Knick Knack Craftywack: February 2010

For those that don't know, I am a garage sale junkie. So last summer I stopped at a sale on my way to my aunt's house. I poked around a bit and found two great lamps. I got a steal of a deal at $4 for the pair. The thing that drew me to them was their roundness. I had been on the lookout for a pair of lamps for my headboard because I was tired of sharing one lamp for reading at bedtime. They were cute lamps, but needed some help. When I bought them, they were a somewhat boring color. I forgot to take a picture, but it was something like this.

I went to my local Ace Hardware to look for a new color for my lamps. They had a chart of all the colors Krylon makes in spray paint. I found a beautiful color called Ivy Leaf, but they didn't have it in stock. Many phone calls later, I finally found that Michaels (love that store!) had it in stock. I grabbed my 40% off coupon and headed over. A couple of coats later, my lamps looked brand new.

Next I needed to find the perfect shade. I had been looking all summer at garage sales, but tan or ripped or gaudy shades were all I could find. I happened into Ikea one day and found the Alfhild Fagel lamp shade design. Only problem was it wasn't in the size I needed. They had a big one (think floor lamp sized) and they had mini ones (think chandelier size). I asked and sure enough, they carried it in a mid size. I went to Ikea several times over the next few weeks and found one shade. I was starting to get irritated. Then I went online one day and what do you know, my shade had been discontinued! After much grumbling, I found one on e-bay. It was $40 instead of $20, but it was the perfect shade and I already had one. I figured since the lamps only set me back 4 bucks, I could splurge on the shades.