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Quick & Free Drop Cloth Lampshade

Wow! I feel like I really got my two-days worth out of this past weekend. I was more productive than I ever would have predicted. I cranked out 3 projects and am thisssss close to being done with the guest bathroom. Yessss!

I’m not spilling the beans on the bathroom just yet. That’ll come later this week. Today I wanted to follow-up on a post from last week -

Remember the jar lamp I scored while antiquing? I was just about to throw out the old, dusty red shade in a marathon cleaning session Saturday morning… but then I had an idea!

Step 1: Have second thoughts as you’re jusssst about to toss the dusty old shade in the trash.

Step 2: Realize you have nothing to lose and start tearing the fabric (and liner) off the wire frame.

Step 3: Dig around in closet and find some leftover drop cloths that you already washed and ironed from another project. Tear into strips and knot around wire to start.

Step 4: Wrap, wrap and wrap some more. When you get to the end of the strip, just knot another on!

Step 5: Finish off with one last knot, flip it over and step back to admire your handiwork.

Want to see it on the lamp? I thought you might!

It’s a little shabby…. a little chic (I hope). I love the subtle frayed edges of the fabric. Best part – it was FREE!

So what do you think? Not bad for a $9 investment, right?

Can’t wait to spill the beans on some of my other weekend projects! I hope you love them!

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Ornament Light Tutorial

November 1, 2011 in Bedrooms, Gettin' Crafty

A few posts back I showed you a quick shot of my ornament light at night. My sister Christy made it for me as a birthday present earlier this year. Isn’t she a sweetie? There are several versions splashed around Pinterest, but we had several of you ask how to make one like mine (aka hers) so here you go!

…and SPECIAL THANKS to Christy for being kind enough to tell us how! Without further ado – here’s Christy’s first guest post on Crafted Niche! (cue the applause)

How to make your own Ornament Pendant Light

Supplies:

Silver wire
Clear ornaments
2 Wire florist rings, 1 large and 1 smaller. Find them in local stores like Joann Fabric (St Louis prices shown below) or online at sites like this: http://www.mainewreathco.com/cgi/supplystore/commerce.cgi?product=Pine_Cone_Wreath_Rings)
Swag light – $3.99 at Ikea (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10175810/) NOTE – If you don’t have an Ikea near you, several other stores sell similar lights. Dana found some at World Market for another project
Spray paint – I used Rustoleum Brushed Nickel

Hi, Everyone! So apparently there’s some interest in the bubble light that I made. First, I should say that I’m not the first one out there to try and make a DIY version. I’ve seen quite a few on Pinterest and thought I’d give it a go. I don’t have in progress” shots because my sister didn’t have a blog at that time and I wasn’t even sure it was going to work. So, feel free to ask if you have any questions. But basically, I just used a lot of wire and crossed my fingers!

I started off by spray painting the florist rings with Rustoleum brushed nickel. It matched the top of the ornaments and the wire.

Then, I just wired the two florist rings together. These are what the ornaments (or bubbles) hang from. I wanted the bubbles to be uniformly distributed, so the wire rings gave me guides to know where to hang the wire from for the ornaments. I also used the wire to attach the light socket into the center of the inner ring.

I then hung the ornaments from the florist rings starting with the outer ring so that I didn’t have to guess on the length for the inner since I wanted the inner ring to hang down the furthest to help hide the bulb later on. So, I went around once on the outermost ring of the florist ring. Then, I made the next inner row one ornament height lower. I continued this until I got to the innermost ring.

At first I used a regular bulb and didn’t like the look. I tried a CFL and REALLY didn’t like the look. Then, I remembered that I had some extra clear, round bulbs that were used in my old vanity light. Actually, it was shaped just like the ornaments so it was perfect!

Hang the light from a hook in the ceiling and there you go! Super easy.

- Christy

THANKS CHRISTY! I took about a million and a half pictures of the light in my guest room. Here are a few more… and true to Dana form, I’m giving you more pictures than one person could possibly want.

Click for larger versions.

(Looking UP from under the light)

This might be a good project for you to tuck away for after the holidays! Be one of the first to hit up your local stores the day after Christmas and you’re sure to score a DEAL on some ornaments!

Enjoy!