Mercury Glass, Monograms and Burlap

What do these three things have in common?   Well, for one thing, I think most everybody I know of (especially here in blog land) love any one of them.    I was lucky enough to incorporate all three in a quick little project I did this weekend.   

Let me back up a little bit….a few weeks ago I had gone to Prattville with daughter while she got a hair cut.    One of my favorite flea markets is practically in the backyard of the beauty shop.    So while she got “the works” I headed over to kill about an hour while waiting on her.     I really wasn’t looking for anything, but “just looking” as they say.    I put a few things in my buggy including a cute wicker lamp for $9.99.    Why the heck I left it (and everything else I’d picked up) I don’t know.   Do you ever get like that?    Put something in your buggy and then just leave it in the store?     Ever since then, that lamp’s been on my mind.   I knew I wanted to use it in my bookcase makeover but couldn’t justify a trip back to Prattville to look for it.     (BTW, hubby and I went yesterday and I looked all over but couldn’t find it anywhere at the flea market).     Anyway, Friday I was in Wal Mart, again killing time while mama got her stuff (she wants to do her thing without me following her around).     I was in the lamp department hoping to find a lamp similar to the one I had left behind.    While I didn’t find anything wicker the size I was looking for, I did see a cute little round mercury glass lamp for $9.99!!!     I grabbed it knowing what I would do with it when I got home.    The shade was plain Jane white but it wasn’t staying like that for long.

 

 

My plan was to either cover the shade with sheet music or burlap.   I quickly decided on burlap because I really liked the way the texture of the burlap contrasted with the shine of the mercury glass.      Got my pattern cut out for the shade and then adhered it to the shade.    No tutorials on this, most everyone knows how to make the shade pattern and I just hot glued the burlap on at the back seam.      I wanted to stencil something, maybe numbers, but I was using the numbers and writing on my Kraft paper covered books and I didn’t want to over-do that look.     I remembered I had a vinyl stencil with our initials I had won 1-2 years ago but never used.    I got it out and placed it on the burlap covered shade.     Let me say that if it had been any larger it would not have fit.     I tried rubbing it onto the burlap using a wooden spoon and even a knife but it would not stick to the burlap.    Finally, I just used my fingernail and gently pulled off the sticky paper….not easy but it worked.

Do you want to see how it turned out?    I love it!

 

 

 

That’s not hot glue hanging off the bottom…not sure what it is because I just looked at it in person and don’t see it!!   Crazy, huh?   I’ve started working on covering some of my books with Kraft paper and writing on the spines.    It’s hard to write on those books but it doesn’t look bad enough for me to scrap these three.

 

 

The No.1 and No.2 books above were inspired by this photo.    I messed up by not  writing No. 1 on the smaller book…..oh well.    I’m going to use a mix of Kraft paper covered books, book bundles and other neutral covered books.   I don’t want to cover all of them, I think it’s more interesting to mix them up.

 

 

 

 

What do you think?    I have seen some of these in magazines and they are quite expensive.     This lamp project cost me $9.99 as I had the burlap, the trim and the stencil.      I’m still working on the bookcases, and these two shelves you see are all I’ve done.

This is our old cheap bookcase I’m working with.    I would love to cover the back with something bright instead of all that faux wood.    But it is what it is so for now I’m just working with what I’ve got.

I’ve been a busy girl lately!   Sometimes I get these energetic spurts and take advantage of it.     I’ve been covering books, writing on book spines, made this lamp shade and also made a Christmas present for daughter with an old tray and chalkboard paint.    I’ll share that later on.     

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and you get to spend it with the ones you love.

 

Linking to:   Amaze Me Monday