Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: A Painted Lamp Makeover!
I hate to admit it……..but I’ve been wasting money on my electricity bill over the last year.
I know, you’re shocked, right?
Me…..the so-called Miss Thrift Diving Queen, has failed to notice when her electricity bill is sky high! Shocking!
I am on “budget billing.” In other words, I pay our AVERAGE monthly bill each month instead of the ACTUAL usage. It’s supposed to eliminate any surprise billings each month. But it’s easy to get disillusioned about energy consumption when we’re “only” paying the AVERAGE. What about those high months??
But imagine my shock when our actual usage one warm month was nearly $500?! YIKES!
I knew it was time to replace the bulbs with energy efficient ones…..any why not just do a lamp makeover while I’m at it? 🙂
Painted Lamp Shade Makeover!
One of my favorite types of projects are lamp makeovers. It’s so easy to reuse things to make lamps. Wiring them is a piece of cake! All you need to do is order this lamp kit
from Amazon. It’s only about $10 and can make any lamp.
In fact, recently I did a post on how to make your own DIY pendant lamp (which includes a wiring tutorial) that I made from an old broken fruit basket from my kitchen. It’s hanging in my craft room, and I love it!
Anyhow…I found these 2……..hookahs??………at the thrift store for $5.00 each on a 50% off holiday sale. I thought they were candle holders until I realized they were hollow inside, with openings at the top and bottom, and would make the perfect lamps!
I bought a cheap lamp shade for $11. My thrift store usually doesn’t have drum lamp shades. (Oooh, but the last lamp makeover I did, I struck gold when I found these awesome thrift store lampshades for $2.00 each!)
BEFORE
And after a little bit of drippy-drippy spray paint and total random creativeness, here’s the AFTER!
AFTER!
How I Created This Shade
All I did was let paint run down the rims of the lamp shade. I took spray paint that I had on hand and sprayed some into a cup and just let it collect. Then I let it run down the edge, layering the paint with pink, turquoise, white, and apple green. 🙂 At times, like this the green, I just let it drop and splatter, randomly. I love the green the most!
This was such a fun project! It’s like being able to make a mess and the messier, the better 🙂
I used spray primer on the hookah/lamp prior to spraying it with white semi-gloss.
To get the globs of paint on the lamp shade, I folded a piece of paper in half, and then took a can of spray paint and sprayed a huge puddle of it the crack of the piece of paper. Then, I dribbled the puddle of paint over the edge of the paper and let it run down the side fo the lamp shade in random patterns.
I used one of my new GE light bulbs in the new lamp, so now, there’s no more wasted electricity!!!
And don’t you just love how cozy lamps look at night? This lamp looks very cool when turned on! Even my kids thought it was neat, and they are quick to tell you something doesn’t look good! LOL. Oh, and be careful when you’re painting a lamp shade, because the paint will make it very opaque. But the awesome part is that you can make any design with paint and it will be even more striking at night between the translucent shade and the opaque paint. Be creative!
Also, because I am a night-owl, I tend to burn the midnight oil well into the wee hours of morning. So I need energy-efficient bulbs that will keep costs low while burning all night 🙂
So I plan to put my DIY painted lamp shade in my craft room; just not sure yet. In the meantime, it’s sitting on top of my hand-me-down Ikea Expedit bookcase, out of the hands of a little toddler who will destroy it if you let him get his hands on it……;)
SUPPLIES
- Lamp Kit
from Amazon.com = $10 - Lamp shade from Walmart = $10
- Lamp base from the thrift store = $5
- Rust-Oleum Primer (already had on hand) = very minimal
- Rust-oleum Green Apple spray paint (already had on hand) = very minimal
- Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch Berry Pink spray paint (already had on hand) = very minimal
from Amazon.com = $10
(already had on hand) = very minimal
spray paint (already had on hand) = very minimal
spray paint (already had on hand) = very minimalTOTAL COST: About $24!
TOTAL TIME: About 1 hour, minus drying time in between.
So how do YOU reduce, reuse, and recycle?
Have you noticed you’ve been wasteful and are cutting back, too? In what other ways do you reduce, reuse, or recycle?
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This is fantastic.
I would have never thought of using hookah pipes to create lamps, but they did turn out particularly well.
My gf recently made a picture out of shirt to reuse the shirt because it didn’t fit properly.
There are so many ways to reuse things. All you need is a great imagination and you are ready to rock.
Great makeover
Super cool lamp shade!! I love the splatter/drip effect and its so colorful, brightens a room. Another idea, for those with little kids, would be to have them put handprints all over the shade. At least sounds like a good memory maker, if they don’t press too hard! Surely, there’s a kid friendly paint that will stick to a lampshade! Thanks for sharing.
I love the lamp but am just as interested in how you keep yur craft room so neat and tidy! Amazing.
Thanks for the cool idea.
Ooh, but what you don’t see in my craft room pic is the big pile of MESS out to the left of the frame! Lol Plus, this is one room the kids can’t really play in! Lol. Thanks for commenting!
The lamp is beautiful!
I recycle everything I can. Our city makes that very easy for us to do. Many items that I no longer use are quickly picked up if you place them curbside and used by others.
the lamp looks perfect in the Crafts room!
Thanks, Anna!
Hi Serena, This is my first time visiting your site…just clicked over from Facebook! This lamp re-do is adorable…love the colours on the shade. Will visit again soon. ~ Denise
Hey Denise! Thanks a lot for stopping through! So happy you like my lamp makeover! 🙂
Another great reinvention of something otherwise castoff. Great ideas all around. Thank you so much for sharing!
Thanks, Christine! I know…just think of all the stuff that people get rid of, when, if they knew how fabulous it could be, would change their minds and keep it? LOL. Lucky for us they get rid of it, though!
Wow, that lamp is gorgeous! I love all the colors i it! Good job Serena.
Thank you, Cathy! I loved doing it so much I’m already thinking of other “splatter” and “drip” decor I can do 🙂 LOL
I was looking at that picture and trying to guess what kind of paint you used. Never would have guessed spray paint!
Yep! The turquoise was actually just a little jar of sample paint from my “paint stock pile,” but the pink and green and white are all spray paint! Just spray a big glob of it on a piece of paper or in a cup, and then dribble it down the side for a cool little effect. Thanks for commenting!
I love it! I’m so going to share with my readers.. because we LOVE everything “With a Side of Thriftiness!”
That’s so nice of you, Dawn!! Thanks for sharing it!