Lampshade Decoration

Here is an excersize on lamshade decoration.

I've had this little lamp shade for several months (I got it for next to nothing at 'Bunnings'). I almost forgot I had it and then I found this simple, but beautiful lamp base at 'Reject Shop' in a basket with 'rejected stuf' for $7.5 :)

I love how these two guys fit together and, in fact, this is already a beutiful little lamp for me.
However, I'd like to give it some personality and make it more of 'my lamp'.
So I thought we could go for an excersize and think of a few things that could be added here. I decided I would use only material I already have at hand and here are the outcomes:

These are wooden buttons with floral prints.

This is a rose made from my son's old polo shirt. If I chose to use roses, I might make them smaller and glue them all around the shade.

Here I tried using shells - and loved it!

Raffia will always give a simple, warm and rustic look to everything. I like that very much, but this lamp base calls for shabby chic to me.

The twine was pre-cut already for another project, but I just wanted to show you what you can achieve with this inexpensive material.
You can always go and repeat along the top line the same (or similar) thing you did on the bottom line, but I wouldn't recommend adding embellishments only on the top (looks kind of heavy).

So, these are only some options I could go with for this particular lamp. For another lamp, I'd probably go with pearls, glass beads, lace... Always try more than one variant (make sure you use some kind of temporary fixing)
My choice will probably be this one:

It looks grat in my room. I'm tempted though to add a little something - if I go for it, I'll let you know :)

Have a great week!

Love,
DK

Sharing at: The Shabby Nest

Precious Gifts

I've been very sick lately and haven't done much. My head is full of ideas, they come and go - I don't write them down. Let's hope the lost ones will come back when the time is right.


I hope I'll be able to do something tonight or tomorrow.

In the meantime, I just have to share these wonderful gifts I got from my dear friends Apoorve & Subhashni. I love many things from their culture (A&S are from India), but I truly believe everybody will agree the colors of India are fascinating.

These are little birds! :)

They also gave me this beautiful silk scarf (I love scarves!)

Everything about this scarf is just perfect for me!

The gifts are so precious, they brought a lot of light into a painful day, but I can't stop thinking of how much more precious friendship is to me.

~ Friends are gifts from God. ~

Love,
DK

Decorate with Fabric Flowers

Remember my failure from the last post?

:) Not really an orb.

I filled it with fabric roses and leaves and made a 'rose ball'. Well, not a ball really. If it was a ball, I could have added a baw on top and hang it somewhere.

This way, it would make a nice little centerpiece.

This is a super quick decoration and requires only some glue and flowers.

Of course, you can use a styrofoam ball from a craft store and dried flowers would work even better, but this is what I've done with what I had at hand (and that's the whole point of it).

And it looks good in my entry too.

Love,

DK

Simple Handmade Home Decor Item

These decorative balls have been around for a while. Sizes and materials vary. I find them attractive and fun and always feel like touching them :)

Here's how you can make your own decorative balls:

That's all you need - balloons (1 for each ball), jute twine (varieties of yarn would also work well - depending on the final look you want to achieve) and some craft glue diluted with water (1:1).

Soak the twine in glue and water mixture and just wrap the balloon randomly. If you work with yarn, be careful and do not soak too much at a time - it gets hard to work with.

Once you're satisfied with your ball, just leave it to dry over night. Cut the balloon, take it out and that's it - you have a new decorating item to play with!

Here is what you don't want to happen:

Make sure the air is not leaking from your balloon or you'll be surprised next morning, like I was here :)

I kept this 'ball' too and will let you know what can be done with it.

Have a great Monday!

Love,

DK

Thornbury Craft Market

Here are some pictures from Thornbury Craft Market held last Friday:

Alex, my son took the pictures with his Nintendo - I forgot my camera :?

Anyway, I loved being surrounded by all the gorgeous things 'made'n'Thornbury' and the lovely girls there.

My favorite crafter this time: Madeleine Somers - Very Cherry Stew

Refreshed and inspired - I can hardly wait for the next weekend when I'll (hopefully) have more time for crafting :)

Love,

DK