Anybody Got a Light?

More Funky Fixtures

Ever had a bright idea and wondered what it looked like when it popped into your head? Well, here it is - if your head was made of cobalt glass...



Vintage Cobalt Glass Mannequin Head Lamp $72

I purchased this vintage glass mannequin head on my buying trip to Florida. I knew it had to grow up to be a lamp one day. The base was borrowed from a glass dome stand as well as a plastic cover that fits snugly around the base of the head, allowing it to be removed to change the bulb.

     It's different, but it puts out a great blue glow reminiscent of a neon Bud Light sign. It's also multi-functional, serving not only as a cool lamp, but also a great hat stand for which it was originally intended. Unlit, it looks beautiful too, especially if you're a cobalt blue glass freak like me.

Repurposed Heater Steampunk Lamp

Steampunk Heater Lamp $75

This industrial space heater made the perfect base for a cool light. Purchased on my trip to Florida, it turned out to be a great piece that proved worth the toil.

The first attempt at this fixture blew out my lights 3 times one night. Fitted with a new, more durable cord, it's now in great working order, complete with toggle switch and Edison bulb.

I removed the original heating coil and replaced it with the fixings for a lamp. Seems easy, right? No. I learned that cloth cords being squeezed too hard between two pieces of metal will blow your fuse and electrocute the shit out of you (BUT, your hair will look FABULOUS the next day with all that extra body. True story, but still, not something you want to try at home).

The shadows cast from the wire cover look fantastic in the surrounding space if you get the lighting just right. I really enjoyed the outcome of this piece, especially after the grief and good hair it gave me.

The Birth of the Blues

Blue Paint Washes the Blues Away

Somebody has proved that, right?

Blue is my favorite color, so naturally, I gravitate towards it when I'm painting furniture. It's a happy color and is proven to work wonders on the psyche.

Blue and White Shabby Chic Vanity and Chair

For these two pieces, I mixed a couple of colors to get the blue just right. The new

Valspar paint samplers at Lowe's are a furniture painter's dream! They're about $3 ea. and the perfect amount needed for several projects. The best part is that you can mix them together and if you get a color you're not happy with, well, it was only $3.

Bentwood Chair SOLD!

     The first project was the white bentwood caned chair. I purchased it completely white, then banged it up a bit in my car getting it home from the auction. I noticed that underneath the old white paint was an even older blue paint. It was instant inspiration seeing that ray of blue sunshine. I looked at the vanity I had bought at the same auction and the two just clicked. Mixing the paint to match the blue was painstaking in the hot sun since every time I finally got the color right, the paint in the pan seemed to dry faster than I could apply it. But other than that, it was easy going. I primed the vanity white and then applied the blue over. I took my sander to both pieces and shabbied off some of the white on the chair to expose the blue and vice-versa with the vanity. So, I was left with two wonderful pieces that compliment each other.

Vanity $135

Shades of Grey/Blue

Primitive Blue/Gray Gradient Table - SOLD!

This cute little primitive end table needed a good coat of paint. I decided to go with a gradient finish that fades from dark blue to light blue all over.

On a much-needed vacation to Florida, I was so inspired by the beautiful variation of the oceans colors of the Gulf of Mexico. I couldn't help but lie there on the beach staring into the vastness of the spectrum of blues that presented itself to me and the rest of the gaping tourists. Making sure to take a mental snapshot of the gorgeous blues and turquoise, I knew that one day I would have to incorporate them somehow into my furniture.

photo: http://reednightingale.com/

                    photo: http://www.floridaoceanfrontresorts.com/

I decided to attempt gradient and color fading on this piece. The legs go from dark blue to light blue and the top is painted with a couple of light blue stripes that fade into darker blue, reminiscent of a Mark Rothko painting (oh yeah, I wish). 

I had a great time trying this out and the results definitely look better in person than in the photo. The process, however, is a mystery. I basically just painted one dark stripe, then a light stripe leaving space in between, then blended the two together, repeating this all the way down each time with lighter shades. I hope to try this with some turquoise colors soon!

Upcycling 101

A Lesson On Garbage or "Found Objects"

One man's trash is usually another man's treasure, but if it's not, then surely it can be made into one.

My sweet neighbors ditched a gorgeous antique door that had began rotting and falling apart. Of course when I saw this awesome green thing laying in their trash pile, I grabbed it. It came with accessories: a lovely colony of termites.

Needless to say it was pretty easy to disassemble.... the panels were perfect and extended an invitation of invention, so I graciously accepted. The first was used in my lamp, "The Spelunker", as a back drop. The others were fitted to a couple of other parts of the door and adorned with cast iron fleur de lis hooks painted in hot colors. Et voila! A coat rack is born.

FDL Coat Rack SOLD!!!

While we're on the subject of upcycling, I'll introduce to you my latest endeavor: building from scratch. When I say scratch, I mean the wood that I've been collecting out the garbage. Thankfully we live in an area in which a majority of the houses are pre-1940s, so finding scrap wood, shutters, doors, windows, etc. is pretty likely the night before garbage day. It also helps when you know someone :)

     I came across some nice old (rotting) white picket fence which of course made me American dream something useful up real fast. The next day I started trimming all of the rot off the fence boards, vigorously measuring (not twice but five times), and assembling this cute little end table. I learned some lessons from it and it took me all day and drained me of all patience, but by the end of the day, I stood beaming proudly at this piece of "FrankenFurniture". It's a good feeling to build something out of nothing with your own two hands, (even if it is a little crooked and inconsistent the first time).

Primitive Upcycled End Table - SOLD!

Mirror, Mirror

From Plastic To Fantastic

Mirrors with Painted Plastic Frames

We all know a plastic-framed mirror wreaks of cheap, but here's a great way to take that gold plastic look from cheap to chic!

White Shabby Chic Mirror- Large- SOLD!

I started with taking the mirrors out of the frames, which is probably the hardest part of this whole ordeal. I then took the frames and spray painted them, one white and one black. After the white one was HALF WAY dry, I applied antique glaze with a brush. I let that sit for a minute and began rubbing the glaze all over the frame with my bare hands (yes it's messy, but afterwards, everywhere you touch you add patina). Since the paint was only half way dry, some of it came off, leaving that great shabby chic look of dirty, white wood. Adding the dark glaze forced the beautiful and intricate design out so that it pops a little more. Overall- a fantastic result.

Round Shabby Mirror- Medium- SOLD!

For this mirror, I used the same technique, just opposite colors. Over the black spray paint I dry brushed white, leaving the dark in the grooves and pulling out the surface of the detail. I then painted the whole thing with the antique glaze and rubbed it until the white was almost gone. It looks a lot older and you can't tell it's plastic now.

Another technique I long to try is just spray painting the whole frame with one solid, bright color like hot coral or turquoise. Detail will remain in shadows, but the main thing is picking the right color.

"In his hands he hideth the light, and commandeth it to come again." Job 36:32

Mannequin Hand Light Fixtures

Beacons #1 & #2 $165 ea. or $300 pr.

These two lights are made of a cypress driftwood plank found on the Bay St. Louis beach. Vintage painted mannequin hands support a chain holding safety light covers with an Edison bulb.

 

I do believe that these are my favorite things that I've ever made (so far). They weren't easy, but I made it through. The finish is the famous "Ghost Finish" as discussed in previous posts. All of the other elements were antiqued with a glaze and dirty hands. The cord is a vintage revival cloth cord and the bulb is the popular new Edison reproduction. As difficult as it was to put these together, they were well-worth it.

Close up of "Ghost Finish"

 "The Spelunker"

SOLD!

This lamp is made of upcycled door panels, a mannequin hand, and a vegan leather shade. Chandelier crystals were added to embellish the piece and to add points of reflection for the light. This is another one of my favorite pieces.

You can find all of these light fixtures at the Steampunk Show held in the Paper Moon Gallery of Century Hall in Bay St. Louis, MS from June 9-July 10, 2012.

Oh Baby!!! That's a Crazy Lamp...

Creepy Baby Lamp Collection

"Hey Baby!" Lamp $125

Okay, so I made some creepy, crazy lamps. They're not to everyone's taste (or anyone's that I know of) but perhaps one day, they will sell to the right person who will appreciate their creepiness.

Just bear with me on these, I mean, after all, they're considered art, right? At least they thought so at the Steampunk Show held in the Paper Moon Gallery at Century Hall in Bay Saint Louis, MS. The show will be up from June 9-July 10, 2012. There, you can see these lights, as well as a couple other equally scary lights per my contribution.

I had always longed to do something with doll parts. I've experimented in the past with a few things, but since I've been on the lighting kick and haven't managed to electrocute myself to death, inspiration came easy. I finally found the right body types and parts and went to work.

"Hey Baby!" is comprised of a vintage composite doll body that was already perfectly cracked all over and in deplorable condition- which I love. I added an antique glaze and rubbed my dirty hands all over the body (that sounds soooo bad) making sure to add a little extra patina to the most loved spots (like the face, knuckles, and elbows). The lamp was already made, so this was a lot easier for me than normal.

"The Pennyeater" Lamp $125

"The Pennyeater" was made from a vintage hard plastic doll whose head moved when you moved her legs - something I was unaware of until I got home and started trying to take it apart. It was a startling thing to have the damn doll, but it was terrifying when I moved it's leg and it turned it's head and looked me dead in the eye seeming to command, "DO NOT RIP MY ARMS AND LEGS OFF!"

This provided a wonderful incentive to disassemble the doll and get to work. I followed the same process as the other doll lamp, adding a couple of artistic touches: a blackened eye with a fake eyelash, a tear drop made of hot glue, and of course, the penny stuck in the mouth. 

The piece represents the torment of having an infant and how much money we give our children, yet it never seems to be enough.....Well, at least that's one message that could be received from it. THE TRUTH IS that I designed the doll's face after my own after I woke up after a partyish night with black eyeliner all around my eye and only one fake eyelash left. The tear drop was added as an afterthought - mainly just to see if I could do it. I found the penny on the floor, and it seemed to fit perfectly in the mouth, which is representative of me in that I used to eat pennies as a child. I know, it's weird, but I've since moved on to $5 bills...  

The cogs and springs were added at the last minute courtesy of the gallery owner. The babies didn't quite fall into the category of Steampunk, so some amendments had to be made to rectify this problem. It was so nice to have a mini-mentor moment with a famous artist - all advice was very appreciated and criticism turned out to be a lot easier to take since college Art 101. (I'm still mad at those bastards from that class....)

Modgepodge Martyrs

Saints-Portraits Box

$75

     This found it's way to me in the greatest condition - blank. The beautiful blue/gray color already donned it's primitive wooden encasing, adding instant inspiration.

     The pictures were found in a box lot that was purchased at a Katrina-flooded storage unit, which was, I'm convinced, the welcome mat of the gates of Hell. That was a long three hours of digging and arguing with a hoarder that didn't seem to want to get rid of the 500+ boxes that filled the unit.

    

     The box lot turned out to be wonderful; a shining beacon amongst the junk that filled the other boxes that I somehow convinced myself were worth a shit. Among the goods, I came across a stained, moth-eaten, 1940s booklet of the Saints and their meanings. It was in such bad shape, that I thought, "How can I at least preserve these marvelous pictures?". Modgepodge was the only answer at the time.

     As well as containing the booklet, there were numerous religious articles from the New Orleans Times Picayune called "Portraits". I had to do something with them, I just couldn't let them disintegrate!

    

     This box was mainly intended for displaying all of the religious statues that came out of the box lot. The first thing I did was cover the bottom inside with a piece of burlap. Next, I took some of the modgepodge and squeezed a tea bag over it, subsequently mixing and stirring until I had a yellow-ish color. This helped give the finish an antiqued look. (Or you could paint polyurethane over it and let it age quickly over time.) I cut out the pictures and modgepodged them all over the box, letting them arrange themselves naturally. Nothing to it. It felt good to preserve this paper ephemera somehow. I kind of feel like they were being saved just for this.

Anchors Away!!!

Primitive Anchor End Tables

$200 - SOLD!

     These two tables were hand made (God knows how long ago). I took them apart and rebuilt them to stabilize them a little better.

     First, I spray painted them black and then I mixed my paint (a Swedish blue/gray) to dry brush over the dark black. This creates the "Ghost Finish" as I like to call it. After they dried, I applied a large anchor graphic using the "Ghetto Inking Method" as discussed in a previous post. Finished with a clear wood poly spray, the graphic should hold up just fine.

     The beauty of shabby chic painted furniture is that each nick and each scratch will just end up adding character. If anything, start with shabby chic furniture before you fill your house with fine antiques, that way you'll know what NOT to do when it comes to taking care of your furniture!