"Ghost" Lamp

There's a new trend in decorating that I've heared referred to as the "ghost" lamp.  And I couldn't wait to find a lamp shade with which to make one.  (Why is that correct grammar sometimes sounds so silly?)  A few months ago I bought this lamp from a lady who was selling some things from her storage unit. 

I really wanted the shade only, but she insisted on the base, too.  I bought the lamp for $1.00 and I figured I could do something cool with base later.

 

 The first thing to do was to cut away all the vinylish (is that a word) shade. 
 

 

I loved the shape of the particular lamp.  It reminds me of a flower.

 



 

For the life of me I could not figure out a way to get a hanging light through this, so I got out the power tools.  Oh, wait.  I don't know how to use power tools.  Instead I used a pair of very dull wire cutters.  It took me a very long time to cut through that metal, but I was finally left just the right amount of space with which to place my lightbulb socket.

 



 

The only other supplies needed were strips of fabric and fabric glue.  This particular fabric comes from a friend of mine who rescued these curtains from another friend.  Thanks Diane and Jocelyn!

 



 

I just wrapped the fabric around and around and around and glued as I went.  I am planning to spray paint the black part of the lamp kit so it blends better.  I'm thinking maybe red or bright blue to match the floral details in the fabric.  It took about an hour to do this entire project and since the only thing I needed to buy was the lamp shade itself the total cost for this project was $1. 

This is not the best photograph, but you can see how nicely the shadows from the lamp show up on the walls.  It's beautiful, isn't it?  Oh, and ignore the piles of toys just south of the lamp.  Keeping it real, folks.  Keeping it real.