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Friday, October 26, 2012

"Hagrid The Lamp" Makeover - Part 2

In "Hagrid the Lamp" Makeover - Part 1 found here, I shared with you the beginning of my makeover on this lamp:



 There is something I really, really like about this lamp.  I think it is that it reminds me of Lisa Douglas on the old TV show, Green Acres.  She was always exquisitely decked out in feathers and diamonds, and yet she was perfectly comfortable on the farm chasing her little chicks.  When I was a girl watching Eva Gabor on that show, I was enthralled and thought she must be the most beautiful woman in the world.

If you are unfamiliar with it, here is a clip


You can also click here to watch full episodes for free.  Now, don't you think my lamp is a Lisa Douglas - or at least could live in her house?  My husband, Edward, named it Hagrid because this lamp is huge and stands almost 5 feet tall, but it definitely dresses like Lisa.

To finish the lamp I toned down some of the dark wax by wiping more of it away using a cloth and some clear wax.  I still wanted to bring out a little more of the white, so I found a piece of white chalk and rubbed it to highlight different features of the lamp.


I had wanted to paint the lamp with two colors, but decided to wait until our move is complete and I know what room it will permanently reside in.


One thing I didn't like about the lamp was the big flat rectangle spaces around it's base.  I tried several different embellishments there without much luck.  Finally, I painted some wallpaper border using the same technique as on the lamp and  adhered it to the rectangles.  I think the wallpaper really enhanced the lamp.


For the lampshade, I wanted to create a look similar to a chandelier inside a black drum lampshade.  To do this, I recovered the lampshade in a black fabric and strung crystals to fall just below the shade.  The crystals are actually hanging from a smaller lampshade form that I placed on the top of the shade.  It worked like a charm.


The lamp is such a fun, over-sized piece.  I love the whimsy it adds to the Dining Room, and I think it looks elegant - but in a Lisa Douglas-kind-of-way.......and hopefully not a Hagrid-in-a-dress-kind-of-way!  Ha!


Oh, what crazy folks we are around here at The Lavender Tub!  Hagrid and Lisa.......

Thanks so much for stopping by,

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Thursday, October 25, 2012

Old Sewing Cabinet to Federalist Side Table


  
Last year I found the exact Singer sewing machine model that my mom owned, and the one I grew up sewing on - at a garage sale for $25.  I already had a sewing machine, but mine is a newer model and doesn't sew nearly as well as mom's machine did.  It was in pristine condition, and I couldn't resist buying it.  The cabinet it came in, however, was small and nothing special.  In fact, I almost pitched it - except the frugality in me wouldn't allow it.

It sat in the garage, or a kid's room, until one day when I shopped around my house looking for a side table to put in the Dining Room.  As soon as I saw it,  B-I-N-G-O.


I sanded it, but just enough to rough up the surface.  Then I painted it with 2 coats of Clark + Kensington Paint in flat India Ink.  To learn more about this paint, go here.  I, then, rubbed on a coating of wax to seal it.

The simplicity and lines of the little black table looked great, but I decided it would be fun to dress it up a little more.


So, I painted some Anaglypta 3D wallpaper border (garage sale - $1) and trimmed it to fit the front of the table.


Since I wasn't sure if I would want to keep this look forever, I did not glue the wallpaper onto the table, but instead buttered a layer of Annie Sloan wax and adhered the border to the table with that.  So far it is staying on just fine.  I don't know what kind of mess I'll have when I take it off, but you never know until someone tries, right?


Finally, I added this oversized knob I found at Hobby Lobby for $3.50 on their 1/2 price sale.  Ok, so it's not a very federalist knob, but I like the look anyway.


This truly was a Junk2Jewel makeover for me.  I didn't like that little cabinet at all, but now I think it's perfect in the Dining Room.


Oh, and the sewing machine?  It didn't really work at first, because it had been sitting in storage for many years.  It took a little effort to clean it thoroughly and get all the gears oiled up, but now it purrs like a kitten.  It is such a joy to sew on this machine again.

Thanks for stopping by the tub today!



  
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Monday, October 22, 2012

"Hagrid The Lamp" Makeover - Part 1


Back in the spring, I purchased this lamp 
from a garage sale at our church.
Kind of over-the-top - yet nice.

But what you don't really 
understand from the picture.......


....is how ENORMOUS this lamp is!

 Here is the lamp sitting on the floor.
When my daughter saw it in person 
after seeing the picture on my blog,
Her response was, "Holy Lamp Mom!!!"



And then Edward affectionately named it 
HAGRID.......


Like this Hagrid from 
Harry Potter, who is supposed to be
twice as tall as an average man. 
 


Needless to say, Hagrid needed some help to tone down his Incredible Hulkish-ness.  He's not completely finished, but I thought I'd bring you along on the makeover.  Above is a close-up of the before.


This is Hagrid after he has been primed and painted with Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint in Old White - 2 coats.  Hmmm.......very pretty, but very large and white in a room.......

A close-up.  Isn't this paint pretty?

Here is Hagrid after 1 coat of Annie Sloan's Clear Wax, and 1 coat of Dark Wax.  I could stop here, but I'd like to bring back some of the white.  Stay tuned.......

Thanks for stopping by the tub!

Ellie
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Saturday, October 20, 2012

Recovered Bell Lampshade with Boa

We have a lamp in our Living Room that has been looking a bit "Second-Hand Rose-ish" for far too long.  I found a lampshade at a garage sale for $1 that was in good shape, but had the vertical trim pieces falling off.  The plan was just to glue it back together, but I decided to do something a little more colorful since that lamp is where your eye lands when you come in the front door.



So, this is how the shade looked when I bought it
 - nothing special.


For this type of shade, it is best to fit the fabric to the shade.  I lined up the fabric so the weave would fall horizontal at the front of the shade.  A solid fabric or an all-over pattern works best for this shape.


After I pinned the fabric to 1 / 2 of the shade, I ran pins vertically along the opposing vertical side supports of the shade.  This showed me where my stitching line would be.  I, then, used a marker and tape measure to mark 1 / 2 inch (since I was using 1 / 2 " seam allowances) from the vertical pins.  This established my cutting line.

Once I marked both cutting lines, I removed the fabric from the shade and laid it out on a second piece of fabric.  If your fabric has an inside and a face side, be sure to keep the right sides together.  I would suggest you lay the face sides together so you can cut, pin, and then stitch pretty much in one step.

Also, after stitching the 2 side seams I think it is a good idea to try the cover on for size.  My fabric had a lot of stretch to it, and I actually needed to take it in another 1 / 2 inch.  Once I was happy with the fit, I pressed the seams open and slipped the cover on the shade.  Since this cover needs to be glued in place to lay nicely against the frame, I lined up the seams with the supports and then pinned it along the top.

Next, I bunched up the cover and ran some E6000 glue about 1 / 4 of the way down each of the 6 supports.  I did this so I could smooth the cover from the top down and not get glue all over the fabric - which would happen if I ran glue down the full distance of the supports one at a time.  I also pinned it along the supports to make sure the fabric adhered to the frame.
 

To finish the cover, I cut the fabric at the top 1 / 2 " above the top of the shade and then glued it in place.  The pictures show slits cut in the fabric around the top, but when I cut it to 1 / 2 " - slits were not necessary.  They may or may not be depending on your fabric.  I trimmed the bottom of the cover even with the bottom on the shade and glued it down with a thin line of glue.  Finally, I finished the shade by pinning a feather boa as the trim.  I didn't glue it down, because I don't know how committed I am to the boa - but it looks the best from what I have on hand.

It's a little frou-frou, but I think it adds a nice pop of color in that corner and the feathers are kind of fun.  The best part is this project cost me $1 for the shade (garage sale), 50 cents for the fabric (garage sale), and whatever a feather boa is 1 / 2 off at Hobby Lobby.  Not too bad!
Now, about that shabby little table the lamp is sitting on.......

 Thanks for visiting the tub today!

 Ellie


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Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Old Stereo Console To Dining Sideboard


Once upon a time while I was frequenting the exclusive
furniture shops in our quaint little town.......

OK, really it was The Salvation Army

 I came upon the most exquisite piece of furniture - 
a "must have" for our Dining Room.  

Well, actually, this beast was at the Salvation Army marked down to 40 bucks, and they were having this 1/2 price sale on all electronics - and since this had an electrical cord because it was an old stereo, complete with a turntable and an 8-track - I was able to score this beauty for $20!

I knew Edward would be so thrilled!

Was I ever right!  You should have seen the look on his face when he arrived at The Salvation Army to help me load it.  Straining and groaning under the weight of this "piece of junk" as he called it.......I kept seeing Edward shake his head and mutter something about, "She's really lost her mind this time".......!  Deciding he must not be as visionary as I am, I tried to paint for him the picture I was seeing in my mind of how this could someday sit  in our Dining Room as a gorgeous sideboard....... AND, in the meantime, could even be used as a great place for the boys to store their legos!!!  It was a win-win idea, wasn't it?  
I could tell he wasn't seeing the same beauty 
as in the eye of this beholder......


 And to be perfectly honest.......the more I looked at the stereo, the more I struggled with what my eye thought it had seen in such a piece.


If the thing hadn't been so heavy and the effort so great to get it into our house - I think I would have just ditched the idea.  I mean, I could handle "eating" the $20 cost - I just couldn't bring myself to ask Edward to help me get it out of our house and to the curb.  So, to refinish it was the decision.


During the refinishing process, I wholeheartedly had to agree with Edward several times that I had "indeed" lost my brain on this one.  It was an extremely time consuming process to remove a bajillion screws in order to extract the stereo equipment, and a tremendous amount of work to prep the piece.  I wouldn't have minded as much if it been solid wood, but this piece is made of wood, particle board, and the front panels are even plastic!  DELIGHTFUL!!!

Now that it is finished, though, I must say I'm very happy with the results.  It's quite pretty as a sideboard in our Dining Room, and since it is gutted inside it serves as a perfect place to hide sewing machines and craft supplies.

Whew, yes, I'm very, very pleased.......

 And if I ever see another retro stereo console at The Salvation Army for $20.......
Girls, you just help yourself, because

 NO WAY!  NOT THIS GIRL!  

 For if time is money - 

this thing cost me about $6,000,000. 


 Thanks so much for stopping by - and please tell me I'm not alone with a story like this.  Please tell me you, too, have a story.......please.......anyone?

Ellie



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