floating magnolias - part 1

this past weekend it rained. constantly. so i ventured into an antique store fully anticipating to find inspiration from something old and beautiful. well. after walking up and down numerous rows of antique booths, i chose to walk away empty handed. i couldn't find exactly what i was looking for...or more specifically i couldn't find what fell into a reasonable price range....but i did walk away with a few ideas.

idea #1 - stripped lamp shade.



it's a pretty self explanatory shabby-chic project, but this is what happened:

step 1 - find a lamp you love that has a detailed lamp base.

step 2 - find a lamp shade that you think has an interesting shape that would coordinate with the base. trial and error may be required. i wanted mine to be slightly too heavy or large for the lamp i had at home, and i wanted the trumpeted shape. after 3 or 4 stores, i found this chosen "one" at target for $16. pre-deconstruction it was made with a very pretty ivory linen fabric.

step 3 - delicately destroy the lamp shade with a seam ripper and scissors. starting at the inside seam along one of the wires i began to rip it apart. i then cut along the top and bottom wires to leave a fabric trim for accenting the shape of the shade. be sure to use a pair of good, sewing scissors.

i think it is important to choose a slightly larger shade than what would normally fit your lamp because you'll then be creating a lot of empty space, and your eye needs a good frame of height and width. this helps to create balance since there is not any fabric covering the actual upper portion of the lamp. the end result: the lamp base becomes more of the focal point, which is what i really wanted to achieve, and your light bulb has a delicate shabby-chic frame.

ps - be sure to choose a pretty light bulb!

part 2 and idea #2 of floating magnolias will be later this week....and the mystery of the floating magnolias will be answered!

stay tuned.