Another Recycled Lamp

When we purchased our house, the owners left several lamps in the pitifully staged house. Seriously, there were a couple of TV trays (like from the 1960s) with lamps and timers in the rooms that did not have overhead lighting. I redid the mid-century lamp from the basement. Check it out: HERE

 And I wanted to see what I could do with two of these:

For about five minutes in the 1970's I thought these glass lamps were interesting, but I always felt like there needed to be something inside them. 

Seashells in a beach house ... maybe. Silk flowers ... NEVER.

The shape reminded me of blue and white ginger jar lamps...which I like. Since there is no way in the world I could ever paint something like that myself, I thought I would decoupage with cocktail napkins. It seemed to be a simple, interesting technique. 

I headed to Tuesday Morning (one of my favorite places) looking for inspiration.

I ended up with a package of guest towels, $2.99 for 16. I liked the repeat pattern and the fact that there were only 2 colors. 

I got my sharp little scissors and put on Netflix while I snipped away. Once the patterns were cut out, all I had to do was carefully peel away the two white layers of paper, leaving me with a very thin layer of paper with the pattern. I had watched some videos about using cocktail napkins for decoupage. Really pretty simple.

While I carefully practiced the scissor skills I learned in elementary school, I watched anther episode of REIGN.

Next I reached for the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint that sticks to glass.

I chose Versailles, a pale, grayish green, and applied 2 coats.

I used the Annie Sloan decoupage medium, because her stuff is designed for the non-professional crowd. 

All I had to do was paint the medium on the spot where I wanted to apply my paper, stick it on, and cover it with a thin layer of the medium. I then waited 20 minutes for the medium to dry and added a second coat. The instructions say to use 4 - 5 coats for best results. Super easy. I covered the entire piece with the medium so the finish would be the same. This product is an all-in-one glue and glaze.

It "popped" a little more than I wanted, so I used the Annie Sloan dark wax to tone it down. Because of the glazed surface from the decoupage medium, I did not start with the clear wax. I could not find any instructions for using dark wax with the decoupage medium, so I just made it up as I went along. I turned out fine.

(Forgot to take a picture of the dark wax application)

The lamp was looking not right, so I decided to add gilding wax. I started with my finger and then got a Q-tip because the areas were small. The more I applied, the better I liked it. It was a little tedious, so I put on another episode of REIGN. Then it hit me - I was recreating the costumes of the royal characters with their gold-threaded damask!

Do you see it, too??

One lamp down, one to go.

 Or should I try something else? Please let me know what you think!

The lamp next to gilt-edged poetry books from the 19th century that belonged to my great-grandfather (the books, not the century).

While the contractor is tearing down walls in the next room, I was hanging the pictures to make a little vignette. Hubby has always said I want to hang the pictures before the walls are even up. He is literally correct this time.