Tales of the Brick Beauty: January 2014

My Grandma gave me this old lamp of hers that she didn't want anymore. I fell in love with the shape of it, but it needed a little TLC to match the rest of my decor. I realize it would've been easier to just go to a store and buy a new lamp, but I love having unique and meaningful pieces.

I bought some Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch spray paint (paint + primer) in a warm yellow gloss to paint the base. Despite the fact there's snow on the ground, I camped out in my garage to paint a few coats on the base. I covered the wooden accents with blue painter's tape. I also covered the cord in a plastic bag.

I put the lamp on a cookie sheet covered in newspaper so I could carry it inside once I painted it. It is 30 degrees outside and the paint suggested drying conditions between 50 and 90 degrees. I left it to dry overnight.

The next morning, I put a second coat on with the spray paint. Once the yellow paint was completely dry, I primed and painted the wooden accents white. The primer was definitely necessary to cover the dark wood. It never hurts to prime just in case!

The lampshade was the most frustrating part of this project. The cheapness in me wanted to use the original shade and cover it with fabric. The shade's shape made that difficult. I searched for alternative shades but had trouble finding one cheap enough. I ended up finding one at the Good Will for $2.

Since the shade is not a cylinder, I had to create a pattern in order to cut my fabric to fit the shade.

I used an old sheet and started at the seam of the shade, slowly rolling the shade on it's side while creating an outline with a permanent marker.

I did the same thing with the top of the shade and then cut out the pattern.

I left about 1/2 inch on the top and bottom.

I measured my pattern and went to the local craft store to buy the fabric; which was the hardest part. Making decisions by myself is not one of my strong suits. I asked a few friends and they helped me choose a pretty black and white pattern!

To begin, I laid my lampshade pattern on my fabric and cut. Once the fabric was cut I sprayed the lampshade and fabric with spray adhesive. Be sure you have newspaper laid out because the spray adhesive can be messy!

Next put the lampshade on the fabric and begin rolling it until the lampshade is completely covered.

With the 1/2 inch excess fabric on the top and bottom, make slits every inch or so. This will make hot gluing the fabric a lot easier! Put a line of hot glue along the bottom of the shade and begin gluing the fabric up onto the shade.