spray paint

Nothing makes a home sadder than not having enough windows or light. My house is quite sad. Very few windows make for a very distraught Katie. When we moved in, there was no shortage of brassy and oddly shaped lamps. We took full advantage by adding new lampshades and light bulbs and making due. Then I found this monstrosity. Where can I find a blissfully out of touch mom stuck in 1992 to take this off my hands?

Then a light went on in my head (pun intended). I should just pull a YHL and paint this mutha. First, I had to scrub the dust, grime and nicotine off and….it wasn’t much improved.

Then I wrapped the metal bits and cord in plastic and painter’s tape. Target bag, so fancy!

Then began the gloriously cathartic spray painting in the garage. There is something so refreshing about making something your own. Confession: I propped the lamp up off the floor with stale marshmallows. It was the best thing I could think of at the time.

After a few coats, you can still see the raised lines from the pink glaze.

A few more coats of navy and a few of super gloss and I was beginning to think I hadn’t gone insane. Then, one miraculous browsing trip to Target, I found this navy ikat lampshade and I nabbed it for a staggering $8. Boom. You can still see the raised stripes from the pink glaze, but thankfully the hearts are MIA for life. I like the texture the stripes add more than I thought I would.

Thus ends the story of how I took a lamp from Full House and made into something that I actually love.

Have you done any projects with a “make do with what you have” attitude lately?

Here’s another installment of Katie-got-things-accomplished-this-Christmas! I have to admit that I’ve succumbed to the time-suck that is Pinterest. I had to work the days between Christmas and New Years and quite frankly there just wasn’t a lot for this old receptionist to do. So I just browsed Pinterest for a while. Then I saw something I liked and I wanted to pin it…so I joined. 6 boards later and I can’t stop. It doesn’t help that I just got a slow cooker and recipes are rampant on there, but I digress.

I pinned this calendar project. It jumped out at me because I have been spending an inordinate amount of time looking at paint chips at Home Depot (convenient!). I decided since the year was ending I would need a new calendar anyway so I got shopping. I picked up the huge frame at Goodwill for $7 (you can still see the sticker in the upper left corner), hardware for about $4 and used some silver metallic spray paint I had on hand from another project so the total cost for this project for me was $13.

I took what was already in the frame and just flipped it over. You could cover it with paper or fabric too to change it up, but I was going for simple so I stuck with plain white. I cut all my paint chips in half to make them closer to squares and spaced them out in an arrangement that looked pretty even. I decided to go with a gradient, but my Pinterest mentor did hers with a coordinating color palette. I stuck the squares on with my glue gun and BAM! Calendar.

After having disassembled the frame, I took the wood out to the garage and spray painted it as evenly as possible. I let that cure during the glueing process.

Hanging it was another matter. The art that was originally in the frame hung portrait so all the hardware on it was going against me. I picked up about $4 worth of hanging hardware from Home Depot (same trip I helped myself to the paint chips). I used painters tape as a template so I knew how far apart to nail the hooks. Pretty simple.

So far, we all love it. I think it turned out pretty great especially since it was a little haphazardly planned. I like the dry erase aspect of it and it’s size. Hopefully it will help with my forgetfullness.

I Love Lamp: The Saga Continues

It’s a Date!