Changing is Simple

Someone gave me this lamp about a year ago.  It's very sturdy and well made.  The center of the lamp is a light purple and so is the shade.  I don't have any use for those colors so I stored the lamp in the basement, thinking that maybe I would need it in the future.

The future is here and my daughter needs the lamp for her den.  She's 23 and is on a tight budget (and who isn't these days?)  So how do you go about changing the lamp to "make it" match?

A few things come to mind.

*paint the center part another color

*decoupage the center with tissue or fabric

*tape off the brass carefully and spray paint the center part

Originally I wanted to use Glossy Mod Podge and apply newspaper print to the center, buy a white shade and hot glue a black beaded fringe to the bottom of the shade.  The "kid" didn't like that idea and wanted something with green.

I decided to use tissue paper with shades of taupe and green.  I cut up the tissue into 1 inch squares, used the Mod Podge with a paint brush and applied them until they covered the entire center.

Here is a "not so good" photo of the tissue I used.  At least you can see the variety of colors that appear in the tissue.

Here is the lamp before.  Notice the lavender color in the middle. This is the part that must be changed to match up with the decor of the room.

Now you can see the difference!  The purple is now green.  The tissue I used had a variety of colors so the end result was a marble look.  I like the variation that happens when you use tissue paper with a design in it.

Mod Podge can transform so many things.  It's a quick way to change the look or color of something.

Below is the lamp, all finished.  The lamp was free, the other things I had hanging around  the house and the white shade was $11.00 at Walmart.  Re purposing an old lamp and making it blend in.  Easy and cheap!

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