Party Like a Rock Star

Remember I mentioned I had used hot pink ball fringe on my daughter's lampshades? I had noticed the fringe was a little loose the last time I mustered up enough courage to venture into her room, so while the glue gun was hot, I asked her to bring the shade down for some repairs.

Those little pink shades were so water damaged.





















And let's be honest, the chipper candlestick lamps that were perfect when she was 5 were a little babyish a decade later.

Two stops: Walmart for more of those $3 clearance shades, gloss black spray paint, and some great shiny purple fringe by the yard.





During lunch, I ran over
to A.C. Moore for a card


of 3 dimensional chipboard stickers.

I know you see where this is going.

First, we hot glued the fringe to the outside of the shades, working 4 to 6 inches at a time. I started at the seam in the middle of the back of the shades and overlapped it just slightly at the ends.

Next, Savannah wrapped the lamp works in plastic cling wrap and taped the cords. We treated them to 3 light coats of black gloss spray paint, letting it dry between coats.

We thought about watching the paint dry, but Savannah prefers to watch grass grow, and....hey! Look! Shiny!

Anyway, while that dried, it was time to apply the stickers. These are sturdy and come ready to peel off and use. I let my daughter handle the artistic part. She pressed them into position, supporting the shade with her other hand from the back.

And there you have it: two lamps worthy of an angst-y teen girl!

The Budget News:

2 lamp shades on Walmart clearance: $6
2 yards of fringe at $2.83 per yard: $5.66
1 can of paint: $2.97
1 card of stickers: $5
Totally Cool Receipt: $19.63

The sheepish little smile on my secretly pleased daughter's face was worth it.