…well almost. First the boring details of why I haven’t been around much…not even to READ other blogs. Short version: I was EXHAUSTED! Slightly longer version: I didn’t really enjoy Christmas 2011. Man and Boy Wonder bugged me until I put up the tree. (Maybe one day I’ll explain why they don’t do indoor decorating…for now, let’s just say…It is ALL my fault!) But all I have wanted to do, since before Thanksgiving, is SLEEP! I was sleeping 8-9 hours at night and still only had enough energy to do the BARE MINIMUM. I was sure that my thyroid had turned on me, and I wasn’t happy when the Endocrinologist’s office called to inform me that the appointment that I had to wait over a YEAR to get was being rescheduled! So I was a ZOMBIE through the holidays. I finally got in to see the doctor last week. She changed my brand of thyroid medicine even though my last tests a couple of months ago were fine. She also ordered some other tests. One of which was to check my Vitamin D levels. I already suspected that I was D-deficient and was taking a supplement….so imagine my shock when I received a letter from my doctor and a prescription for Vitamin D 50,000 iu. My numbers were less than 1/2 what they should have been. Now…I only have to take one pill per week, but that is still A LOT of Vitamin D!!! My apologies to my thyroid….as those numbers were in the normal range. I’m less than a week into my 12-week treatment, and I’m already feeling much better.
On to something more interesting ….at least, I HOPE you find it more interesting.
Before I introduce this project, just know that it was done in the middle of my Zombie stage. I was only 2 minutes into it when I was really wishing I had never started it. I pushed through….slowly and sloppily. I hesitated to share it, but in the interest of “keeping it real” AND it is a great idea (if I do say so myself)…. Next time I will make sure I have enough energy to give it the attention and time that it deserves!
I have had this paper lampshade for awhile. It came with a thrift store lamp. (You will see it in the “after” picture.) I was putting away some white tissue paper from Christmas, when I saw the lampshade and some toile-print tissue paper….and the gears started turning. I had been at a loss as to what to do with this lampshade, but suddenly (and at a VERY bad time) I had an idea. I was going to trace the shape of the shade onto the tissue paper and Mod Podge it onto the shade. Just one problem (okay more than one…but I digress)…the sheet of tissue paper was too small. These fancy smancy tissue papers come in small sheets…not the larger ones that you find the solid colors in. 
I almost walked out the studio (honestly, SHOULD have walked out….but once again, I digress.). Then it hit me….cut out the scenes and do the lampshade collage-style. So that is what I did.
So far, so good! Then I hit a snag…a couple of places where the tissue paper overlapped gunked up (for lack of a better description). What to do? What to do?
Camouflage! Well kinda….
I mixed some burnt umber paint with some water and antiqued the lampshade. Now it looks a little old and---dare I say??? dirty? But the “mistakes” didn’t bother me so much anymore. So….
Then I went to my handy-dandy stash of ribbon and trim to find something to glue around the top and bottom…..NOTHING! Not one thing that matched the look! Great! So until I can get somewhere (and REMEMBER!) to buy trim, I just custom mixed some acrylic paints to match the “antiqued” red and painted on some trim.
And here is the finished lamp….well, semi-finished.
What do you think? I think it turned out quite nice considering. And for the curious, I bought the tissue paper at Hobby Lobby about a year ago.
Until next time…..
Blessings,
Sammi
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