~A VINTAGE TATTERED LAMP~

I found this really charming vintage cherub lamp at a tag sale over a year ago and just fell in love with it.  It was taken apart to rewire and while it was laying in pieces I gave the brass covered pot-metal a makeover with several colors of chalk paint.  A dark wax was applied with a soft brush and then buffed out to a low-luster sheen.

 Reworking the shade was a bit of a challenge for me because I didn't want another lace-covered shade in the guest room (even though I love them).  One of those is enough.

I decided to add tattered strips of soft white linen fabric over the wire shade form, knotting them at the lower rim.  All the original shade fabric was removed and I didn't waste time painting it.  Once the fabric is attached you can't even see the metal...but, you could paint it if you want.

I added a linen tie/bow around the top, but plan to remove it as I actually like this one plain...

Hope you are all having a great week.  The weather is crummy here like it is across most of America.  I can't wait for spring...  That said, I'm TRYING to enjoy each and every Season this year and not rush life.

It's clicking by super fast as it is!  

Blessing and love to you.

~MORE RE-FURBISHED VINTAGE LACE LAMPSHADES~

I'm in the process of transforming a few more gently used lamps this week!  Both of these little beauties were found at local tag sales and have been waiting patiently for complete makeovers.  If you missed my post last week on how ugly old lampshades were refashioned using vintage and older laces you can go HERE and read all about it!

I love to recycle junk-store lamps!  I see them all the time and I have to hold myself back from buying more than I need...don't want my Mr. AGPMan to ever think I'm a HOARDER or something...

I think my favorite part of making the shades is being able to use up all those itty-bitty pieces of vintage lace I've been hanging onto for sooooo long now

Because they are fashioned in patchwork-style there isn't a pattern or a set way of covering the shades!

Fun to create, but as I shared last week very time-consuming!

Love adding those tattered roses that are sooo popular right now!

I'm working on special pillow orders inside my studio this week so I'll be in and out for the next few days.  Stormy weather is supposed to hit Oklahoma today (like the tornado kind) so I'm hunkering down and praying our roof doesn't fly out into the universe or something...

Today I'm linking up with:

 Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays

Ivy and Elephants for What's It Wednesday
DIY Design for It's a Party

Timewashed for Blissful Whites Wednesday

Hope your day is wonderful!

Love to you... 

~VINTAGE LACE LAMPSHADE TUTORIAL FOR YOU~

~PAINTED LAMP and VINTAGE LACE SHADE~

One of the things I love about creating things for both my home and business is being inspired by all the incredible talent out there in Blogland and beyond!  Years ago we had to purchase craft and decor magazines in order to get our weekly/monthly jolt of ideas~but these days just a couple clicks on one's mouse and you can find most anything your heart desires.

~ORIGINAL LAMP~

I've loved following Karen over at My Desert Cottage.  She is so talented and I love her spirit and I love her home.  A few years ago (2010) Karen gave us a Tutorial on how she recovered a lampshade with stuff a crafter might already have on hand.  Well...I missed her original post, but I found it thanks to Pinterest.

~ ORIGINAL SHADE~

I loved her transformed shade so much that I decided to use the basis of her idea and fashion a shade for a lamp I snagged last week at a tag sale.

~PAINTED BASE~

I started off by painting everything a soft white.  This included the shade's frame and the entire lamp.  After everything was dry I went over everything with Annie Sloan's Dark Wax.  Just love that stuff!  First apply clear wax and let it dry.  Then go over everything with the dark wax and wipe off the excess leaving some in the cracks and crevices!

~ATTACHING FIRST PIECE OF LACE~

After removing the original fabric on the shade and cleaning off all the old glue (Googone) I painted it and let it dry.  I then pulled out my big bag of scrap lace (tattered and fine) and began covering the shade by hand-stitching the lace into place.

~MORE LACE WAS ADDED~

Fabric glue is a mess and hot-glue won't hold due to the heart of the lamp's bulb.  So...I stitched away.  Now...I have to tell you that this all took a long, long time.  My back was aching by the time I was done!

~AND MORE LACE~

~AND MORE...~

~MORE...~

As each piece of lace was chosen I stitched it onto the piece already secured onto the shade.  I stitched right over the metal leaving the prettiest scalloped-edge-lace for the edges (if possible).  I just kept layering and stretching the lace and hand-stitching it into place as I went.

~LAST OF THE LACE~

After the entire shade was covered I added the pretty insertion lace (gorgeous vintage French? find!) around the top edge leaving the tattered and well loved portion sticking up over the shade's top edge.

~REMOVABLE ROSE PIN~

Lastly a removable rose pin was added to the front along with a gathered vintage lace doily and some ruched  up rayon ribbon...

All in all this was a fun project!  It really was.  I used up tons of my lace scraps (a good thing!) and the project was something new for a change after lots of pillow making of late!  I've done lace lampshades before, but seldom without removing the original fabric first.
 
~LIGHT OFF~

 Downside to the project was that the shade alone took me about 6 hours plus to cover.  So...it was fairly labor intensive...at least it was time-wise.  And like I already said my back is hurting from standing for too long!  I never sit when doing projects like this~way too much moving around to remain in a chair...I'd be up and down and up and down....

(Thank you Karen Valentine for the inspiration on making the shade! ) 

Today I'm linking up with the following:

Green Willow Pond for What We Accomplished Wednesdays

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays

Ivy and Elephants for What's It Wednesday
DIY Design for It's a Party
Timewashed for Blissful Whites Wednesday

Hope your Wednesday is awesome.  Crummy weather is suppose to come to Oklahoma and I'm praying our fairly new roof doesn't go sweeping down the plain...

Love to you... 

 

~A VINTAGE LAMP MAKEOVER with an OLD GRAPHIC~

 Don't you just love vintage lighting?  

If you feel like I do then you know there is just something about an old lamp or chandelier that make us romantic-junk-lovin'-girls swooooon....

Take this aging glass accent lamp as an example~  Isn't it just the sweetest thing?  Before it's transformation it was, well...not so wonderful!!!  It was filthy, broken and the gold accents had seen better days...

Over the years I've had my Mr. AGPMan refurbish more light fixtures than I can say.  For the most part when I resell any kind of old lighting I have to factor in the cost to rewire the thing and that can be costly, especially for Chandeliers.  Having a guy around that knows the Ins & Outs of electrical stuff (he's rewired our entire home) is a huge plus for me as well as my biz.  Saves me lots of dollars!

Sometimes we find old lamps with damage and I just love it when it's possible to marry two lamps into one (you can really create some sweet looks).  Many old lamps just need a good CLEAN UP and sometimes a repaint job to make them sell-ready!

I forgot to snap a picture of this old lamp so you'll have to use your imagination.  Originally it had a gold base (over the marble square) and the metal/plastic inserts (dividers) were a heavily faded gold as well!

Paint to the rescue!  Anything gold (including the inside stem) was painted a soft white!

 The candle cover was missing and the on/off switch was the push-in kind (which I hated) and was broken.  I opted to have the switch placed into the cord and decided to cover the candle cover with reproduced vintage ephemera. The old letter/poem was cropped and then printed out on white paper adding just enough for a slight overlap.  I used Mod Podge to secure it in place!

 I actually liked the lamp before the candle cover was covered...but I LOVE how it came out with the vintage graphic!  Makes it stand out and it will surely get noticed in my booth!  At least I hope it will!!!

One other thing...if you are a seller and refashion old frames take note of this....

If I reline the inside of the old frames I sell with a reproduced vintage photo they move three times as fast as those without a picture.  'Tis true!  I think it gives the buyer an idea of what their photos will look like~and besides that~who can resist that sweet little girl from the vintage card????

Today I'm linking up with Savvy Southern Style
for WOW US WEDNESDAYS
and
Green Willow Pond
for WHAT WE ACCOMPLISHED WEDNESDAYS 
and
Ivy and Elephants 
for WHAT'S IT WEDNESDAY  

Happy Junking!

I'm OFF to work play!!!

Love to you...

 

~ROMANTIC COTTAGE WHITE LAMP MAKEOVER~

Hope you are having a good day!  I had a super busy weekend and the fun continues.  The storms have cleared out a bit and sun is shining...LOVE IT!  Reminds me of my Cali homeland!

Today I'm linking up with Kathleen over at Faded Charm for
WHITE WEDNESDAY and Cozy Homes Scenes for YOUR COZY HOME PARTY.

About a month ago I was doing some browsing on eBay when I came upon an auction for a stack of hand crocheted lace motifs.  They were new old stock and probably were made at least thirty to forty years ago or more.  Originally intended for tablecloth edging I couldn't resist bidding on them .  I won the auction for only a few dollars (I think $10) and was delighted when my package arrived a few days later.

 I used the lace as a flounce on a lampshade I embellished with vintage laces and trims.  I have two of these lamps and each one is done a little different.

On Saturday I made my way to ((I LOVE)) TARJAY (Target) to scope out their lampshades.  The time had come to replace the shades on my tall buffet styles lamps and I wasn't looking to spend much money!  I found two drum style shades for about $12 each and brought them home to see if they would work.

The shades already had this great linen fabric on them but they really needed a bit more.  I started with one (in case I messed up!) and attached another style of crochet lace to the lower edge.  Over this I placed some natural braid in soft white before adding a cluster of three vintage millinery roses. 

Some loops of vintage tatted lace trim was tied into a little bundle and attached underneath the vintage blooms.  The drum shades were VERY EASY to do and this little bit of lace, braid and flowers completely transformed them.  The shades at the top were more involved but still fairly simple to do!

While out and about I just HAD to stop into another one of my favorite stores...TJ Maxx!!!  I'm a Maxi-niesta! :)  I found these great crochet lace edged napkins (set of 4) for $7.99.  Not too terribly bad...they had two packs in natural white so I brought them home with me!  They are all cotton and really great for the price.  LOVE THE LACE TRIM (machine made or not)! :)

For those of you who MAY be wondering about our kitchen remodel, well...the old kitchen is mostly ripped out but we still have tons to do.  It's going to be slow going with my guy in school and all.  By the way...he's over halfway done now...gets out in November!  Whoot!  Whoot!

Hope your day is fab!

Love to you...

~RESTYLING VINTAGE LAMPS....Shabby Cottage Lighting~

~MARRIAGE BETWEEN TWO OLD LAMPS~

Last Tuesday I showed you some of the sweet old lamps I picked up while slummin' my way through the great state of Oklahoma! :)  

 ~Before Shot~
(See the price on the base?)


This past week I finished priming and prepping most of them and I just had to give you a sneak peek at their progress.  A couple of them will be finished in fresh white (or my favorite cottage white!) and at least one of them will be given a couple of fabulous coats of my favorite sugary pink paint!

The Lamp you see above was picked up for $2.98.  It was missing it's shade and original glass chimney.  My Mr. AGPMan added the side harp (halo) to it and instead of the metal shade I opted to use this charming hobnail one in it's place!  

I'm lovin' it now!

 

 ~Vintage Student Lamp~

~Before Shot~

(Not So Sweet Here!)

This darling double shade vintage Lamp was also found without it's shades and chimneys.  Lamps like this can be costly and if the price is right I often purchase them for their parts!  This one will probably be the one that ends up being pink!  I'm quite sure I'll find a place on it to paint a sweet pink rose or two...maybe even tiny rosebuds around the base.

~Vintage Cast Metal Lamp~

This Lamp is such a keeper!  It originally had a really tall stem and I had my guy cut it down for me.  I'm thinking I'm going to have to keep this one!  

 

~Shortened Stem~

It will probably end up being painted out in cottage white.  I'll be sure to post a picture of it once the shade is finished!

Here's another view...

~Darling Base~

Isn't the top dreamy?

~LOVELY Scrolly Work~

My favorite of all the Lamps was actually this one...

~Just Gorgeous~

Sadly, this SWEET OLD THING had some damage on the back side making the entire center part unusable.  But...the base and the neck and the harp are in wonderful shape and will eventually be married to another Lamp to make ONE (or two)!

When you're out and about in your town and you come across shabby old Lamps that have obviously lived past their prime, think about how they might look if you combine several styles together.  Lamps can be VERY expensive these days...even a replacement harp (what the shade sits on) are costly.  Once they are painted out no one will be able to tell and you'll have a special creation like none other!

Think beyond what you see with your eyes!  Your home is just waiting for your magic touch!

Blessings today for a beautiful Monday!

Love to you~

Rebecca 

~I'M A SERIAL JUNKER...It's A Good Thing~

~Sweet Vintage Double Lamp~

Because my Mr. AGPMan is face deep in a bath remodel (yep...it's still going on!) I haven't wanted to bother annoy BEG him to do much in the way of what I call Lamp Restyling!  As many of you know he's my Master-Re-Doer and I fully admit I'd be lost without him!  He's VERY focused when he works and the last thing I ever want to do is disrupt the flow of his energy!  His stick-to-it-tive-ness ultimately results in tons of projects around our home getting completed!

~Fabulous Antique Lamp~

That said...when every sweet little lamp on my website has a SOLD sign across the front of it and the only ones left in my booth space at French Quarter Antiques in Oklahoma City bear tags that say DISPLAY ONLY, something drastic has to be done!  Can't run a business if you don' have anything to sell.

Right?

~Needs Major Repair...Great for a Marriage~

And so...

This morning I blabbed uncontrollably quietly chatted about my predicament to my man.  I mean...I don't know how to rewire aging lamps let alone refashion them and I figured if I whined long enough I might get some assistance. him to do some work for me! :)

Apparently my sulking gentle feminine charm worked!  A few minutes later he brought in several neat old lamps for a POSSIBLE makeover!

~A Sweet $2.98 Find~

I hope you'll come back later this week to see the final outcome of the ones we I chose to refashion!  Every single time I do this I end up with at least ONE NEW LAMP for our home!!!  EEEK!

Hope you are having a fabulous Tuesday!

  
Love to you~