Fabric Store Bliss

Today I ventured out shopping with my Mom to the fabric stores in search of the perfect velvet for my Louis  dining chairs. Of course, I left all my swatches at home on the entry table so I had to make a quick run to Calico Corners to get a sample of my drapery fabric, Robert Allen’s Rowlily in Jungle . Thank goodness I got the swatch! I was a bit off on the colors, but found a mango orange velvet that looks great with the chairs. I am busy staining the chairs a darker walnut/ebony finish this evening to really make the color pop!

When we were out, we stopped by Nothing Bundt Cakes off of Preston & Royal. Wow! These little cakes are awesome and can’t wait to dig in for Christmas.

We also managed to stop by the new Wisteria outlet off of Lemon across from Love Field. Being a loyal Wisteria fan, I was completely blown away! The store has got to be 20x bigger than the old location. I have my eye on several dining room tables!

Off to do some more staining!

Photos with Santa

Every year we take our annual trip to go see Santa. It all started when my daughter was born 17+ years ago and we still continue the tradition to this day. Last year, I decided to take all the photos out of their individual frames and frame them in some larger frames from Ikea. I love how it turned out and get to see my kids grow-up with Santa!

Master Bedroom Blanc de Chine Lamps Part 2

I finally finished my master bedroom Blanc de Chine lamps! They look so gorgeous! Here are the steps I used so that you can recreate your own…

I had the lamp bases made by Ace Acrylics, an acrylic company in Dallas. Make sure to ask for a teardrop figurine base. I made mine 1" thick and about 1" larger in diameter than the figurines.

I ordered all the lamp parts from Antique Lamp Supply. You will need:

• 6 of 3/4" dia. Knurled Brass Locknut (20711)
• 6 of Plated Steel Lock Washers (22702)
• 2 of 3/4" Steel Washer (22720)
• 2 of Bent Figurine Pipe - Add 3” to height of figurine for correct size
• 2 of Leviton Brand, Complete Socket for 3-Way Bulbs, w/Uno Thread (40207G)
• 2 of Clear Silver, 18/2 Plastic Covered Lamp Cord Sets (46813)
• 2 Brass Harps – Height depends on lamp shade you are using

The first step is to refinish the brass figurine pipe and 2 of the knurled brass locknuts. I tried to spray paint mine with a chrome finish paint and it kept on dripping no matter how light I applied the paint! In the end, I decided to silver leaf the pipe & nuts instead…they turned out looking a lot better!

Now you are ready to assemble the lamp…this is the order of the parts going from the bottom up!

Below the hole in the base…

20711 – Knurled Brass Locknut

22702 – Steel Lock Washer

22720 – Steel Washer

Above the hole in base…

22702 – Steel Lock Washer

20711 – Knurled Brass Locknut –Refinished

At the top of the lamp…

20711 – Knurled Brass Locknut

22702 – Steel Lock Washer

Harp Base

40207 - Lamp Socket

Once everything is assembled on the base, you will need to thread the clear lamp cord up through the bottom of the base and out the socket. Tie a loose knot about 2 inches below the top of the wires. This is to keep the wires from easily being pulled through once the lamp is assembled. Connect the two wires onto the two screws of the socket set being sure that they are secure (it doesn’t matter which wire goes to what screw).

Next, push up the knot of the lamp cord to just below the lamp socket and gently pull the extra cord through the bottom of the lamp.

The next step to assemble the lamp is to put the socket cover over the lamp socket snapping it into place (the slit should be facing down and to the front for the switch). Finally, you can glue your figurine to the base using appropriate glue for both materials.

The last steps are to install the harp into the harp base and add your choice of lamp shade and finial!

If you get lost…you can go to http://www.antiquelampsupply.com/howto.php and click on the How-To -Book of Repairing, Rewiring, and Restoring and look at page 27-31.

Enjoy!

My Sparrow Giveaway

I wanted to let everyone know about a great giveaway at Art by Karena from My Sparrow.

My Sparrow has some incredible goodies…

I LOVE the Charlie Wire Chairs…I can see them sitting on our porch in the spring!

I also adore the Architect’s Stool and think they would look great in my kitchen!

Check out…My Sparrow!

Master Bedroom Plans

I am ever so slowing finishing up decorating my Master Bedroom. We finished making the upholstered bed this summer and now I just need to add in all the finishing touches…drapery, lamps, artwork/mirrors, and reupholstering my Milo Baughman swivel tub chairs. I got them from my favorite source for a steal…eBay! I think I am going to do a soft blue-gray velvet or chocolate brown velvet. I’ll have to make a trip to my favorite discount fabric store and see what catches my eye!

Since I am a teacher, I have the next 2 weeks off and I plan on making the most out of every single day! I have lots planned today and can’t wait to start on all my projects on Sunday!

Stay tuned for detailed info on how-to make an upholstered bed and how-to make the Blanc Chine lamps!




My Baughman chairs BEFORE!