Sunday, February 10, 2013

Hand Painted {Anthro} Inspired Lamp Shade

I recently introduced you to my wonderful, new friends Lucy and Ethel.  Aren't they cute and vintage-y? 

I decided I should dress them up with a new, fabulous shade...like this one from Anthropologie pictured below {$118-128}.
Chevron-Banded Drum Shades
I love how bright and colorful it is...a modern take on the chevron stripe.

I'm in the process of redoing my master bedroom and wanted to add some brights pops of color.  I thought this shade would be perfect.  But since I am in no position to run out and drop $250 on two lamp shades, I had to improvise and try my hand at making my own. 

 I already some white lamp shades just waiting for a makeover.

I started by freehanding zig zag stripes all around the curcumference of the shade.

I used a water soluable ink pen to do this.
{You can erase the ink with water, or in a few days the ink will evaporate and disappear.  They are about $3 and can be purchased at any craft store.}

Once I had my lines drawn out, I went to town painting all of the stripes {I used regular old acrylic craft paint and a stiff bristled brush to do this}.

I embellished the stripes further by adding "dots" using a grey and dark pink marker.
I didn't take a picture of this step because it was 2:30 am and I was delusional.  But, you can see what I mean in the picture below.
Finally, I added the small patches by painting little squares all over the lamp shade and embellished them by adding "dots" using the wrong end of a paintbrush and craft paint.

And voila...done.

It's not a perfect or exact replica of the original.  I personalized the colors I used for the stripes.  My only complaint is that I wish I could have captured the "watercolorness" of the Anthro shade.  But it still maintains the vibrance and funk of the original...and it totally shows off Lucy's curvalicious shape, no?  Even better, it only cost me about $15 to complete.  And for that, I like it just fine.
In total, I ended up spending {$3.50 on paint, $5 on new markers cause my kids had dried all of ours out, $4 on new paint brushes and $3 on the water soluable ink pen.  That works out to a grand total of $15.50}.





2 comments:

  1. Really cute and fun! Looks amazingly similar! I have nearly the exact same lamp bases waiting to be redone - thanks for the inspiration.
    Stacey of Embracing Change

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like yours so much better! You did a great job. It may inspire me to make a few things at 2:30 in the am too

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