Normally, I feature What Would You Do with This? questions on Wednesdays. But this time, it's a friend emergency. My friend's thoughtful mother-in-law got her a lamp to replace one that she has been wanting to change out. I really do mean thoughtful, and not sarcastically. Her MIL found it at a thrift sale. I think it has a lot of charm, but it doesn't quite fit my friend's style. So, to honor her sweet MIL, my friend really wants to make this work in her home.
She isn't sure yet what she would change about it, but she wants something changed. I will give you a whole bunch of shots of different angles of this hanging lamp, and maybe you can help me come up with something do with it. She's given me permission to do whatever it takes.
So, what would you do? Leaving it white is not an option. And the paint is built up to the point where I think I will have to strip it with a water-based stripper. Where there are chips in the paint, I can see some shiny silver-colored metal. It's pretty heavy, so I'm thinking maybe it's stainless steel?
There is a close-up of the chain below. I think I will need to paint it or something, as the gold isn't very attractive. I could remove the power cord, but only if I have my husband unwire it from the lamp and I pull it out of the chain links.
There you go. Have at it! I can't wait to hear your ideas. And this isn't some hypothetical thing either. I'm going to be choosing an idea and carrying out the makeover.
Where I live in Northern Wisconsin, we haven't had a day where the temperatures have climbed to the 50s since sometime last year. Our winters can be long, and I leave snowman stuff out from November to the end of April.
Yep. We get our use out of our winter decorations!
My mom recently made me another snowman for my collection. She's inspired by the plethora of ideas on Pinterest. And, being a school cook she has access to a lot of empty tin cans. So, she created this snowman for me.
His arms are a little long, and they went off my photo, and I might shorten them just a little to make it easier to store him away...granted our snow does stop and summer arrives here up 'nort'.
Here's the scoop on how she made him. She spray painted the cans with white. I suggest a rust-preventing type, especially if you store your decorations in a place where they encounter a little moisture. She glued them together. You can use hot glue, or if you plan to put it outside, try something like Gorilla glue, E-6000, or Liquid Nails.
She used buttons and hot glue for decoration and made a scarf and hat from scraps of felt. You could sew a hat, or if you have an aversion to needles flying across fabric too close to your fingers, you can make it from felt. The top of the hat is a circle glued to a tube of felt, with another Frisbee-like piece for the brim. You could also make a stocking hat by using an old wool sock tied at the top with a tassle added. Or, if you're even more into Trash to Treasure, cut off the arm of an old sweater, tie one end for the top of the hat, and you have a knit stocking hat. I didn't make a sample because, my husband wouldn't consent to having a sweater in his closet with only one arm.
If you don't have felt for the scarf, try a scrap of flannel and cut fringes on the ends.
My dad got into the project by drilling holes for Mom in the sides where she wanted to glue stick arms. If you want to be able to store your snowman away during the summer, you could skip the glue and just "stick" [oh, I'm punny today] the arms into the holes. Then, you can remove them for storage. And if necessary, your snowman can get an arm transplant next winter if these arms don't work out. Now, there's a bonus.
Now, you're probably wondering where you can get a nose. For the snowman, that is. I don't know a thing about human nose suppliers. My mom made the nose from Model Magic clay. You know, the stuff that's really light weight and dries quick? You'll find it usually with the kids craft supplies. She used paint to make the rosy cheeks.
For someone who doesn't consider herself all that crafty, don't you think Mom did a good job? And, thanks to our snowy weather, I don't feel compelled to put him away for spring yet.
