Oh My God We're Back Again (with a Terrarium Lamp)

This post is me picking up from where I left off in my last post. I'm surprised I'm actually doing this. If you don't recognize the title, that's the first verse in "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" by the Backstreet Boys. 

In my last post I was bragging about how great my vintage thrift store lamp makeovers are. I mean, I think they're cool because I designed them myself. You might not agree. 

I came up with idea to make a terrarium lamp a while back. Not sure where I came up with it; I think that I wanted plants in a jar and I just happened to have a glass lamp. I Googled my plan and found only one example of a fake terrarium lamp in a blog post. Great, my idea was slightly original! Wait, what's a terrarium you ask?

These are. There's something very "70s-nature-boho" about these plants growing in jars. The 1970s was a time when crafting and indoor plants were popular and terrariums were both of those things.

Here is my ultra obvious "how to" on my terrarium lamp! See this:

The humble glass jar lamp. Often seen filled with shells, sometimes hexagon shaped. Notice this is an actual old ginger jar lamp, not a Mason jar! Look in your thrift store lamp aisle.

I like to start with one of those. If empty, cool; if not, de-shell. See that round metal base? It unscrews from the bottom for a jar entrance! I gather up some artificial plants and other things. 

These "other things" might be found in a thrift, but you might have to hit up a crafts store.

There's my work station and supplies. Let's break it down and use pictures:

 

Artificial air plants

 Artificial succulents

Moss chunks

Moss!

Driftwood

Aquarium pebbles

I pick out some of those things. Then I put the things in the lamp. You following? Need further directions? 

But seriously...this is not a difficult project. Add a lampshade for an additional challenge. Here are some of my results!

 

T

This one is my favorite because of that cool shape.

I also really like that one with the mid century mod lampshade.

 

I tend to stage them next to owls.

Are they not kind of cute?! 

I have also filled a few glass jar lamps with other things!

Buttons and other sewing supplies!

Tiny vintage toys! I thought that one was so much fun but it collected dust for about two years before it sold! The buyer's review stated that she loved it and also called it "fun," so I'm glad someone appreciated it.

I made this Christmas themed lamp...about three seasons ago. Still for sale! 

Here's the before and after!

 

Thrift store lamp upcycle!

DIY Lamp with Extra Shade

 I know that I post roughly once a decade but if I was a regular blogger I would blog about things that I like. One of those things is lamps. I'm a vintage seller and I'm hitting up them thrift stores on the reg always hunting for things like lamps.

Look at that one! During one of my last thrift trips before it all closed down in March I found this thing of beauty. It was just sitting on a shelf in Goodwill, $8 in mint condish!(How do you feel about abbreviations like that? Too annoying maybe?)

That one I found and sold "as is" with no need to fix or change anything. What about lamps that need help? Or could be made better?

Like this one did. Looks great doesn't it? That's because my dumb ass didn't get a before picture because of course I didn't. When I bought it it was mostly gold with a black plastic piece in the center. I spray painted it in that blue color. 

...But I couldn't just leave it alone. I had a perfectly lovely lighting piece but maybe I could make it even cooler? I took inspiration from another thing I really like:

Speckled paint and/or drip glaze! Those are a few I've found and sold along the way. Many were hand painted in the mid century era by amateurs. Because people chose which colors and techniques they personally liked it's as if a lot of them are one of a kind! 

I decided to try the speckling technique of flicking a paint covered toothbrush at my lamp.

I started with a yellow tone. It looked kind of nice!

But why stop there?! You've got the speckle, why not the drip?

Maybe a bit much? Have I made a huge mistake?

😔 I may have overdone it but what was done was done. I didn't feel like starting over. I added a lampshade, glued pom poms around it then staged it up. Somebody purchased it and their review claims they really like it!

I wanted to do more one of a kind lamp art. I did some Google image searching and Pinterest scrolling. I was much disappointed. Search terms like "thrift store lamp makeover" and "DIY lamp" did not bring me much in terms of creative inspiration. I found lots of things that seemed to be in opposition to being one of a kind. I feel a rant coming on... 

Hey DIYers! Why is everything a fracking "farmhouse?" Are homes on farms full of whitewashed furniture and jars!? 

Chalk paint everything! 

Pop of color? How about NO color!

Make everything white!

It just seems like so many makeovers took the bold choice of making their lamps fade right into the background. Even most of the shades where white. A lot of pins and pictures said stuff like "Make your own Pottery Barn lamp" or "Just like the mass produced junk at Walmart!" It grinds my gears because a lot of old things in thrift stores are unique because they're not made any more; you can't just walk into a store and buy them. Why make them look like something you could just walk into a store and buy. These two gave me a little frown:

 That one's not actually a lamp, but I thought it was. Look what they did to my boy! His '70s glory; gone!

I should take the time to say "no offense" to folks who stumbled into this salty ramble. I can imagine comments saying, "Why don't you let people like what they like?!" as if I'm wrestling a bottle of flat matte ivory colored paint from someone's hands. Obviously, I'm happy that these crafters made something that they like. I'm just so sad that someone took that kitschy '70s owl and turned him into a ghost. 

However...I didn't hate everything!

 

I like that one! Here's credit to the blogger:  Drip lamp made from '80s duck lamp 

 

I also liked these:

A blogger team (lucky) bought these lamps and both women took one home. The each made their own lamp design and they both came out pretty cute! Source: Lamp makeover X2

 

Now that I've sufficiently thrown shade at some perfectly nice (probably) fellow bloggers, what do I have to show for myself? 

 

These:

Those are two examples of lamps I "made" by attaching things to things. On that note, I'll finish up here. I'll do a post about that glass jar lamp another time.

Too Much Time On My Hands

It's a song by Styx, seen here recreated by Jimmy Fallon and Paul Rudd.

Even with no other responsibilities, I'm having a hard time starting this post. I think the feeling of having infinite time to do things makes me feel I am in no rush to do those things.
We're all trying to adjust to this dystopian new world in which we've been thrust into due to the Covid 19 Pandemic. Some of us have lost a lot. I have only lost a little and for that I'm grateful, but I'm sad as hell because those little things are important.
You get on social media or Reddit and everyone's posting things they have accomplished with all their free time.
Everyone: "Now's the time to work on that project you've always wanted to start!"
Me:

Lol, the mocking Spongebob meme is one of my favorites. For whatever reason I don't have that motivation do any projects. I love projects!
Here's a project: remote teaching/learning. When this started, I assumed I'd be jobless. I help children with special needs do their work. Half of that job is convincing my main student to do said work. I can picture how that would work remotely...
Me: Hey, let's get a little bit of math done! Then we can-"
Little girl: (presses a few keys.)
Me: Don't you close out of this Zoom meeting!"
Little Girl: Little Girl has left the chat.
Instead, we are fortunate enough to be able to stay employed by doing read alouds online, class meetings, professional development, etc. "I can do that!" I said cheerily with a smile and a positive attitude. I've always wanted to do tutorials on Youtube.
The first project I did was a decoupage. You know, Mod Podge. That's always a fun and easy thing.
So here it is, decoupage tissue paper collage!

There's part one because I don't know how to edit videos. (It's on the list.) Here's part two:

That's pretty cute, right? If you didn't watch the video, here's a spoiler.

A minimalist mountain sunset! I also have another one.

I am actually somewhat proud of these things! I used stuff that I already had to show kids to be creative with junk around the house. And! I'm doing the "craft" part of Craft, Thrift, or Die!
I have a lot to talk about. Let's see if I write more or! Let's see if I can hold onto that positive "can do attitude!" Maybe I'll even do part two of that post about crewel embroidery!

Crewel Embroideries: Greatest Hits Volume 1

I decided I want to keep a record of my fabulous finds of yarn art. It occurred to me that I could have a colorful, kitschy gallery of gorgeous had I kept my crewels instead of selling them for money.
As of lately, these are my current "thing." You know, the thing I'm obsessed with at the moment. I've been very lucky! Here is a little retrospective from my first six years as a vintage seller.
Thing is, a lot of these are older pictures that I just saved from my Etsy account. I recently switched computers and haven't transferred many files over. I probably should have because some of these pics are potato quality.

I kept this big beautiful willow tree. ($5!) It's still hanging in that same spot.
I think I'll try and separate up this mass of pics into themes. I guess I'll start with larger sized ones. Here are some other big crewel wall hangings.

So awesome! The sun with a face really sold this one for me. One of my favorites and it was sold along with some other stuff as a prop for a Netflix show.

It's not exactly huge, but seem to remember it being...not small.

I found this biggie at my local thrift, OutFITers and after listing it sold immediately. Then I regretted it. I really should've kept this one.

This beautiful forest was actually found at the bins! The Goodwill Outlet, where people throw and grab aggressively. I just looked over and saw this standing up among other items in a bin that no one was looking at. I quickly ran to it, assuming the worst but much to my surprise it had no damage! A god damn miracle!

This one wasn't exactly huge either, but I remember it hung around for a good while. I feel like I usually sell southwestern themed stuff pretty well, so I was annoyed that I had to mark it down.

This is one from the string of autumn color crewels I had for a while. When I go into my local Savers the first thing I look at is the wall hanging wall. I soon found this one and noticed its cool 3D flowers. It was found along side this little one:

This next one is a favorite.

A short time later, I was looking in the exact same spot at Savers when I spotted this. For real, my jaw dropped. This big pink masterpiece was incredible! It sold within 24 hours of listing.

Here's a closeup.

I had a similar experience with this one. I was in OutFITers when I glanced over and saw this leaning against a bookshelf with a shopper precariously close by. I made a dash for this thing before someone had the chance to knock it over or put it in their cart.

This one is like the Cadillac of crewel art. It's big, unique, and expertly done. The frame is professionally done, heavy and high quality!
I mentioned earlier that I had a run of good luck with Autumn flowers. Let's transition to embroideries made of brown, orange, rust, avocado, and harvest gold...
But first this one:

Here's the story. Over the summer, I thrift like maniac. I was on my way back from a trip to a Savers and Goodwill a few cities over. Apparently, I hadn't had enough because I stopped into OutFITers on my way home.
One of the employees approached, "Hey, you look at wall art a lot, right?" Once confirming, I was led into the backroom and shown a large canvas cart of wall hangings. They had just come in and hadn't even been priced yet. I excitedly looked through the treasures, where I immediately spotted that one with all the plants and the wood stand.
Score! A framed crewel! "Definitely want it!" I said, greedily. Then I found this:

Like the first one it was made by "A.J. Stanley." Then I found this one:

Thanks, A.J.! I told the woman I would take all three and thanked her for sharing these treasures with me. She pulled out a price gun and said she would ticket them. $3 each. Three professionally framed, hand embroidered artworks for a total of $9.
At some point afterwards, I actually found another one just like the blue/orange/brown flowers in a basket.
Also, this one.

 This one fits both themes; it's seasonal and it's large. I believe that was a Goodwill find where a week later I also found...

Fishing supplies. I don't love the subject, but great execution!

Oof. Not a great picture, but I can assure you these owls on a branch with an orange background was great quality! I can say that about this next picture too!

They're pillows!

Look at that little cutie. I don't know whether the quote is suggesting that the chipmunk listen for the earth's music, or that the chipmunk is going to sing for us. I'm not a huge fan of their music; their voices are way too high pitched. (Get it?)
This charming cottage looks autumn-y.

All right, let's wrap this up with some sunsets.

This style is called "long stitch." Man, I love a good '70s landscape. This one has a matching orange frame!

 Awesome shades of orange on harvest gold.

This one is somewhat similar. Isn't it kinda creepy? I love that.
Join me next time for some more yarn art!