Fifty Shades of..... naaahhhh.....

This post isn't about that book. It's about lamp SHADES.
Oh, yeah, those look pretty nice, don't they? They didn't start out that way!

Take a gander at the... ah... swanky?..... lampshades below.

I got them from my junking friend Beth Evans-Ramos 

[of Salvage Studio book fame, now known for Mama Knows Her Cocktails]

 who gave me these shades after no one would buy them at her garage sale. for a buck.

Yeah, they were THAT bad!

We had a pretty good laugh about the cheap plastic-tablecloth-like material they are covered in

and the little bits of tinsel that gather it in several places.

[Seriously, who came up with this design?!]

Worst part? The smell.  These babies were victims of secondhand smoke, for sure.

When I started removing the plastic from the frame, I saw that it actually started out as WHITE. 

That nice warm ocher/gold tone? Smoke stains. iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick.......

Once I got all that smelly tacky plastic off, the frames emerged as FABulous vintage accents.  

LOVE the shape. Now THAT I can DO something with!

 

Because I love to see the shape of the wire frames, I usually finish off lampshades like this simply:

These have criss-crossed two lengths of twill fabric tape around them.

I tied a small bow at the top edge of each bend in the frame, to hold the twill tape in place.

And, as shown up above, they looked fabulous in my booth at the Farm Chicks Antique Show...

for all of five minutes. Just long enough to snap that photo.

Because they were the FIRST thing that sold. For $20 each.

Let's Review: 

two fugly plastic lampshades at a garage sale = $1 each FREE
time to strip frames bare = 20 minutes 

[which included putting on a mask so I couldn't smell the smoke odor]

cost of twill tape =  $2.00 at thrift shop

time to embellish bare frames with twill tape = 10 minutes
two stylish lampshades at one of the biggest antique shows in the USA = $20 each

THAT is why we go junking!!!
I made so many lampshades over 5 years that people called me 'the lampshade lady' at shows.

[I guess it's better than 'shady lady'.....]

Here are just a few of the ones that I have created with still-visible bare frames:

 lacy doilies sewn together and seam binding tape   .   glass crystal strands

 rik-rack, seam binding, and a button strip from a linen shirt  .  gold velvet ribbon and manila stencils

 dollhouse china, seam binding and ribbons  .   metal shoe stretchers

 a strip of burlap with a canvas military belt  .  wood clothespins to hold photos

 and of course, there are these lampshades from this popular post!

I recommend using faceted clear or frosted white 'candle flame'-shaped incandescent bulbs

or edison bulbs when you are working with shades like this.
The light from them is softer and won't glare in your eyes on cool fall nights!

shared online:

Worthing Court | Home{work} Wednesday

A Fabulous Fall Fete!

OK, just so we start off on the right foot here, that word is not 'FEET'! It's more like 'FATE':

fête [ fāt , fet/ ] (faet / fate)

noun

noun: fête; plural noun: fêtes; noun: fete; plural noun: fetes

1. 1.

   a celebration or festival.

   synonyms:

   gala, bazaar, fair, festival, fiesta, jubilee, carnival;

verb

verb: fête;

1.

honor or entertain (someone) lavishly.

"she was an instant celebrity, fêted by the media"

Let's go with BOTH definitions, for they certainly fit this story!

Today, I'd like to share with you some welcoming, elegant fall event decor.

I took the photos in this post back in October, 2010, at the Remnants of the Past Antique Show - 

which was held at the historic Dana-Powers House in Nipomo, CA at that time.
[it's now held at the glorious Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo]

Judi Powers (left) owns her family's historic property, and Judy Watkins (right) owns the show.

 Together, they created beautiful decor to welcome the show vendors for a party.
The gathering was held on the beautifully landscaped grounds of the farm on the night before the show.
And 'the Judys' always make things SPECIAL!

They have great style, and I know you'll love seeing what they did...

The setting was the beautiful gardens surrounding the historic house...

 a private and perfect site for weddings and parties all year long!

continue reading for more inspiration...

Oh, Lighten Up!

Several years back, I happened upon a small thrift store's 'going out of business sale'.

And found these lamps sitting in the parking lot for $5 each:

Shown as found.

Dear Lord in Heaven.... someone thought this was a good idea....

You DO realize that the white parts in this 'before' image used to be BRASS, right?
So some manufacturer somewhere, sometime, actually gave the OK for these to be made and sold.

In the seventies, no doubt. ugh.

Then someone else took the time to tape the glass off and paint the brass parts white -

but left the hideous gold-orange glass with black felt pen-embellished raised scrollwork.

ACK!

And yet.... I see the possibilities even in the hideous ugliness:
If I could just neutralize the color and visual hot mess, these could actually be quite charming.
And so that's exactly what I did...

continue reading to see the amazing AFTER shot!