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I have been on a mission redecorating our bedroom. It has been a therapy of sorts as I have been through some rough months lately. I have picked out the perfect wall color, hubs finished our custom made door bed, and I made the perfect nightstands by tearing apart an old vanity. The one item that stumped me was the lamps for the nightstands. I could not find two that I just loved and were the perfect scale for our bed. So I did what I always do, I made them! (well, sort of)
I knew I wanted cheap so I narrowed it down to two lamps at WalMart. (Yep, I said WalMart. Turns out, they have some REALLY cute lamps!) Once I paired them with the yummy $2 garage sale shades I had bought over the summer, the choice was clear. I knew by using my stash of Amy Howard products, I could transform them into the shabby , crusty, imperfect little jewels that my heart adores. I did just that, and I LOVE them! Then I thought, I can't be the only person who has had this problem, So let me show you how I did it with these disclaimers:
1)The pictures that are great are not mine. Photo cred given on those. The somewhat blurry photos are mine. I apologize in advance. I don't have a fancy camera like a lot of bloggers. :)
2) Amy Howard has some great Video How To's for her products on her website. Also links to stores that carry her line. Amy Howard Home Website
Anywho, Let the fun begin!
This is the $12.95 WalMart lamp I started with. Nothing fancy and a little BLAH if you ask me.
Photo Credit Walmart.com
Let me just tell you that Amy Howard Cracked Patina is THE BOMB! It truly is magic in a bottle! Get you some. The bottle lasts, like, FOREVER. Seriously. Be kind and share half with a friend. They will love you for it. :)
I also used Amy Howard One Step Paint in neutrals Linen and Bauhaus Buff. What can I say about Amy Howard's One Step Line other than it is one of the most perfect paints out there right now. I have tried a LOT of paint over the years and this has the ease of use and the durability that I wanted in one paint! Try it. You won't be disappointed! Plus you know you have other things you have been wanting to paint...Think furniture, picture frames, mirror frames, candle sticks, etc.
Photo Credit amyhowardathome.com
I want to post a handy tip real quick. You will want to protect your cord from getting covered with product. If it is a new lamp, use the attached cardboard keeper to protect the cord like I have below. If it is not a new lamp, use foil to wrap it up.
Once you have your cord covered, use a high grit sandpaper (220 grit) to give the entire piece a LIGHT sanding. Just slightly rough the surface up. If the lamp doesn't have a smooth surface to begin with, skip this step.
Next, dust the lamps off. If you like the base color (the color that will show through the cracks), you can start brushing on a thin coating of AH Cracked Patina. If you want a different base color, now is the time to brush it on. Wait till dry, then brush on your Cracked Patina. Make sure you don't have any thick globby areas. Let the lamps sit for an hour or eight. Really doesn't matter, just make sure the Cracked Patina is dry when you start brushing on the paint.
As you can see I had a little helper on this project. Little helpers are the BEST!
Now you are ready to brush on the top coat of paint. I load my brush pretty good with the Linen color, then brush it on in even, thick coats. Be sure and not overlap the brush strokes or you will strip off the cracked patina glaze. Don't stress to much about messing things up. You are going for the shabby look after all.
(If you would be more comfortable, practice on a piece of wood first.) You will see that the paint starts to crack fairly quickly. At this point, using a dry brush, gently drag the paint a bit. Use your own judgement on how much you want to drag it out. I then use my fingers and hands to "pull" the paint up in random areas, exposing the base color.
Once the One Step paint is completely dry (it dries very fast), I then dry brushed on the Bauhaus Buff color in random areas. This will help add even more depth to the lamp bases. To dry brush, load the tip of your brush with paint and brush most of it off on a paper towel, then brush with it. I used very little paint in this step.
*I waited until it was dry and then I sanded random spots and all corners with the 220 grit sandpaper. You don't have to do this step, but I wanted a bit more of the base color coming through.
Now it is time to apply your wax. Always start with clear wax so that you can control the dark wax when you put it on. I use a chip brush to apply the wax and use a large square of muslin cloth to buff it out. (See the brush in the paint pics above) You can get the brushes at any hardware store. Brush on a thin coat of clear, then buff it well. Next, apply a thin coat of dark wax. Be sure and get in all the nooks and crannies really well, then buff it. You can see in the picture below that the lamp on the left has clear wax only. The lamp on the right has clear and dark wax. It has slightly darker, aged look to it. PERFECT!
Chippy Cracked Yummy Goodness People!
I think they look great and I did it under budget. Not bad for a $12 lamp and a $2 lamp shade! Hopefully some of you will try this technique. It really isn't difficult or that time consuming. You can use this technique on so many things! Plastic, metal, wood.... Get creative!
