Is it already August? This summer is flying by! I know I should probably be focusing on back-to-school ideas, but my mind is still at the beach! I love the relaxed and natural beauty of the beach – and love to bring that look inside! I’ve been wanting to write a tutorial on a lamp makeover, but wasn’t sure which direction to go until I saw a creative photo on pinterest (shameless plug, follow us here) and it all clicked! I found a medium size lamp at a local Goodwill for $6.26 and while it was not so great looking (in my opinion – to each, his own), it was in good shape and gave me the “Re-do me” smile. So… it was on.

What you need:

• A lamp base and shade
• primer spray paint
• colored spray paint
• Mod Podge
• paint brush
• hemp, string or yarn
• seran wrap/ painter’s tape

How to:

1. Wipe down the lamp to clear it from any dust or dirt. Seran wrap the light fixture and the cord and tape it good.
2. Spray paint the lamp base your favorite color. I chose also to spray paint the lamp shade as I thought it would look better with the same base color.
3. Use Mod Podge to apply the hemp twine to the lamp base. I started at the top, affixed the “start” of the string to the back of the shade (where the seam was) and wrapped it around, top down, applying modge podge on the shade before I put down the twine and then on top of the twine once it was already attached. In my opinion, you can’t use too much Mod Podge! It helps to hold and dries clear, so you can’t go wrong!
4. Let it dry, attach the lamp shade and admire your work!

Unneccessary steps:

1. Once I “admired” my work, there was something I didn’t really like about it… I thought that it would have looked better if I had left the shade unpainted – it’s original color white – and then added the hemp on top of that… so…
2. I spray painted the whole shade, hemp and all, white. Then I started over again. And this time it was a little more difficult. I learned a few things from redoing the redone shade:
   - It is much easier to attach the string top down. This time I started from the bottom and worked my way up and for some reason, I took me awhile to get the groove going the other way.
   - It was also easier the first time affixing the hemp to a smooth surface. The pre-existing ridges from the first go-around made the layers harder to manipulate.
   - (The picture at the top isn’t an accurate shot of the lamp – the whole base is teal, for some reason, when the light is on, in the photo it looks like the top of the base is white – it’s not. Also, there looks like there are “holes” in the hemp wrap – I think that it Mod Podge that hasn’t dried – it is completely filled in…)

On that same trip to Goodwill, I found a silver frame that I really liked for only $2.92 and the wares number was half off that week so I grabbed it up for under $2! I spray painted it the same color as the lamp to give it a little more umph!

So… who wants this lamp and “matching” frame!? “Pin it” to “win it”! We are giving away this set to whomever shares it the most!

Like the blog post, comment on the blog post, like on the facebook post, comment on the facebook post, share on facebook post, retweet the post, like on pinterest, repin on pinterest or let us know how you helped to spread the word! Each time you share this post, you’ll have another opportunity to win (winner chosen randomly*) We’ll give it a week to go viral and will announce the winner next week!

Blog Update: Congratulations to Christa Lamm for winning the lamp/frame set!

Thanks for reading and participating! Good luck!
Jen

*Employees of Palmetto Goodwill are not eligible to win but encouraged to participate and help us share this post! Winner must be able to pick up the table at a select Palmetto Goodwill store and can only win once per quarter.