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. 

Big bummer (not the same one) and yes, some blessings too.

Yes, two weeks ago I did post about another big bummer.  Yesterday our plumbing really gave us some big grief! I left the house with a clogged kitchen drain and came home to the sink filled to the brim with black water.  ew.  We then went out to eat because the kitchen was well, not very usable at the moment.  When we came back an hour or two later, there was water all over the floor because it had back down through the dishwasher.  (which is still broken) So, as things would be, I took a little breather from the great whole house makeover this fine Saturday morning (interrumpted by plumbing troubles) to tell the world about our woas and the neighbor shouts over the fence that she has another lamp for me!  Oh, and it's the cutest one yet.  You see she has given me  five lamps now!  I'm really rich with lamps.  She's de-junking her house and I'm re-junking  benefiting.  The flashligh in the first picture means it was almost time for bed. The other small one shows a very clogged pipe, which explains why our sink has drained VERY slow for years now.  I guess it was just a matter of time....

  

Now for those little blessings........the top photo is the latest lamp gift.  The others are ones I have gotten from the same neighbor in the past week or so.  I'll be hunting for a shade for that one.  I have been wanting a stand lamp for a while now, so I was especially thrilled about that one.  The others need a makeover.  Share any ideas.  I think the tall, skinny, plain one could be a really big candle stick.

and the others....................

ok, now back to work.  Focus......