"Precious Memories" Shabby Chic Lamp

After recently hitting up an estate sale and a few garage sales, I decided to use my "new" finds to create a very shabby chic lamp. I found this old Mason jar lamp base in my stash recently and knew I wanted to do something very creative with it.

I placed the lamp on my bed side table. I have a jewelry holder located on the wall above this table, hence all the necklaces hanging in the background.

Remember this picture from my road trip Saturday? I printed it out on my home printer and then matted it with chocolate burlap, with the help of mod podge glue.

 
I used lots of pearls, buttons, burlap, and vintage lace inside the large fruit jar.

I had some vintage style scrapbooking stickers (the calendar and stamps) that I glued to burlap and lace.

I grew up in church singing hymns out of the Heavenly Highway Hymnal and when a friend give me one of the old hymnals from his junk pile, I knew I would use the sheet music in craft projects. I'm calling this lamp "Precious Memories," because I used the hymn to create two paper flowers that are inside this lamp. I layered all of the elements till I had it just like I wanted.

 I will admit I bought the lamp shade new {gasp}. I wanted to finish the project over the weekend and just didn't have a lamp shade that would work. I used spray adhesive on the lamp shade then rolled burlap over the shade. I then used the lace trim around the bottom edge. I decided to loop more pearls over the lamp shade and took burlap strings (ravels) to tie the pearls to the burlap.

 I elevated the lamp by sitting it on top of the Heavenly Highway Hymnal and a vintage dictionary. I'm excited how my little lamp turned out!

A Stinky Suitcase Makeover with Mod Podge & Burlap

I've been working on this suitcase for what seems like forever. After some mod podge, burlap, spray paint, and trim, it is finally finished...yee haaaa!

It started like this... old, ugly, and STINKY. This Samsonite Case was one of my Flea Market Finds from Canton Trades Days in July for $3.00. I was excited with my purchase, but then realized how bad the inside STANK, I mean give-you-a-headache-kind-of-stink. I began to wonder if I had wasted my $3.00. I googled ideas to get rid of the smell...I tried the baking soda trick - it didn't help. I tried Mother Nature's way with some good ol' sunshine and fresh air for a while - it still stank, but I was determined something must work. I brought the suitcase back in the house and started ripping out the lining. Yep, I ripped and tugged that old vinyl out and away went the smell into the trash can!!! Problem Solved! Now for the FUN part!

I spray painted the metal trim aqua blue, then mod podge the outside with various shades of blue and brown scrapbook paper. At some point I decided to glue in the chocolate burlap liner, then I added some vintage looking lace trim around the edges.

I finally decided just to paint the handle aqua blue - I wish I would have completed this step before I glued the paper, but I didn't. When I was painting the handle, I decided to use a doily as a template and spray paint the design onto the suitcase. I over did it a little and decided to cover up some of the spray paint with more paper. I did leave part of the painted pattern showing though. It just didn't need as much as I painted. That's the great thing about mod podge, if you don't like something, you can just layer over it with more paper!

My suitcase is ready, now I just need somewhere to go!

I will probably use this suitcase as some type of storage in our bathroom, since we never seem to go anywhere overnight! I am planning a makeover for our "big" bathroom and plan on using these same colors. I can see towels displayed in the suitcase or makeup and the such organized in it. Of course earings hang great from burlap, so who knows exactly were it will wind up! So what do you think?

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