Sunday, September 16, 2012
Faux Zinc Lamps with Grain Sack Shades
I found this pair of lamps at the flea market quite a while back. It's hard to find pairs of lamps so I scarfed them up immediately. They had a bronze finish and silk shades. I had too many lamps in my space so I decided to bring them home and reinvent them. I've shared this finish with you before. It was inspired by Lorraine at missflibberigibbet.blogspot.com. Click here to see the tutorial. This is a great finish if you love the look of zinc which I do.
Now that the lamp bases were modernized, I decided to tackle the shades. I used an image from the Graphics Fairy which you can find here .
I follow Rosemary at Villabarnes and she has done some wonderful transfers with Splendid Blenders so I decided to try my hand with this technique and I must say I love the result. It was easy to do and transferred like a dream. The only catch is you must use a laser jet copy, not an ink jet. So I took my image to Kinko's and reversed the image and brought home two copies to reinvent my pair of lampshades. I couldn't find the Splendid Blenders locally so here is the information on where to get them. The pen says Chart Pak Woodcrafter's Marker. The color is Splendid Blender WO. Use these in a well ventilated area. They are potent. I ordered them on line from WNC Supply at http://wncsupply.com. Their phone number is (623) 594-4602.
I simply taped the laser copy with the image side down to the shade. Then I held my fingers behind the image on the inside of the shade and rubbed it with the Splendid Blender. It transferred like a dream. Give this technique a try. The following photo is my test run on a piece of muslin.
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Beautiful, Maggie! Love how the shades turned out. I've used the Splendid Blender pen on fabric, too, and love the way it comes out. I did an apron and it made for a great transfer {better than any iron on}.
ReplyDeleteOh, my goodness, Maggie, those are stunning--both the bases and the shades! Beautiful job!
ReplyDeletexoxo
They look great! I really want to try both the techniques. Have to find somebody locally who has a laser printer, though. Our nearest Kinko's is 40 miles away. :-(
ReplyDeleteYour lamps look great. Love those redos. Smiles, Susie
ReplyDeleteLove these! I've been looking for lamps, too, but no luck yet. Thanks for the info on where to buy that pen. I've been looking all over!!!
ReplyDeleteWow! They look fabulous! I'm going to check out how to do the zinc finish...so pretty! And the shades are wonderful! I have to say I'm addicted to pairs and almost always have to buy both...can't leave one without his brother! lol Happy Sunday!...hugs...Debbie
ReplyDeleteThanks for the shout out, Maggie. I love how your lamps turned out.
ReplyDeleteLove those shades! I have two very similar lamps that could use an update like this. You make it sound easy!
ReplyDeleteYour lamps are beautiful Maggie! I LOVE the shades. I've tried the Splendid Blender pen and mine didn't turn out:( Oh well, practice makes perfect! Hope you have a wonderful day, Gail
ReplyDeleteI have two lamps that this would look amazing on, but I'm terrified of wrecking them!
ReplyDeleteLove them! Thanks so much for sharing the info and technique as to how you did the shades.
ReplyDeletePat
Pinned.
ReplyDelete~Bliss~
I really like the transfer on the shades! Another transfer method to try... yeah!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the shout out Maggie! They look wonderful!
ReplyDeleteLorraine
Thanks for the shout out Maggie! They look wonderful!
ReplyDeleteLorraine
Beautiful job - just love the finish and transfers are perfect!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOh Maggie,
ReplyDeleteyour lamps are stunning. I love the rustic zinc look and those shades are 2die4.
I was really keen to try my hand at image transferring with the magic blender but unfortunately we do not have such blender markers in Italy...
I read somewhere that acetone can be used for image tranferring but i'm not sure it would really work!
They look so beautiful! Thank you for sharing. Visiting from WUW. Would love it if you would share this at my Make it Pretty Monday party at The Dedicated House. http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com/2012/09/make-it-pretty-monday-week-15.html Hope to see you at the bash! Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse
ReplyDeleteI haven't tried this technique yet...it turned out very pretty. http://apalaceinwonderland.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteLOve both the zinc bases and the transfers on the shades. I admire your DIY skills....they look wonderful! :)
ReplyDeleteWow. I really do love it!!!! Thanks so much for linking up to the French party!
ReplyDeleteBisous
Isabelle.
That turned out fantastic! Thank you for joining HSH!
ReplyDeleteSherry
I love the look of a zinc base for a lamp and these are just fantastic. You did a great job with the shades. Very inspiring!
ReplyDeleteJust found your blog through googling stencils????Love the tranfers. I am now following!
ReplyDeletePatty@creativeideasandtips.blogspot.com