been the “pop” I was looking for, any smaller it may have been too busy.
I’m thrilled with how it turned out. Even more thrilled that the lamp shade only cost me $5 plus paint.
{And that makes my husband happy too.}
I’m curious to know, in your home, how do you balance your practical needs with your style wants?