Lamp Shade Project *Supplemental

This time last year, I was on the hunt for the perfect lampshade. 

If I may, I'd like to make an addition to that list - if for no other reason than to be able to have a lampshade, currently selling online for a criminal 1000 dollars, and make it for as little as 20 - 30 dollars. 

That's 15 - 20 euro to us.

The Rhododendron Chandelier below is for sale at $998 at Anthropologie. That's right......$998 for a lampshade!

But now you can create your own at a fraction of that cost and all you need is a pendant lamp from IKEA (cost 2.50) and some cupcake paper liners that you can buy on ebay (for approx 10 euro) 

Lamp Shade Project #3

Image: Under The Sycamore Tree

Lets look at the rule of 3.

Good things come in 3's - as do the bad. Films, books and plays have a 3 act structure. You could be 3 sheets to the wind or as phony as a 3 dollar bill. It is always: Ready, Steady, Go and after 3 strikes, you're out. Art and photography use the rule of 3rds and any novice interior designer will gabble profusely on the benefits of grouping in 3's. Goldilocks offended and annoyed 3 bears and there were 3 blind mice, 3 wise men and 3 little pigs.

In short, 3 is the magic number. 

Lamp Shade Project #2

Image: demilked

Continuing my quest for the perfect lamp shade, I have discovered the designer Edward Chew, who makes these stunning lamp shades from discarded tetra box drinks cartons. The design is an incredible example of how a waste product can be re-purposed into something that's amazingly funky and looks like a disco ball light for the 21st Century - and lets face it, who doesn't love disco balls?

Lamp Shade Project #1

Image: Lowe's Creative Ideas

They say the key to good design is the marriage of the old with the new, and so in my search for a funky lamp shade for a great but old fashioned floor lamp in the corner of our room, I have stumbled upon some weird and wonderful ideas, amongst the nooks and crannies of the Internet - some of which I will share on these pages over the next few weeks, hence the #1 in the title of this post.

And so on with the first.

Shop Now Open

Jump on over to my shop to check out hand carved pieces by me.

Recycled Maps Project

Geography was never my favourite subject in school, nor one of my best - truth be told, but this week maps have played a very interesting role in my life.

Image: enviroireland

I've tried my best to steer away from talking about my family on this site but sometimes it's necessary to put events into context.

And so, here we go.

I wanted to buy an iPhone for my wife. I thought the maps application along with emailing capability would be really handy for her for work but my wife does not like surprises and so I had to tell her. Her response was that she did not need the iPhone. Did not want the iPhone and would never use it for anything other than making phone calls.

Jump ahead to last week when I took my first 'family holiday' holiday. That meant driving to Kerry with my wife and 1 year old son in a car full of his toys, travel cot, more toys, lots of nappies, some change of clothes for myself and my wife, a few more toys stuffed in and around everything, a bag of apple drops and last but certainly not least my wife's iPhone which these days barely leaves her hand if only to say  "These maps are incredible, we can completely bypass Killarney if we go ...oh, hold on I've just got an email" 

During the holiday I read a fascinating article about Jack Dorsey the founder of Twitter. The article talks about an 8 year old Jack, obsessed with maps. Papering his bedroom walls with city maps and transit maps ripped from magazines. As he got older and discovered computers and..........

.........you know what? Go read the article. You can find it here. It's kind of interesting but I'm not really interested in Twitter

What I found interesting was the 8 year old who papered his walls with maps of cities.

Image: threepotatofour

Image: Suzanna Salk

Now before you run off and rip up all those AA road maps that you have stuffed into glove compartments and sides of car doors. Take note of the following.

The rest of the holiday went a little something like this.
Dinner with friends. Son on beach which he hated. Got lost looking for Ballinskelligs but used iPhone to find the right path. Dinner with more friends. Beach again, which son tried to eat. Dinner with family. Beach one last time where son ate sand and went swimming which he loved. Packed everything up, which appeared to have doubled in size, back in car and headed home.

Which all sounds like a pretty normal holiday. But did I mention we took the 'Sceneic' route home?

We did of course get lost again only this time the iPhone did two things.
First up -  we lost the signal because we found ourselves driving through (and over) the Macgillicuddy Reeks.
Second -  the iPhone battery died because as we all know you are lucky to get about an hours worth of use out of the iPhone.
That is if you don't use it for anything like, say... browsing the Internet, checking emails, sending texts or making simple little phone calls.

We did manage to find our way out with the aid of one of those crumpled AA road maps that we had stuffed into the glove compartment. We got back to civilisation, just in time for my sons lunch, who had developed a strange appetite for sand.

Although this post may be leading up to suggesting what to do with useless iPhones - I think there is more of an artistic quality to old maps.

Here are some of the ideas I've found around the Internet

Image: letbirdsfly

1. map-lined bookshelf via pinterest 

2. map lamp shade via college life diy 

3. map-covered dresser via the mayfly  

4. decoupage map monogram via ohdeedoh 

5. framed map hearts via not on the high street 

6. city map gift bow via how about orange 

7. map-covered bracelet via craft stylish 

8. map-covered door window frame via junk garden girl 

9. shiny map magnets via how about orange 

10. map coasters via martha stewart

11. map-covered vintage window pane via casa de daisy casa de daisy.

12. half-marble map magnets via let birds fly!

Going back to the idea of maps as wallpaper. I have always loved that idea and had thought of doing it for my son's bedroom before he was born. I went with another idea but someday when he's older I'll return to it.

I love the idea that he could look up at all the places on the maps and dream of going there.
Whether he gets lost or not.

Tin Can Lantern Project

Image: Factory Direct Craft

Well I don't know about you but to me if feels like Spring is in the air.

I know this because this morning I heard the distance but unmistakable cry of a hibernating lawn mower splutter into life.

It's such a wonderful feeling when Spring comes around again because not only do you get the initial long forgotten sensation of warmth on your face but also you can feel it in your heart.

The prospect of being able to sit outside enjoying your lunch.

Or maybe take an outside table when having an early evening dinner at a restaurant.

And of course there's always the joy of sitting out in the garden at night, sipping away on a glass of wine and chatting about your plans for the summer - which now falls somewhere between August the 4th and August the 6th.

If this sounds like you maybe you might like to try this little project that I found over on Gardeners'world.com

These funky lanterns are easy to make and won't break the bank. Made from metal food cans, protected from the elements with spray paint, they'll last for years to come brightening up any area of your garden. Spray lots of lanterns all the same colour for a simple look, or go for lots of bright colours to create the party mood.

Instructions
There are a few different ways you can do this.

You can either punch holes in the can with a Hammer and nail or use a electric drill with a 3.5mm drill bit.

Step 1: Pierce holes in the side of the can randomly or form a pattern.

To form a pattern, draw it out on a piece of paper the same size as the can and stick the page to the can.

Step 2: Leave the tin can unpainted or spray-paint it.
(If you decide to spray paint it work outside and spray the cans with car paint.)

Step 3: To make the handle, punch two holes opposite each other just below the rim of the can at the top and attach a length of wire through the sides.
(optional) attach one side of the wire, then thread with coloured beads and fix to the opposite side.

All you have to do now is pop in some tea-lights and they're ready.

One word of advice though. They can get hot so if they are out in your garden, hang them up high where they will be safe and are away from 'tiny' hands.

Saying that, the young ones should be up in bed while you are out back, sipping wine and dreaming of far flung places where the sun shines long and proud and definitely for longer than a weekend (plus bank holiday if lucky)

CD Case Photo Cube Project

Here's a great little idea.

Kelly Wilkinson, from the craft blog Make Grow Gather, posted this simple "upcycling" project that seems like the perfect Saturday afternoon activity.

Kelly's helpful step-by-step guide on flickr (link broken - see comments for updated links) shows how she dismantled a bunch of old jewel cases and glued them together into a cube.
She printed her images on vellum paper (or tracing paper) so that the candle would produce a soft glow.
Then, using the CD label as a template, she cut her images to fit and inserted them on all sides.
Lastly she finished the whole thing off with a bit of ribbon to hide the edges of the CD cases.

Slide Lamp Project

Every so often you get to a point when you have to start clearing out those boxes that are stuffed under beds or crammed behind wardrobes.

You know, The ones filled with your "special" papers and trinkets from years gone by. The kind of stuff that's so important to you that when you moved House it was best just to leave them in the original tatty, sellotaped, broke down cardboard box used to transport them during the last move.....and until it's time to move again.

Well, this weekend I decided to tackle this enormous task. Amongst the broken License Plates (When did I get them??) and the Bags of Beermats and Napkins covered with scrawls that, once deciphered, appear to be just Random jabberings. I'm sure though, at the time, I felt they were an incredible insight into the Human psyche and would form part of my Epic First Novel.
(Actually, better hold on to these. They may prove valuable!!)

Anyway, in among all of this garbag...I mean memories, I found a box of old Picture Slides from an old photography project. Lots of perspective shots and out of focus flowers. Rather than throw them out I had an idea to recycle them but first I needed to change the Pictures. As much as I wanted to have an artistic life I was never a great photographer and it's safe to say, now with the help of Digital cameras - I can take hundreds of photos of the same subject and know I'll get (hopefully) one that looks OK.

So, the out of focus flowers had to go and instead I downscaled some family pictures. I then created my own unique slides and fashioned them together to make a Slide Lamp for my Son's room. The photos I selected are of his relatives that he would not see on a daily basis. Aunts/Uncle's & Cousins in California and Sydney. Family in London, Cork & Spain along with Loved Ones no longer with us. It's important to me that my Son gets to see and know this family as he grows up.

Here's a photo of the lamp.

Image: Patent Pending Projects

The great thing about this Lamp is that I can chop and change the photos as he grows up. It might even end up being a Lamp full of Superman / Batman / Spiderman Pics.

Or Barbie! (Just Sayin')