I'll hold the lamp

So today it is a craft project reveal.

I have this light in my dining room. I bought it a few years ago and it is not every one's cup of tea but I like it, only it is a little plain.I thought of painting it but since I paint everything these days and I was seriously missing my decoupage medium, I chose to decoupage it.

I decided to use tissue paper. I want to thank Starbucks for the lovely tissue paper. In this economy, you are lucky to even get a nice bag, so I was pleasantly surprised when I bought a cup and they wrapped it in lovely paper. Being a pack rat, I put it away for a future project. Today I used it. The tissue paper came in a light white with brown words and a light brown with white words. I used one color on each hand.

Working with tissue paper is different than other paper. The same reason that makes it wonderful to use, is the same reason that makes it a pain in the ass to use, it is fragile. I don't use it for projects where a smooth surface is required, since it hardly ever lays flat, but in this case, hands, the wrinkly the better.

I ripped up the tissue paper. I wanted rough edges and different size pieces. Then I went to town. First layer the decoupage medium on and lay the paper down. Add more medium on top. Pat the paper down, this will work better than brushing which has a tendency to tear the paper. Even if that happens, who cares, it will look great when you are done. I take a smaller brush, that is dry, and I use that to poke the paper into the crevices. I use the end of the brush to roll out any glue bubbles and to make sure the edges are sealed nicely. You don't have to do this, what ever floats your boat. Using decoupage is a wonderful medium, there is absolutely no right or wrong way. It is whatever you like.

I used some black tissue paper to make it seem like a light base that she is holding and because these days I am all about the tats, I gave the other hand a tattoo, that says live with intention.

I need a different light bulb in the base, one that seems more like a candle which I ordered from a company in Portland today.I like it, though if I had to do it over again, I think I would make both hands the same brown paper. I like the finish on that paper more than the white, but not enough to redo it right now. Also I may do some painting on the fingernails and add some rings and things, not really sure yet. I have that whole less is more thing going on in my head and I can't decide if it will hang around or not.

Not everyone will like the fact that I have hands protruding from the wall and that is A-OK, for me it works. So look around your house and see if you can redo something into a statement all about your tastes.

I leave you with a photo of Herbie and Olive sleeping. I think Herbie must have some sort of tumor since he never lets Olive sleep next to him. Right after I took the photo, she touched his paw and that was the end of the peaceful kingdom. It was beautiful while it lasted.