{Tutorial Tuesday} This project took a ba-zillion hours to brainstorm....

During the final week of One Month to Win it we were asked to do a "Power Hour Project." Easier said then done.

I wanted to make a ridiculously inventive project, but alas I settled on a lamp.

Lamps serve a two-fold purpose in our home. i.e. they are great accent pieces as well as great light sources (yes, I just stated the obvious).

Here is the skinny. Most the lamps in our home are not plugged in or have never been turned on. I relish in the fact that I am minimizing my carbon foot print, or I am just too lazy to plug the lamp in or buy a bulb...

 

If any of you are drawn to Target on a regular basis you may have seen the lamp on the left. I would venture to say it is their staple lamp. I have a couple of them. They are cheap, and modern, and fun.

But I also love lamps, that are bold, bright, and contain patterns that make my eyes go all wacky. They, however, are not cheap. Which means no fun.

So I decided to design my own shnazzy "expensive looking" lamp, using a cheap lamp....

I don't know the technical term, but I wanted a lamp base that had "stacked ball" look. hahaha. I don't know why that is funny...

 

To get the "stacked" look, I took styrofoam balls and I drilled holes through the center of each one. Then I cut each ball in half and hot glued them to the metal rod of the lamp. I then primed and spray painted the base of the lamp.

While, the base dried I made a removable lamp shade cover. My sewing machine has been on the fritz so I had to make one without my trusty sidekick (GREAT news for all of you non-sewers)! I used Heat n' Bond to hem the edges of the fabric, then I also used Heat n' Bond to attach the ends together to make the cylinder shape.

Once I finished the lamp shade cover, the lamp base was dry enough to attach the beads. I used Christmas bead garland to give the base texture. I super glued the beads around the base and around each ball.

 

So instead of paying a $100 dollars on a lamp, I only paid $20 dollars for my awesomely shabby chic room accessory. And the best news of all...do you wanna know? Doya? Doya? Because the lamp shade is removable I can change it out to fit any room, any color, and any design.

That's it. Time to feed the starving Punk.

P.S. don't forget to enter the awesomely cool giveaway sponsored by the Little Brick House Studio

Check it out here!

P.S.S. If you would still like to link up your projects to the Spunky Junky Feature Friday Link Party, click here.

This is where I am partying!

Okay, that's it. I must really feed Punk before he chews off his own hand.

{House Guest} Little Brick House...and a giveaway!

Top of the mornin' friends! Today I want to introduce you to Kasey. Peeps, Kasey. Kasey, Peeps.

Kasey is the awesome chick behind Little Brick House. She has a pool. We will now become best friends and I will live by her pool forever and ever.

Kasey also has a brick house. Isn't it beautiful?

She loves to decorate and spunk up junk. We must have been seperated at birth? hmm.

I love how she took an old boring pantry closet and opened it up to give the room a more airy feel--the pantry also serves as a great place for displaying beautiful dishes. And check it. She took a vintage paper towl holder and converted it into a sweet storage bin for fabric. Aren't her projects awesome?

Okay 'nuf of my yappin. Kasey has a sweet tutorial for ya today!

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Hi everyone!! My name is Kasey from Little Brick House and I am so grateful to be here today at Halsey's blog to show you a really simple and really [cheap] way to create some nifty wall-art [because we all know we can never have enough wall-art]!

But first can I just say how much I adore Halsey's blog? Seriously it's like a burst of color, everything is just so much fun to read and look at!

Okay so like many of you I am always on the hunt for some treasures to hang on my walls. Whether they be from a store, the goodwill or something I make totally on my own. Today is just that... something that can be made totally on your own and very inexpensively too.

 Tools you will need.. 3 pieces of square wood of either an old wall hanging [preferably made out of a hard/wood material] or canvas, Paint [color of your choice] and a paint brush. [Psssst... Stay tuned for the end of the post for a giveaway!]

So here I have my three  square pieces. I believe I had bought these at TJMaxx about 3yrs ago. They were botanical prints but they were darker in color and so they have been sitting in my 'project' closet for some time now.

I had already sprayed painted them with a white primer a few months back and started a drawing but never finished, so they will work perfect for this projects. Remember, they don't have to be this specific size, or shape... anything with a 'hard' surface will do.

For these I am going with a nice fun orange color to match the scheme I have going on with my dining room. Any paint will do, heck I even believe the Dollar Store sells paint? I used Liquitex Basics acrylic paint. I did not have this particular orange so I mixed up some Red and Yellow and than added some white so it wasn't to-to harsh.

I painted over my pieces and I just love how it almost has that 'canvas' effect with the different brush strokes in the paint. The last part is the fun part!

Adding some simple white silhouettes to your fully painted 'wall blocks' creates a simple yet fun way to add some art to any room/space in your home. I did some simple silhouettes of some grass of different lengths.

I did the same for the 3rd piece also... just randomly painting grass along the bottom of the block.

For the middle piece I added a daffodil blowing in the wind to create that little extra character between the other two blocks.

And now they are placed with some of my other pieces of 'art' and photographs and this entire project cost me $0.00.

I already had the materials so all I needed was some time to paint and viola! Simple, inexpensive wall art that you can create totally on your own :)

So there you have it folks. I want to extend an big big THANK YOU to Halsey for inviting me over and sharing with you my quick-simple and inexpensive wall-art tutorial , it's been a lot of fun!

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I am a total sucker for any DIY wall art project and Kasey totally rocks! I love, love, love the orange. It provides the right *pop* to her dining room.

So now for the exciting news!

Kasey runs a lil' etsy shop called  Little Brick House Studio, where she currently sells fun, modern, and colorful digital prints, photography, and canvas art (coming soon)!

And she is graciously giving away a FREE DIGITAL PRINT (of your choosing) to one lucky SJ reader!

Giveaway Closed

Mandatory:

Be a public follower of Spunky Junky (1 entry)

Visit Little Brick House Studio and tell me which print is your fave (1 entry) 

Become a "liker" of the Little Brick House facebook page

Optional:

Blog, Tweet, Facebook about this giveaway (3 entries)

Buy somethin' somethin' from the Little Brick House Studio etsy shop this week (5 ENTRIES)

Kasey is also offering FREE SHIPPING for this week only at Little Brick House Studio!

promocode: GIVEAWAY2011

Thanks Kasey for stopping by Spunky Junky. I'm so glad you could come over and say, "Hi!"

What do Goldfish, shopping, and bunnies have in common? nothing really...

Our house is finally starting to come to life again.

** Hallelujah!

It was so great to get outside yesterday and enjoy the warm air--if only for a little time. While Hunk fished the rivers for this first time this year, I drug Punk around town trying to find supplies for my newest concoctions.

He is always a good sport when it comes to shopping. Most of the time he will sit in the cart playing in my purse, if another shopper walks by he will make googly eyes at them until he has their full attention. Occasionally he will fuss, but a good dose of Goldfish and Teddy Grahams will usually satisfy him long enough for me to finish shopping.

This weekend has not only allowed me to get  quite a few projects finshed, but as a family we have also been able to watch General Conference. Twice a year the Church leaders gather in Salt Lake and deliver talks to the worldwide congregation. I love the simple and sweet messages that are given. During this time I often put aside my frustrations and focus more on the simple and sweet blessings that are in my life.

Isn't it is wonderful sometimes to not have to think about our worries, concerns, and problems? I think it is--if only for a few short hours.

And just to keep the giddiness alive, here is a sneak peek at some of the projects I have been making this weekend.

 I will be showcasing each of these projects throughout the week....

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend. And if you would like to know more about General Conference here is a wonderful link.

Feature Friday Round 2

Ready. Set. Go. Round 2. If only we could have multiple rounds and duke it out? No. Okay, worth a try.

Jenna over at The Mommy Diaries with a sweet wreath idea--make the rosettes interchangeable.

Daily Vitamin F is totally motivating me to get my toosh of the couch. Check out this forarm exerciser.

I am totally into the jute thing, but Mushki Loves took it to a new level and painted her jute eggs. cool beans friends, cool beans-or eggs, errr.

Amy at Ameroonie made the cutest scalloped skirt. I can't decide what I love more the skirt, or those stickin' cute stubbin legs.

<a href="http://www.spunkyjunky.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="Spunky Junky" src="http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x349/spunkyjunky/featuredon.jpg" /></a>

There it is friends. Don't forget to come strut your stuff at the SJ Feature Friday Link Party which is going on until T to the Uesday.

Feature Friday Link Party Number 6 (1)

I can't believe how many great ideas were linked up this week! You are all in for a special treat because I am going to do TWO DAYS of features because there were just so many to choose from!

Cas from Something from Cassie makes the most amazing banners. Here's my fave..I couldn't stop laughing when I saw this one. "Let's Spoon"......I don't know if you meant it be be funny, Cassie, but I thought it was hilarious!

Tattered and Inked created the coolest sign using a chipboard letter for a stamp. What's not to love about the letter H? buahahahahah. 

Check out these awesome owls made by Monkey See, Monkey Do. These would be great for Punk's room!

My chicka, Lyssa, at Born Again Crafter, created the most amazing magazines holders. Sweet, huh!

April at Apple Loves Orange made the coolest wreath. Isn't the mini bunting adorable?

Awesome work ladies, you are Queen Crafters of the for a day!

Make sure to grab a button!

<a href="http://www.spunkyjunky.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="Spunky Junky" src="http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x349/spunkyjunky/featuredon.jpg" /></a>

Here are the rules for the linky party

*Link to a specific post, not your homepage, or a giveaway.

*Post something that you have done in the last month

*Check out one other lovely and give them some sugar! Everyone loves comments and compliments.

*Grab my button and put it somewhere on your blog!

*Come back next week to see the featured projects!