Let There Be Light

Well I've been looking everywhere for some bedside lamps to add to the bedroom suite and was driving home last Friday afternoon when I saw a garage sale.  There were two very BIG lamps without shades that were calling my name.  They were priced at $2.00 each and I was going to buy them, but I was starting to worry about the size (they came mid thigh without shades).  It was while I was humming and hawing that I noticed two navy blue lamps on the ground in the corner and asked if they were for sale too.  The lady said they were about 15 minutes ago, right before a gust of wind blew them off the table and cracked the lampshades and tore the electrical socket out of one.  I was so sad, as they were smaller and had a very cool shape to them.  Upon closer inspection I noticed that the electrical part had broken off only a small part of the plastic and when screwed back on would not be seen.  So I asked her how much she would sell these to me.  She said $1.50 for the two.....done deal.... they were mine.  The shades were a mess so I didn't even take them and headed home.  Here is a picture of them.  (Notice the bare wires.)  Well I got to work and started putting it back together.  It was really quite easy as the wires just had to be attached back on....HA. 

Now I've had some grey  Ikea shades that used to be in my front room and I have hung onto them because I'm cheap and couldn't just throw them out.  (I should tell that when I was buying these lamps I did notice that they had a similar attachment for the shades.)  The problem became apparent right away that the attachment wasn't an exact fit and the grey shades sat all loose and wobbly on the lamp.  I was not about to be defeated and throw away my $1.50 so I took some lightweight cardboard (cereal box...Honey Nut Cheerios to be exact) and fabricated two circles that would sandwich the shade onto the lamp.

 I felt quite Macgyverish (reference for all you older people)

and was very happy with the end result.

So I taped off the electrical socket and primed the lamp (KILZ) and spray painted it a gloss white (KRYLON) and now they sit beautifully in my room.

I have a picture frame to go on the table, I just have to turn the picture I have in it black and white or I thought about putting an old fashioned phone on the table as there is a phone jack right behind the table. We'll see.
Don't they look good on my side tables remember what they looked like.

and now

The Biggest Before and After

OK, I think I can claim that this will be the biggest before and after transformation that I will ever be a part of.

About 10 days ago my husband and I wanted to get started on the deck out back and as we talked the subject of residing the house came up.  Well within 48 hours we had a crew ripping off our roof, soffits, fascia and eave troughs.  They started residing after 5 days and  finished the whole thing yesterday.

Here is the before picture of our house.

and now

So much better.
The only thing that was kind of sad was all, 90%, some of my plants up front were stepped on and squashed flat.  Most of them were perennials and I'm hoping they pop back, but man they have a long way to go.
There are some new black lights that need to be put on and tomorrow that dead looking birch tree to the right is being cut down.
Then we can focus on building the deck!! :)

More Quatrefoil

My sister and I added some quatrefoil to a dresser (she did all the hard work I just helped paint) that is in her front room


........before

and now........

I think it looks awesome!! 

Here it is in her house.  The two chairs in front are for another project....so exciting.

The chairs have great bones and I love the fabric she chose to reupholster them in.

Double Quatrefoil

So since I finished my new bedroom furniture, my old dresser had to go.  Now I'm not one to be emotionally attached to things, but this dresser has been with me since I was 10 years old and I couldn't just throw her out.  She's old, but not awful.  So I decided to pass her along to one of my girls.

....I saw this dresser at
A Kreative Knack and I thought is looked really cool..... so I used the technique on this dresser and really why go single when you can go double.

I think the double quatrefoil is lovely.  It is going to look so good in her pink room.

Now the process:
First you need to get your design, quatrefoil  means four leaves so you could make your own, and put it on lightweight cardboard (cereal box) and transfer your design onto the furniture (with a pencil).  Then you painstakingly carefully paint your lines in.  

Voila.....quatrefoil.

I wonder what else I can paint?????
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