make your own mercury glass lamp + coffee sack shade

I've been promising to get this tutorial up sooner rather than later because someone specially requested it. This is a fun project, plus a good way to upcycle some thrift store stuff or things you might already have.

Materials:

1) Tall Glass Vase (wide and a little curvy is good). Mine cost $4 with a 20% off coupon at the Village and is 15 inches tall. These can be really expensive new, so it pays to do some thrift store hunting and some garage sale-ing if you have the time.

2) Stainless steel pan lid (one with a screw-on handle and a steam vent) that kinda fits the vase top. Mine was $1 at Goodwill.

3) Lamp kit. I pulled mine out of a thrift store lamp. The lamp cost $3. A new lamp kit from the hardware store cost $12. Plus mine wasn't brass. Just make sure the thrifted lamp is modern and UL listed so you won't have to worry about fire risk.

4) Lamp harp. If your thrifted lamp didn't come with one, you'll need it to hold the lampshade on your new lamp. I found a bin full of these for $1 apiece at Bring. They're way more expensive new.

5) Drum shade. I bought this one for $2.99 at Goodwill. The shape was right, the fabric was horrible. I wasn't sure I'd make it work, but you'll see how I turned it all around. (This will work best if your shade has sides that are straight, and the diameter is the same at the top as at the bottom.)

6) Looking Glass paint (there's no substitute. Le sigh.)

7) Black acrylic paint.

8) Light bulb. I found a large supply of Edison-style incandescents over at the Habitat ReStore for a quarter apiece.

9) Hot glue gun and glue sticks.

10) Burlap sack.

11) Dremel tool or drill (to widen the hole in your metal pan lid)

How to Make it:
Shade

Let's do the shade first, because it's the hardest. If your shade is white or neutral colored, you can skip the tedious step of removing the fabric from the shade. If not, use an X-acto blade to carefully slit the fabric (but not the plastic shade).

Carefully puuuuuuuuullllll the fabric off the shade. It will probably be glued down well. It will probably come off in strips. It will probably take really strong fingers and a couple of hours to get it all off. Unfortunately, with colors this bright, covering over the top was not an option. Fortunately, most lampshades don't look like this one did.

Once your shade is blank, set it aside while you cut open and iron your coffee sack on a high steam setting. Get it as flat and smooth as possible. Line up your shade on one end and cut while rolling. Leave a seam allowance of an inch, top, bottom, and end. Once you have your piece cut to the right length, press flat a hem at each short end.

Hot glue one end to the shade, leaving the hem loose for now. Use as much glue as necessary to get the burlap to stick, without seeping through.

Once the glue has cooled, pull and smooth the burlap to test for fit. Attach the burlap to the shade as you roll it, adding glue as needed (especially at the top and bottom edge). When you get all the way around, glue down the starting hem, and glue the finishing hem over the top of it.

Wrap the top and bottom edge of the burlap over the top and bottom edge of the shade and glue to the inside. Where the support brace meets the shade, cut slits on the edge of the burlap for a proper fit.

Done! Yes, this is the hard part. If you've covered shades before or if you'll be using a readymade shade, it won't be that difficult at all.


Lamp

Don't settle for a nine-inch tall vase. Hold out for something the size of a nice, large lamp. Hit a few thrift stores, and you'll find one eventually; they get donated all the time. Once you have one, wash it inside and out. When clean, spray the inside with warm water, then a light layer of the mirror paint. Very light. This paint doesn't have much opacity to it, so you'll still be able to see through it to a degree even after several light layers.

Between layers, you can spray more water if you want a more aged finish. I wanted an extremely imperfect finish, so I was careless with the amount of water and how it pooled when I lay the vase horizontally. I wanted lots of age to it, and things don't age evenly.

Check from the outside to make sure your vase has a mirrored finish. There should be an unevenness to it where the water gathered and ran under the paint.

When everything is dried and cured, take a damp, folded paper towel and add some black acrylic to it. Lightly wipe and dab the inside of the vase with the paint. Some of the mirror paint will come off as you do this; you can control how much. More will be removed when wiping, less when dabbing. The black paint will help the imperfections in the mirror paint to be more visible from the outside.

I used some source images from Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware to inform my process; how much black did I want to show through? How much silver?

If you make mistakes and remove too much mirror paint, let the acrylic dry and then spray another layer of the mirror.

When you get it just right, set aside the vase and let it dry and cure.

In the meantime, take your pan lid and use a screwdriver to remove the handle. Use a drill with the appropriate size of drill bit for your lamp kit to enlarge the screw hole.

Wash the lid well, then assemble your lamp kit through it. You can use THIS tutorial from Aparment Therapy. Just make sure that the cord + plug runs from the top of the pan lid, down through the steam vent, then up through the screw hole as photographed. This way, drilling through the glass isn't necessary; the cord runs out the steam vent and down the back of the lamp.

You can use small adhesive clips to adhere it to the outside of the glass, but it's not necessary. As you can see in this next photo, the cord is pretty unnoticeable.

Once everything is wired safely and tightly and you've tested with a bulb to make sure it works, use a thin line of hot glue or putty to attach the wired lid to the vase. Use a lamp harp to attach the shade to your lamp. Then plug it in!

If you get stumped, leave me a comment below and I'll help you along!

Thanks for reading!


p.s. you can make these photos larger by clicking on them, but you probably already knew that, clever you!

Linking up to

Junkin' Joe Vintage and Thrifty Finds

mod sunburst mirror (size large)

Hey everyone! This is my final official entry in this season's So You Think You're Crafty? competition. I'll get a full tutorial up eventually (because this project is not only easily adaptable to a variety of supplies, but is also, dare I say, lovely), but in the meantime, you can read here, in its perfectly formatted entirety, the project I posted there last week. Thank you a million times for your votes and your support, those of you who voted and supported. It was a wild competition!

When I first saw the theme for this week back in December, I knew right away what I wanted to make. Metallic? Check. Shine? Check. Glitter? . . . well, I left out the glitter, but I think I used enough metal to make up for it (and like my husband's always saying about his motorcycle, "It's not glitter; it's metal-flake"). My choice was obvious: A large mid-century modern sunburst mirror.

I lucked out and scored the abandoned, gold-colored aluminum tent poles for $3 at the same rebuilding store (shout out, again, to Bring!) where I found the 75-cent, 4-inch convex mirror and the two light fixture bases ($1 and 50 cents, respectively). It's just that I found them several weeks apart, when I was sure my project was doomed and I wasn't at all sure what I was looking for. Sometimes projects just come together that way.

My project is the result of some amazingly lucky finds (and is nearly two feet across, at its widest point), but this is a pretty versatile project. My tutorial will show you how to make it using dowels, chopsticks, twigs, etc. Everyone can make their own huge mod sunburst mirror! If, like a magpie, you love things shiny, give it a vote!

 

Linking up to:

The CSI Project

rusty robot "vintage" door sign diy

This post was my recent project audition for "So You Think You're Crafty" and guess what? I was lucky enough to make it into the regular competition phase. To all of the amazing competitors I was up against, well done. I hope I'm up to the challenge of meeting the bar you've all raised. The weekly competition is anonymous and starts in January; I'll let you know when the voting starts for the first round!

I don’t know about you, but I have pin boards full of so many projects over on Pinterest that I’m sure I’ll never get to all of them in this lifetime. I’m gonna have to start farming stuff out. You busy? ;)

One recent love that I’ve been pinning (over and over and over again) is vintage signage. I love old typography, vintage graphics, and weathered finishes. When my love of vintage signs recently dovetailed with my need for a fireplace fix-up, I ended up picking up a pair of vintage army green sheet metal panels from Bring (the local re-building store) for 50 cents each . . . and then, because I tend to eyeball things rather than measuring them, I had a whole panel leftover.

I decided to make my sweet kiddo a sign to go above the door of his room with the leftover panel. Since he’s two and a complete nut for robots,  his room is now labeled a “ROBOTICS LAB". He loves it! In fact, the rest of the afternoon he was sing-songing "robotics lab" over and over again and dancing by the door of his room. Win!

I hope you like my kiddo's rusty robot sign as much as we do! I'll consider it high praise if you sing about it later.

I have a second, similar project I'll be posting soon. In that post, I'll go into more detail about each of the steps, but I hope this photo collage tutorial will help you get started if you're someone who just needs a little push in the right direction. Basically, start with a surface that's a little gritty and old,  paint, then roughen it up and help it rust!

faux mercury glass vase

Tutorials for faux mercury glass using Krylon Looking Glass Paint are all over the place right now, so I know I'm not exactly breaking new ground here, but I wanted to share a few photos of my experiment with the method anyway.

Clear glass vase from Goodwill, 49 cents. Spray with water (or wash and leave droplets on the interior).

Spray Looking Glass Paint lightly on the inside. It'll be runny. Coverage will be light, but even a little makes the mirror effect evident from the outside. Which is good because it costs $10 for a tiny little can.

Let rest for ten minutes, then spray another light coat. Continue until you have the desired effect. Allow to dry for 24-48 hours.

While mine didn't appear as "aged" as I'd hoped, it did turn out looking much better than before (please ignore that my anniversary flowers are looking a little spent in this next photo).

I looked around to see if I could find out whether people were able to fill their new mercury glass vases with water. It seems like most people are using them as candle holders, but the Martha Stewart tutorial comes closest to addressing the issue by suggesting that you arrange flowers in a water-filled glass, and put that into your mercury vase. Which is what I've done in the last photo.

My experiments with this method aren't finished; I have a couple more ideas which I'll post when I get around to trying them out. Never fear; I will absolutely exhaust you with projects that involve me spray-painting glass. You're welcome.

Thanks for reading! Have you tried this technique yet? I love to check out your (non-spam) links when you post them in the comments below.


p.s. you can make these photos larger just by clicking on them, but you probably already knew that!


Linking up to:

Handy Man, Crafty Woman

Tip Me Tuesday at Tip Junkie

A Bowl Full of Lemons

Mommy by Day, Crafter by Night

Today's Creative Blog

DIY Show Off

The Stuff of Success

Mop it Up Mondays at I Should Be Mopping the Floor

Open House Party at No Minimalist Here

Catch as Catch Can at My Repurposed Life

Simple Design's Thrift Haul


Nifty Thrifty Sundays

teepee hideout, warm spring day

We made this teepee late last summer; the weather's been so beautiful this week, we finally got to set it up again. And it was fantastic. A light breeze was blowing, the sun was shining, and we were tucked into the canvas teepee in the sun-dappled area under one of the trees.

The frame is made of five suckers from our hazelnut tree (between eight and ten feet long) lashed together with twine, and we actually left it up all winter. Good news: I didn't have much work to do to put the teepee up quickly. Bad news: the twine's a little the worse for wear, and the poles should probably be swapped out for longer ones (I'll explain why in a minute).

You could use bamboo garden stakes or any long pole-type things without sharp bits, if you don't have a hazelnut tree sending long shoots up from its roots. When I was a kid we used mops and brooms and shovels, and draped them with blankets. And you know, that was kind of awesome, too, so don't be afraid to be creative.

The body of this teepee I sewed together from six triangular sections of a canvas drop cloth.

Set up your frame first, then measure the length of the legs from the twine lashing to the ground.

Next, measure the distance between two legs. Using these measurements (plus a seam allowance), cut six triangular panels from a large drop cloth (two will overlap to make the door flap). Cut a few inches off the top for the skylight. (This photo isn't really an illustration of technique, so much as a visual guide to what you're aiming for as a final product.)

Stitch all the panels together along the long sides to make one long, open panel. Then, fold over and hem the edge of the whole thing. I double stitched my seams flat with two rows of yellow stitches (pretty quickly, which is why the rows aren't perfect. I think it makes it look more "authentic". Ha!).

Cut strips of an old t-shirt to use as ties. Knot the ends and tack down the centers along the seam lines at the top, bottom, and middle of each seam, on what will be the inside of the structure. These will tie to the five poles to keep the teepee cover in place.

Overlap the two end panels and stitch along the top to form the door flap. I stitched down about a foot from the top, too, and added a star of stitches to really hold this vital part of the the fabric strongly. Trust me: it's not ripping, no matter how hard the kiddo plays.

It's kinda pretty, too!

I left too much seam allowance on ours; it drapes somewhat on the frame. Learn from my mistakes! If you give yourself a half-inch seam allowance when you're cutting, sew a half-inch in from the edge. I think this summer I'll make a larger frame or take in the seams a bit to make a snugger fit.

In the meantime, I can't think of much to beat the view of a tree through the top of a teepee.

Except maybe my kiddo, about to get me with the squirt bottle. Most fun ever, right?

So, are you building a teepee in your yard this summer, or do you have a more permanent play house? Let me know in the comments below, if you like! I love following your (non-spam) links!


p.s. You can view larger versions of these images by clicking on them, but you probably already knew that!


Linking up to:

flannel projects - - part two : monkey crib sheet and pillowcase

Next up from this pile of fun flannel prints

is this little set of crib sheet + pillowcase made from a monkey/bicycle print flannel from Joann Fabrics.

I discovered about a year-and-a-half ago how easy it is to make fitted crib sheets. That was about the same time I discovered how hard it is to find flannel ones. Our house can be a little chilly in the winter, and at the time, my kiddo was too young to sleep with a blanket. Flannel crib sheets were at the top of my "must-have" list.

Basically, you take a two-yard long piece of 42" wide fabric and cut 8" squares off the corners. Then sew up the cut edges, hem, and add elastic. Go here for the illustrated tutorial from Michael Miller Fabrics that I used to make this one:

Pillowcases are pretty much a cinch, too.

My kiddo's too little to use a pillow in his crib yet, but eventually the crib will convert to a toddler bed and the pillow (and pillowcase) will see lots of good use.

In the meantime, I just keep busting out cute cases in preparation.

Here's the pillowcase tute from Film in the Fridge. It takes about a yard of 42" fabric to make a standard-size case.

Want to see more? Here's Flannel Projects -- Part One featuring the flannel pouf I made from a cute owl print.

(p.s. you can make these photos bigger by clicking on them . . . but you probably knew that!)

flannel projects - - part one : floor pouf

I always seem to have a few patterns of flannel laying around, partly because I bought a bunch when I was making cloth diapers before the kiddo was born, and partly because I bought some more when I figured out how to make flannel crib sheets (coming up in a future post).

This project, however, uses the owl print flannel that my aunt used to wrap up Little Owl Lost for the little guy's birthday this year. My aunt is a long-time recycler who often uses fabric to wrap gifts (and often gives books. Yay!).

All of the fabrics pictured in the first photo are from Joann Fabrics; I'm having difficulty finding the owl fabric on-line, though, so it might be a discontinued print. Really, you can use almost any fabric for this project, from flannel to upholstery fabric to suede, depending on what you have on-hand.

I decided to make a floor pouf after seeing Sherry over at Young House Love make one based on this tutorial from Living with Punks. And I have to say, it was just as quick and easy as it looked, including the piping!

Now, I should mention, I've had limited adventures with piping in the past. But having the how-to spelled out for me made it look kind of awesome, I think.

We skipped the handle since cotton flannel is kind of a thin fabric, prone to tearing when rough-handled. I'd rather the kiddo pick the whole thing up to move it, and the pouf is light enough that the lack of handle isn't an issue.

And there you have it! One cute owl pouf made from gift-wrap flannel. The kiddo likes to tackle it, but it also makes a great stool, pillow, and foot rest.

Takes about an hour and a half from start to finish, and since I made ours about 24 inches across and about twelve inches tall, it took about two yards of 42-inch flannel to make.

I'd love to see if you tackle this pouf project too! Link in the comments if you want to share photos.

(p.s. you can make these photos bigger by clicking on them . . . but you probably knew that!)