COHESIVE RANDOMNESS: 2012-05-27

DIY: Dip-Dyed Lamp Shades

I showed you guys a couple preview photos yesterday, including this one...

Not only did I break out a couple brass candlesticks and spray paint the sunburst mirror gold, I also tried my hand at a little dip-dying. My wheels have been spinning on what to do with the plain white shades of these lamps. Here they are in all of their boring glory.

I thought about painting them them out...

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I thought about trimming them out in ribbon...

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I thought about covering them with fabric...

Drum Lampshade Covered in Grey Fret Schumacher Fabric

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But, a couple weeks ago, I saw this post over at Kara Paslay's blog and I new I had to try it!

Kara did a great job of walking us through each step. First, she gathered her materials; which included a lampshade, some dye, a large container and some hot water.

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Kara used the Rit powdered dye...I, on the other hand, used the liquid dye. The instructions are essentially the same, but I think the liquid dye is a smidge easier to work with. She mixed the dye and hot water in the large container and then, it was time for dipping!

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You want to leave the lamp shade in for around 20 minutes, but it depends on how light or dark you want your shade.

When you take out your lamp shade, you can either rest it on a piece of cardboard or hang it and let it drip over an old towel. Just be careful where you leave it; you may not want rings on your counters, floors, etc. Leave your shades to dry...I left mine hanging in the laundry room over night.

Here's Kara's finished results...

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Great, right??? And here's mine...

My shades are looking a bit on the purple side, but I still love this look! I've been trying to live with the color for a couple days now, and I'm still a bit on the fence. But, hey, if I can't live with them, I can easily try one of the methods mentioned above (I'm this close to trying out a little paint). I'll keep you posted if anything changes!

So what do you guys think? Is this something you'd want to try? Do tell!

Xoxo,

Coco

Guess what I've been up to?

Hey guys! Hope you all enjoyed your holiday weekend. Things were pretty slow around here, but the past couple weeks have been packed with plenty to keep me busy!

For starters, this guy had T-ball games twice a week.

Go Braves!!!

I hosted a little brunch for some very special ladies.

Lorrie, Dannette & Rosy have been my saving graces during our stint, here in Poplar Bluff. I met Lorrie first. She and her family are members of the church that we attend. Upon meeting her, she invited me to a Zumba class, which is where I met Rosy (the instructor) and Dannette (a huge Zumba fanatic). These ladies are the reason why living here has been leaps and bounds over tolerable. Actually, I'll be more than sad to have to say goodbye to these women, in the instance that we have to move. But, not to get all mushy...on to the lunch...

It was a small setup, since there only four people eating. I made lemonade and sweet tea to quench our thirst; I just put them in a couple bottles that I got from World Market. Got 'em on a trip to St. Louis a while back. Of course, there was a little bottled water on hand. The white plates, salad bowls, cake stand and napkins came from TJ Maxx forever ago. The glasses were found at this hole-in-the-wall retail store here in Poplar Bluff (actually from a set of 32 glasses of various sizes). The square white serving trays are actually plates, and they came from Wal Mart; and so did the glass bowl.