From Toss Out to Sensational Keeper - Lamp Re-Make

When the old lamp from my children's room was turning decidedly "trash-worthy", a grand idea formed and kept me from tossing it out. Originally, it had been such a darling lamp - it had magically transformed the room into spinning stars and moons at bedtime. My boys were enthralled with it!

Well, as the boys grew, so did their access advantage to the lamp. The inner spinning mylar cylinder with the moon and star designs turned into a mangled, crumpled, ripped up piece of multi-colored plastic. There was nothing salvageable there. What was left, however, was a perfectly functional light and a plain wooden frame that held four blank canvas panels. Since I couldn't possibly throw a working lamp away no matter how plain and ugly it was - I had to jazz it up!

Here's how I did it:

1. I "washed" the canvas panels with a "butter cream" colored bottled acrylic diluted with water using a 2" brush. To create a weave pattern, I first made vertical strokes on all four panels then went back and did horizontal strokes.

2. I carefully painted the wooden frame with a dark brown bottled acrylic using a small artists' brush. (if you're not confident with your painting skill - use painters tape on the canvas panels to avoid getting the brown paint on them)

3. As soon as the frame and panels were dry, I planned my stencil placement and then taped the stencil in place using masking tape.

4. I chose a Chocolate color in a Delta Stencil Cream. After removing all excess paint from my stencil brush on a paper towel, I stenciled the design on all four panels using a circular motion. I used a design from our Plaster Petite's Line, set #1.

5. For the finishing touch - I used four pretty finials that I attached to the four corners of the frame with white glue. If you don't happen to have any finials hanging around your house - check out your local home store. You'll find great finials in the window treatment aisle OR try a really awesome decorative drawer pull for the top! Get creative! Elegant or funky! Just don't move the lamp until the glue is completely dry or you will have four falling off finials!

That's all there is to our "Old Lamp Re-Make" - we hope you enjoyed this project! For more totally awesome stenciling make-over and re-decorating ideas, visit our website www.simplyspring.com often!

About The Author

Spring Meese is the designer for Simply Spring Designs, a company that provides a stunning array of Raised Plaster and Wall Stencils. Spring has been in the stencil business for over ten years and is a certified interior decorator.

spring@simplyspring.com

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An Israeli Armored Personal Carrier advances along Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, seen in background, southern Israel, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009. Israeli tanks, infantry and aircraft hammered dozens of Hamas targets overnight Wednesday as Israel's leaders discussed whether to expand the 12-day operation meant to stop rocket fire into Israel. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)AP - Israel resumed its Gaza offensive Wednesday, bombing heavily around suspected smuggling tunnels near the border with Egypt after a three-hour lull to allow in humanitarian aid. Hamas responded with a rocket barrage. Despite the heavy fighting, strides were made on the diplomatic front with the U.S. throwing its weight behind a deal being brokered by France and Egypt.



President-elect Barack Obama gestures during a news conference at his transition office in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009, where he introduced Nancy Killefer, not shown, to the newly created position of chief performance officer. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)AP - Pointing with concern to "red ink as far as the eye can see," President-elect Barack Obama pledged Wednesday to tackle out-of-control Social Security and Medicare spending and named a special watchdog to clamp down on other federal programs — even as he campaigned anew to spend the largest pile of taxpayer money in history to revive the sinking economy.



Illinois U.S. Senate Appointee Roland Burris, left, meets with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)AP - Senate Democrats beat a hasty retreat Wednesday from their rejection of Roland Burris as President-elect Barack Obama's successor, yielding to pressure from Obama himself and from senators irked that the standoff was draining attention and putting them in a bad light. Burris said with a smile he expected to join them "very shortly."



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President-elect Barack Obama is welcomed by President George W. Bush for a meeting at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009, with former presidents, from left, George H.W. Bush, Bill  Clinton, and Jimmy Carter.  (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)AP - Confronting a grim economy and a Middle East on fire, Barack Obama turned Wednesday to perhaps the only people on the planet who understand what he's in for: the four living members of the U.S. presidents' club.



Workers put bullet proof glass on President-elect Barack Obama's Inaugural Reviewing Stand on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)AP - The upcoming inauguration of Barack Obama is an attractive target for international and domestic terrorists, but U.S. intelligence officials have no information about specific threats to the Jan. 20 event.



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Kid Rock, left, presents Ellen DeGeneres with the favorite funny female star award at the 35th Annual People's Choice Awards on Wednesday Jan. 7, 2009 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)AP - "The Dark Knight" could soar away with several trophies Wednesday night at the 35th annual People's Choice Awards. The Batman film will vie for awards in such categories as favorite cast, action movie, on-screen matchup and superhero.



AP - An eastern Pennsylvania man may face up to 37 years in prison for tearing open a neighbor's door with a chain saw. Police say 34-year-old Robert Kane began sawing through the front door of Jamie Zaleski's apartment in Scranton while Zaleski and several friends ran out the back.

In this Nov. 30, 2008 file photo, New York Jets coach Eric Mangini looks up at the scoreboard during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The Cleveland Browns have agreed to hire Eric Mangini as their head coach, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun, File)AP - Eric Mangini is the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns, a week after being fired by the New York Jets. A person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press that Mangini will be introduced Thursday at a news conference at the team's headquarters in Berea.



Israeli soldiers mourn during the funeral of their comrade Alex Mashavisky at a cemetery in Beer Sheva January 7, 2009. (Eric Gaillard/Reuters)Reuters - Israeli aircraft and tanks pounded the Gaza Strip on Wednesday and troops battled Palestinian guerrillas on the ground as U.S. backing for a proposed truce raised expectations of an end to the 12-day-old offensive.



President Bush greets President-elect Barack Obama at the White House, November 10, 2008. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters)Reuters - The U.S. budget deficit will swell to a record $1.186 trillion in fiscal 2009, congressional forecasters said on Wednesday, the result of an economic recession that has cut tax receipts and caused massive government bailouts of banks and automakers.



Senate-designate Roland Burris talks with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in Reid's office on Capitol Hill, January 7, 2009. (Larry Downing/Reuters)Reuters - In an abrupt switch, Democratic leaders began talks on Wednesday to swear in Roland Burris, appointed by embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate.



United Auto Workers (UAW) President Ron Gettelfinger (C) addresses the media as UAW Vice-Presidents listen at the UAW Solidarity House in Detroit, Michigan December 12, 2008. (Rebecca Cook/Reuters)Reuters - United Auto Workers bargaining teams are arriving this week in Detroit as the union gears up for negotiations with General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC, which are mandated to cut labor costs under a $17.4 billion federal bailout.



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Ali al-Marri, who has been held for 5-1/2 years at a U.S. military prison in South Carolina, is seen in this undated photograph released to Reuters on January 6, 2008. An early test for President-elect Barack Obama will be the case of suspected al Qaeda 'sleeper' agent Marri, which will force Obama to take a position on his predecessor's claim that anyone the president deems a national security threat can be imprisoned indefinitely without charges in the United States. (Handout/Reuters)Reuters - The case of Ali al-Marri, accused of being an al Qaeda "sleeper" agent and held for 5-1/2 years at a U.S. military prison in South Carolina, will be an early test for President-elect Barack Obama.



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Bernard Madoff is escorted in a vehicle from Federal Court in New York, January 5, 2009. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)Reuters - Accused swindler Bernard Madoff should be jailed for violating a court order by mailing $1 million worth of diamonds, watches and other jewelry to friends and family, U.S. prosecutors told a court on Wednesday.



Smoke billows following an Israel air strike in Rafah near the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt. Israel on Wednesday approved an even tougher war on Hamas, warning residents to flee southern Gaza ahead of planned bombing of cross-border tunnels, as the Palestinian death toll passed 700.(AFP/Said Khatib)AFP - Israel on Wednesday approved an even tougher war on Hamas, warning residents to flee southern Gaza ahead of planned bombing of cross-border tunnels, as the Palestinian death toll passed 700.



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