The completed lamp makeover...

I only had about an hour and a half to myself today whilst my daughter was at a party. As luck would have it, the lamp embellishing item I ordered from America arrived this morning so I thought rather than start on the cupboard doors I'd sort out the lamp.

This is a tiny copper stencil that would have originated in Europe. I bought it from this Etsy shop and it came so fast with a little card with a tiny woven laundry label in the same initials. Sweet touch. (I went for an intertwined J and E for my husband and I.) These are sometimes called Dowry Stencils.

Here's what the Alpenhimmel shop says about them...

''These lovely monogrammed copper stencils come from Germany and were used from around the mid 19th century to mid 20th century to mark a young girl’s dowry linens. Brides marked their kitchen towels, table linens, bed linens, and sometimes even their under garments with their initials. After stencilling, the initials were then embroidered with either white or red thread. A classic tradition that can be reinvented by you! Use these vintage stencils to mark your own linens or use them to add a unique finishing touch to your artwork, quilts, or other handcrafts.
Each stencil is 60 - 160 years old.''

(This is NOT a sponsored post. I just like this shop. You can also find these on eBay.)

Here's the before again...

 

If you remember I had a little trouble painting the basket part. You can read about that here.

Well, I cracked it. I just attacked the final coat of paint with a wire brush and it all looked fine.

Phew.

So the shade got covered with linen and looked rather bland. I fancied a bit of a faux grain sack look.

I masked off some stripes with Frog tape.

 

Frog tape is well worth the extra cost if you ask me. If you've ever been desperately frustrated by pound shop masking tape that rips...not all masking tapes are created equal.

(This post is NOT sponsored by Frog tape either. But I like it.)

With a stencil brush and a tester pot of Wilkinsons paint I stippled between the tape with a dryish brush. Grain sacks have a worn look about them so you don't want to just paint between the lines...

I let the stripes dry, it didn't take long, and taped the little monogram stencil over the central stripe.

I stippled over this with a dark red, then joined up all the stencil lines with a tiny brush and a steady hand. Because I hate the look of stencils.

Wehey.The great thing about these copper stencils is that they are so thin, they bend. This made it super easy to fit the curve of the shade.

Yes, the monogram is pretty dinky. If I did this again I might source a larger stencil but most of them seem to be small and I wanted our initials which narrowed the search.

Most importantly I'm happy with the outcome! I thought I might have to give up on this makeover several times so I'm thrilled it turned out okay.

Happy weekend!


p.s. If you want to follow me on Pinterest you can do that here

If you'd like a 20% off code for the Alpenhimmel Etsy shop, head over to my newer post.