Silver Leaf Lamp

I love lamp. Yup… I said it. But I really do. In fact I actually have like 5 lamps in my back bedroom that I’m not sure what to do with, but that I loved (or got at a REALLY good deal) and I’m not totally sure what to do with them.  Anyway, I found this sad little guy at a flea market near my house for $3. While the appearance is a bit sad, it still works and I loved the shape so I picked it up.

Lamp before

I have attempted silver leafing 1 other time  here and I SWORE I’d never do it again… but since I still had almost an entire package of the leafing left, I thought I’d try it again. So here’s the step by step:

Step 1: Fix the lamp! No shocker here, but I got our my trusty hot glue gun and glued… and glued.. and glued again. Probably not the best way to do it, but since this is a lamp that we won’t be using every day, it’s fine.

Step 2: Follow the directions on the package is my #1 recommendation. Anyway, you use the glue sealer and use a paintbrush to wipe all over lamp. This stuff basically looks/works like watered down Elmers Glue. You need to let it set for about 30 mins or so till it becomes clear and very tacky.

Step 3: Use contact paper to pull the sheets of silver off and apply to the lamp. I then used a foam brush to brush over the contact paper and rub it on.

It’s a long , messy and frustrating process, and again I would totally recommend that you read the directions.

Step 4: Take the foam brush and lightly brush over entire lamp to get the excess off. (this will go everywhere.. you’ve been warned).

Step 5: Find a lamp shade (always a tough task on a budget I think). I got this little gem from my fav store, Home Goods… and presto… silver lamp!

Finished Lamp

Here it is in the extra bedroom where is it’s current home. (I’ll post more about this little room later.)