Decor

On 01:00

When Mr. Frugalista brought this trio of large hourglass wooden vases home I wasn't sure what I'd do with them. I couldn't believe the original price of $79.99 compared to the whopping $4 he paid at the thrift store. With their Scandinavian mid-century modern vibe, I thought they'd look cool stacked together and turned into a tall floor height vase. Then inspiration struck and the idea to turn them into a DIY Geometric Table Lamp instead was born.

DIY Geometric Lamp From Repurposed Wood Vases

If you follow my Facebook page, you may have seen this photo of the vases with their original price tag and the thrift store price sticker, all because they were missing two of the glass cylinder inserts.

Thrift Store Wooden Vases DIY Geometric Lamp

Here is a better look at the wooden vase trio. In case you missed it, you can see what I did with the one and only surviving glass insert pictured below in my DIY Ombre Valentine Vase post.

For the lamp DIY, we used these supplies:

Repurposed Vase DIY Geometric Lamp Supplies

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience so you can see what products I used or recommend to make this project. See my full disclosure policy.

Here is how we turned the vases into a lamp:

Step 1 - Drill holes for threaded pipe

First, drill a hole through the bottom of each vase with a 1/2-inch drill bit for the threaded pipe of the light kit assembly.

Step 2 - Hole for lock nut washer

On the bottom vase, use a 1-inch Forstner drill bit to make a hole for the threaded pipe lock nut washer. This is what holds the entire light kit together.

DIY Geometric Lamp Drilled Hole For Light Kit

Step 3 - Joining the vases together

In order to keep the holes lined up in all three vases during assembly, place the threaded pipe (we had to add an extension to accommodate the height of our lamp) through the vases and loosely tightened the lock nut.

DIY Geometric Lamp Repurposed Wood Vase Assembly

Run a bead of wood construction adhesive to the top rim of the bottom vase. Slip the middle vase through the threaded pipe and press firmly for a tight bond. Wrap duct tape around the joint to hold the vases in place and repeat the step above for the middle and top vase assembly. Leave the duct tape on until the adhesive is fully cured.

Step 4 - Prep for paint

Fill the gaps between the vases with layers of wood filler and allow to dry fully between each one. Sand the joints smooth with 150 grit sandpaper. Also lightly sand the wood vases with 220 grit sandpaper to give the paint some bite.

DIY Geometric Lamp Wood Vase Joints Filled

Step 5 - Lamp base feet

To raise the lamp to accommodate the electrical cord we attached four plastic cushioned glides to the base with a hammer.

Step 6 - Paint the vases

The original plan was to give the wood just a wash of white paint and sand back a little for the original light wood to peek through. I had them all painted and ready for a new shade. The plan was to buy a large drum shade with a colorful geometric pattern.

Had I known how difficult it would be to find a shade large enough to work with the large base, I would have searched far ahead of time to order one online.

We did manage to find a large shade but our only option available locally was white linen. BORING with the white painted base. Onto plan B...

I repainted the base with mineral chalk paint in a pretty sea glass color. Mineral chalk paint does not require sealing but I chose to apply white wax both to soften the color and protect the base.

DIY Geometric Lamp Base Painted Sea Glass

Step 7 - Light kit installation

I'm not going to do a full tutorial on how to install the lamp light kit. I should note that we purchased a tri-light bulb kit. It's important that you follow the manufacturer's instructions on the packaging.

Step 8 - The shade

Attach the shade to the harp, plug in the lamp and we're done!

Are you ready to see the wooden vases now?

DIY Geometric Lamp From Repurposed Hourglass Wood Vases

Here's what the lamp looks like on. It casts a lovely soft light at night.

DIY Geometric Table Lamp With Tri Light Bulb Kit

A closer look at the sea glass painted base.

So what do you think? When you saw the before photos of the wood vases did you see a lamp?

If you're like me and enjoy seeing the potential in old things and giving them a brand new purpose, then you may like these Repurposed Home Decor ideas and these Repurposed Furniture ideas.

DIY Geometric Lamp From Repurposed Wood Vases

I share my projects at these fabulous link parties.

On 01:00

What to do with the one and only glass cylinder from a trio of geometric wood vases found at a thrift store? That's the question I asked myself for weeks until organizing my craft bin and coming across a package of mod melts that I forgot I had. Which then lead me to my candy mold stash and a pretty red and pink Ombre Valentine Vase was born.

Ombre Heart Valentine Vase With Mod Melts

Ombre Valentine Vase With Mod Melts

It could also be used as a Valentine candleholder, which is what I'll be doing once the flowers are finished.

To see the wood vases this glass cylinder came from and how they were repurposed, visit my DIY Geometric Lamp blog post.

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience so you can see what products I used or recommend to make this project. See my full disclosure policy.

For This Project You Will Need:

Have you ever used Mod Podge mod melts? They look like hot glue sticks and you use them in a craft glue gun. There are several types of silicone mod melt molds (say that three times fast) available to make paintable embellishments. I had heart shaped plastic molds from my former chocolate making days that I used instead to make the hearts for the ombre vase.

Pictured below are some of the supplies I used.

Here's how I made it:

Squeeze the mod melts into the center of the molds and work your way outwards until filled. Wait 10 minutes before removing them from the molds.

When using plastic molds normally you would grease it first to prevent the mod melts from sticking but I have a grease-free alternative that works.

TIP:
If you put the molds in the freezer for five minutes, the hearts will pop out like grandma’s teeth when she sneezes! This works for removing candle wax from votives too.

It took 60 hearts to cover my 7" tall x 3" diameter glass cylinder. They are so quick and easy to make that it won't take long to have them finished.

Paint the ombre gradient hearts:

Trim any excess melt from the edges with a craft knife.

Determine how many hearts you'll need per row, I needed ten. Unlike in the picture below, paint the hearts first before gluing them onto the glass vase.

I based the gradient ombre color change after every second row which meant I needed 20 hearts per color.

Pour red acrylic craft paint (or if you prefer a glossy finish you could use a gloss enamel or multi-surface paint) into three small yogurt containers. In one add 2 teaspoons of white craft paint to make a medium pink color. In the third container, mix 4 teaspoons of white craft paint to get a light pink color. Paint 20 hearts of each color and you will probably need three coats.

Ombre Valentine Vase With Mod Melt Hearts

Here we'll attach the hearts to the vase:

Initially, I attached the hearts with E6000 glue but after the first row, I switched to the hot glue gun because it was so much quicker. Starting at the bottom glue a row of red hearts. On the second row, glue the point of the hearts between two hearts on the previous row. Repeat this pattern for the next two rows of medium pink hearts and the last two rows of light pink ones.

Tie a pretty ribbon around the top of the vase and we're done!

Like I mentioned at the top of this post, it would make a lovely candleholder too for Valentine's day. My preference would be a red or pink flameless wax candle with a timer.

In case you missed it, did you see my simple Burlap Ribbon Valentine Wreath? For more Love day inspiration visit my Valentine Ideas page.

I share my projects at these fabulous link parties.

On 01:00

Do you have a piece of furniture that has been with you your entire adult life? I bought this dresser, part of a bedroom suite, after moving out of my parent's house in 1978. It has had a few incarnations over the years, the last being painted high gloss white. Grown tired of the gloss, it's been on my makeover to do list for a few years. Thanks to this month's Furniture Fixer Upper challenge, I'm happy to share how I took my vintage 9-drawer dresser from glossy to farmhouse charm.

Vintage 9-Drawer Dresser Makeover With Farmhouse Charm

Vintage 9-Drawer Dresser Glossy To Farmhouse Charm

Today is Furniture Fixer Upper Day where I and five talented furniture painting friends come together to breath new life into six pieces of furniture. You can find links to the makeovers at the bottom of this post.

Last month I shared three examples of how to completely transform furniture with new legs. And the month previous, an Antique Empire Dresser makeover inspired by the holidays.

But as I mentioned earlier, this month's challenge was just the motivation I needed to FINALLY tackle this much-needed dresser makeover. You can see what I did with the matching hutch a few years ago in my Small Vintage Bedroom Armoire makeover post.

Here is what the dresser looked like before the makeover, previously painted with gloss latex paint in Cloud White.

Vintage Farmhouse Dresser Makeover Before

The top, pictured below, had several stains that couldn't be removed no matter how hard I tried.

Vintage Farmhouse Dresser Stains Top Before

So here's what I did to transform the dresser

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience so you can see what products I used or recommend to make this project. See my full disclosure policy.

Prep the dresser for paint

The glossy finish needed to be roughed up to give the paint some bite. The paint was too hard to sand by hand so I brought out the big guns and used a mouse sander. For tips on prepping furniture, visit my How To Prep Furniture For Chalk Paint tutorial.

Paint the dresser in layers

To paint the dresser I used my favorite stubby handle angled brush and two coats of Paris Grey Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™, a light grey that matches the bedding in our master bedroom. I'm on a mission to use up the paint in the workshop and had just enough to complete this makeover - literally to the last drop.

The drawer fronts, the center portion of the top, and skirt were washed with Fusion Raw Silk Mineral Paint using my handy square brush.

Tip - Paint Wash Technique

For a light wash of paint, the key is to keep your brush damp and use very little paint. A spray bottle on the mist setting will be your best friend. Start by misting your paintbrush to get it damp and then dip just the tips into the paint. Paint with long brush strokes from the center outward toward the edges. When you feel some resistance, lightly mist the brush again (pointing the spray bottle away from the furniture) to thin and keep the paint moving.

Distress the paint

I know the distressed finish on this dresser isn't for everyone but it works with the French Country style of our master bedroom. With 150 grit and 220 grit sandpaper, I distressed along the edges to reveal both the grey chalk paint & glossy white underneath plus some of the original wood.

Farmhouse Dresser White Distressed Top Coat

Protect the paint

To protect the chalk paint I applied clear wax with a small wax brush. Another option, if the top of the dresser was used daily for applying makeup or doing my hair would be to apply a more durable water repellent clear coat.

Here is a look at the top of the dresser after a wash of white and distressed for that farmhouse charm.

Farmhouse Dresser Makeover Distressed Top

You can see the dental trim on the front also was washed with white and distressed.

Farmhouse Dresser White And Grey Distressed Top

Help the drawers slide in smoothly

If the drawers have resistance when sliding them in, help them along with wax! I made my own wax puck for this purpose by melting paraffin wax in a mini crockpot that I keep in the shop for crafting. Just rub the wax over the wood slides and the drawers will slide in smooth as butter.

Vintage Farmhouse Dresser Drawer Slides Waxed

New hardware

I kept the lovely glass handles from the last makeover because they echo the glass lamp base and other clear glass elements in the room. I replaced the matching glass knobs with these pretty gold ones found in my stash instead.

Farmhouse Dresser Makeover Glass Handles

I found them at an antique store on Vancouver Island many years ago and put them away for that perfect furniture makeover one day. Here I had the perfect piece of furniture right under my nose all along.

Farmhouse Dresser Makeover Antque Brass Knobs

The distressing is a little more than I usually do but it will look amazing with our 5-panel door headboard.

Here's what the dresser looks like now with loads of farmhouse charm. I think it has way more personality than it did before. I'm going to call this style farmglam - a mix of farmhouse charm with gold and glass glam. 😉