One of the things I wanted to do this time was to have my husband install a dimmer switch in the nursery. Because the reality is nothing says your baby and yourself will not go back to sleep at 3am like popping on a full blown light to change a diaper at that time of night! My husband was gracious enough to accommodate this request, even though I know he doesn't like working with electricity, and especially the electricity in our house which was built in 1902.
After the switch was installed I realized that the fixture in that room doesn't have a shade... of any kind... Just two light bulbs hanging from the cheapest fixture you can possibly buy in a hardware store. I would have loved to install a pretty little chandelier for her but just couldn't justify spending the money.
But I did remember I had this vintage drum shade in the basement that I just couldn't seem to part with over the last few years. I kept thinking I would find some way to make it relevant again. I was pretty sure as long as it would attach to the fixture I could make this work! Sure enough after a "dry fit" I was off to make it a special little piece in little Fi's room.
Lets be clear, I would love to be "crafty" but the reality is I'm what you would call a lazy crafter. If the project involves more than 30 mins of my time I'm probably gonna screw it up or leave it half finished in a corner of my house. The nice thing about this one is I was pretty sure I just needed glue, fabric, and ribbon.
I started by finding my 3M Super 77 adhesive spray. Its super sticky and made for things like car upholstery. Its a step up from your run of the mill crafting spray glue.
A note... Do not under any circumstances use this inside your home. It smells and will get all over everything. It is not forgiving.
The i got my fabric, and cut to approximate length and width of each of the drums. I sprayed the glue on the back of the fabric and on the drum itself and slowly stuck them together being careful not to leave any bubbles. Do this in small increments and it will be much easier than spraying each one entirely.
Then I trimmed down the excess fabric to as close to the edge of the shade as possible. See this is the lazy crafting coming into play. I could have cut these to perfect size but that would have meant more time, patience, and materials so NOPE! Not gonna do it and you can't make me.
I ended up with both bases covered semi neatly and probably could have left it at that and hung the shade. But I love you little girl so mommy is going to spend the extra 15 mins to add some trim. Just for you. Seriously once you are here you'll understand why this extra 15 mins on a craft project is special.
Enter my favorite and not so favorite crating tool...the glue gun. I love how easy a glue gun is but I know every single time I pick this thing up I'm going to burn the ba-je-bus (sound it out...you can do it ;) out of myself! (See Fi mommy does really love you!) I started with my ribbon that matched the room and simply glued it around the unfinished bottom edge of the drum! Repeat on the inside and if you're feeling foggier add a layer of contrast ribbon too! (I really went the extra mile on this one!)
I ended up with this sweet little addition and it gave the light in the room a softer glow which was a relief. I had no idea how STARK that light was with out some sort of shade on it. Part of me wished I had gone ahead and covered the inside of the shade as well but the lazy crafter in me was already waaaaay past her patience level as it was. Pretty cute if I do say so myself...
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