Lamp makeovers: old brassy to shabby chic

One of my living room lamps broke.....quite a while ago.  So, I finally gave up on retaping it every few weeks and found a solution.  Yes, it literally had electrical tape wrapped around it and I don't have a picture.  It had gotten knocked off the table when the kids were younger and we lived with it for a long time. I got these for a mere $3.97 each and swiped the shades from some other lamps that I had. 

lamp number one.....and lamp number two.......

ok, how was this done? 

• prime first
• then I followed with a textured stone like finish which was kind of rust colored
• then I top coated that with heirloom white
•  and finally I took some very gritty sand paper and scratched off enough to make it look like they fell off the back of a truck and rolled down the road. 

I do like them.  They were cheap and they are very neutral.  I could put them anywhere in my house and they would look good.  Yes, they were ok the way they were, but I do like this better.  We had a two day window of 40 degrees last week and I've been staring at old brassys since I picked these up last summer. 

I have to do something creative every now and then or I shrivel up.  A good old lamp makeover was just the thing.  So, there you have it.

They don't really match, but they make a pretty good pair. 

this is the best before picture I could find of one of them and since this post I distressed this one a little mo' betta!

I'm linking to A Stroll Through Life's 50th tabletop party.