Lamp Revamp

What can I say......this lamp is UGLY!!! Does it not scream thrift store 70's special! I am sure you have all seen something like this at your grandmas back in the day.  But for $5 I thought I would take it home...hey it worked and we all know a little spray paint can go along way!
But that shade had to go it not only had the look, but the smell of the 70's!....... I was not going to be putting that on my bedside table!

I found this new shade for $1 it was a nice shade but just not the look I was going for.

After washing and sanding down the base, I sprayed it with Krylon in brushed metal.  I ripped a part the shade and added some ivory polyester fabric.  I cut out leaf shapes and frayed the edges then I started attaching them to the shade to look like flowers, I like how it gives it some texture.  It's a little hard to see the detail in this picture ....again my photography stills are lacking.

You can see the detail a little better when it's all lit up.  I didn't expect it to look like this when turned on, but its kind of neat.  It's a little small for the scale of my large bed, it will be going in the guest room.  But not bad for $6 (I had the fabric and paint).

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Craft flower for home: Scalloped Paper Lamp

  

Craft flower for home:  Scalloped Paper Lamp

(in only 1 hour and 25 minutes)

So, let's get on with the show...

What you need:

a paper lantern
(you can do as many as you like - I embellished 2)

fabric
(I had 4 scraps measuring 27.5 inches x 9 inches each ...
that would come out to be approximately one yard or 1/2 yard per lamp)

fabric glue
(I used Elmer's Craft Bond fabric and paper glue)

scissors

I wanted my individual pieces to be about 2 inches in width so I cut up my fabric accordingly starting with 6 x 9 inch strips.
(I used 2 scraps measuring 27.5 inches x 9 inches for each lantern)

Then, I piled those on top of one another and cut them into more 2 inch strips. I was left over with a one inch strip that I saved in case I needed it.

Then, cut those strips into 2 x 2 inch squares. Now you have this...
(I used approximately 8 minutes to cut)

Then, I took each of those piles, 8 layers in each pile, (the fabric is VERY thin and sheer) and rounded all the edges until they looked like this...
(I used approximately 9 minutes to round all the edges)

Now we are ready to get all those rounded edges to make a scalloped lamp shade!

First, I used a Popsicle stick to apply the fabric glue ... just enough to get that fabric to adhere.

WAIT ... Let's stop for a second. Let's talk placement.
I knew I wanted about a 1/2 inch overlap with all my layers, so I started with placing my first row of pieces with a 1/2 an inch hanging over the bottom edge. This will keep it all consistent.
It also created my little scalloped trim ...

Okay ... push PLAY.

After smearing some glue, I placed each piece overlapping slightly with the piece before it going around the lamp.
(maybe 1/4 of an inch overlap).

Then made sure it was secure.

Then it looked like this ...

Once I was finished with the first row, I started the next row ... in the back of the lantern just in case my rows didn't all match up how I wanted.
Here is where the 1/2 inch overlap going up the lantern will come into play. I made sure that overlap would cover up my glued edges.
Then, I went around the lantern exactly how I did the first row.

Now, just keep going. You will start to see it come together ...
that's when it gets exciting!

Every once in a while my edges wouldn't stay down. When that happened, I just took a little bit of glue and smeared it on top of the aforementioned edges to keep them from curling.
Almost like I would on a Modge Podge project.

Keep gluing, placing and overlapping until you get to the top of your lantern and it looks like this ...
(I used approximately 66 minutes to glue all the pieces on)

Then, I took the pre-sewn hem from the sides of my curtain that I cut off earlier and glued them around the very top of my lantern to finish it off. You could use any trim you would like to finish it off.

Like this ...
(It only took 1 minute and 30 seconds to glue the trim on)

And that's it!
What do YOU think?

I wanted something I would love during the day ...

and illuminated at night ...

Source: dhwilson.blogspot.com

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Gift presents for a little princess: Shirred Shirt Tutorial, kids craft ideas

 Gift presents for a little princess:  Shirred Shirt Tutorial,  kids craft ideas

 

Here is a tutorial for the shirred girl's shirt I made last week.  I used jersey knit for both.

I used an existing shirt with an a-line shape as a template.  Fold it in half.  

Cut around the outside of the template, leaving generous seam allowance and wider arms.   Cut the neck opening wider than a standard tshirt (the shirring later will shrink it up).

You will need two of these, exactly the same:

Unfold them and you'll have two of these.  Lay the front over the back, right sides together.

Sew the seams closed from the armpit to the bottom hem and along the top from the neck to the sleeve.  (Remember to leave a wide neck opening).

Below is my unfinished neck opening.  Turn shirt right side out and press the seams. 

. 

First, I used my serger to do a rolled hem around the neck opening.  This stretched it out even more, giving it a lettuce edge.  If you don't have a serger, you could tightly zigzag it.

Wind elastic thread around your bobbin loosely.  Leave regular thread in the top of your machine.  Do two or three rows of stitching to shirr the neck.

Next I did a rolled hem on the bottom.  This is kind of cute.  I could've stopped here.

I did four rows of shirring around the bottom.

This is the view from the inside of the shirt.

Finally, I finished off the sleeves with a couple of shirred rows.  On my first tshirt, I left them straight.

 

Source: sewingdork.blogspot.com

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Refashion tutorial: DIY Summer Lace Shorts !

 

Refashion tutorial: DIY Summer Lace Shorts !

Source:ldcdesigns.blogspot.com

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Recycling ideas: Flannel Redo from old shirt, sewing pattern

 

 Recycling ideas: Flannel Redo from old shirt, sewing pattern

Supplies Needed:

Flannel Shirt

Elastic 

Coordinating thread

Scissors

Sewing Machine

This is so quick and easy. 

 

 Lay shirt flat and smooth out any wrinkles.

Cut off the top.

Fold over and sew and elastic casing.  Leave and opening to add elastic.

Measure around your shoulders for elastic.

Use a safety pin to slip elastic through the casing.  (no pic sorry)  Then sew elastic ends together.  I use a zig zag stitch.  Make sure your elastic doesn't get twisted.

Sew your casing shut.

Next, Cut off the arms at your desired length.  Or keep them on if you want.  Mine were too long.

Next, cut five inches of the top of the arms.

Now you have two of these.

Take each sleeve piece and fold inside so the raw edges match up.  Wrong sides together.

Take folded sleeve piece and pin to existing sleeve so the raw edges match up.  Does that make sense? 

This pic shows it a bit better.  

Sew along the edge without sewing the sleeve together.

Fold down sleeve and your done.  You could also add elastic to the sleeve if you like.  Or just hem it.

What do you think?

Source: thelittlegiggler.blogspot.com

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