Letter To a Young Artist

Vintage Schoolhouse Ruler Lamp Shade

Vintage classroom decor brings back the delightful nostalgia of classic schoolhouse accessories, without the need to recall endless hours of handwriting practice.

The shade is a piece of design and art beauty, great for a common living space or a child’s room. The colors are perfectly neutral, so pairing decor is easy. Use it as a must have piece for your next decoration project or motivation for your own DIY ruler shade, Ruling the Roost is definitely inspirational.

Doily Lamp

It's so Grandma- but so cute (and easy). This DIY Doily-Lace Lamp was inspired by the beautiful pendant lamp found at reMade USA... except this one costs you the price of a balloon, wallpaper glue & doilies...


First we used a huge balloon that I bought at a party store.
Then you collect all the old Doilies, crochet or lace small tablecloths.
I found mine at a flea market.
Paint them with lots of wallpaper glue so they are soaked.
Hang the balloon on a string and put the soaked lace on the balloon. They have to overlap each other so they will stick together and connect.
I always put on one other coat of extra glue when they are all on the balloon.
Just to be sure.
Then wait for a while. Maybe a whole night.
Pop the balloon when the glue is dry. And attach a nice looking cord and lamp fitting.
Voila a new lamp!

Update:
Some of you asked how to get the bulb into the shade. I simply cut open a little tear on top.
Later I am going to sew the tear nicely so you won’t even notice it and also connect it to the cord. But I want a big round bulb first and I havn’t found one yet in this little village I am in.
Someone also asked about fire safety. Well, I think if you make the ball large enough that it won’t come close to the bulb it’s ok.
It’s also possible to use a energy saving lamp – they are almost cold. Also the “shade” breaths a lot so it is not going to be to hot.

I bought a nice looking iron wire in pink but when I opened the box it was red. It will do for now. But I want the pink one later.

String Chandeliers

Now you can't say we didn't warn you. The level of messiness involved in this project definitely warrants the great outdoors or a tarp covered floor in your home. However, I think you will find that the fun you had along the way and the final product makes the mess completely worth it!

Gather up:

• Big balloon
• Sharpie
• Scissors
• Cotton yarn
• 4 oz. White school glue
• 1/2 cup of Corn starch
• 1/4 cup of Warm water
• Something to stir with
• Petroleum jelly
• Clear fast drying spray paint
• Hanging lamp cord or fishing line (depending on your desired final product)
• Container for mixing

Directions

1. Blow up a balloon. We kind of suggest not blowing it up to its maximum capacity so that it is rounder.
2. After the balloon is inflated to it's desired size draw a circle with the sharpie around the balloon knot just large enough to accommodate whatever lighting method you choose. Note: If you are just wanting to hang the balls or use them in a vase then you don't need to leave a hole at all!
3. You will need to prepare your work area by laying down a tarp. We hung a shower curtain between two chairs and suspended the balloons by it with string so we could have plenty of working room.
4. Mix corn starch, glue and warm water together until it's not lumpy (too bad getting rid of cellulite isn't this easy).
5. Smear the petroleum jelly all over your balloon until it is completely coated. Note: We specifically left using rubber gloves out of these instructions. You should get messy. If we were concerned about keeping your hands clean this would have been called the "loveliest, merriest and whirliest DIY" not "messiest, merriest and whirliest DIY".
6. Besides sharing in good company, it will go much faster if you have a friend help you with this. One of you begin feeding the yarn through the glue mix and handing it off to the other person to drape around the ball

7. Tuck the start and end pieces of yarn beneath other pieces of yarn. Begin wrapping the yarn around the balloon vertically at a comfortable tightness, and gradually switch to wrapping horizontally.
8. After your ball has dried for 24 hours, you can pop the balloon! Use a chopstick to knock out any glue crystals that developed between strings.

9. After your ball has dried for 24 hours, you can pop the balloon! Use a chopstick to knock out any glue crystals that developed between strings.

For those who question God because they don't believe that any just God would allow bad things to happen to good people.

Allah - For more funny videos, click here

God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in their hearts.

Red Balloon.

Knitting Frenzy.

When I was twelve, my Oma taught me how to knit, and now picking up the passion for it again, my latest project is a cowl to keep me warm during the long cold walks to school. With winter quickly approaching, the urgency to complete this project is becoming stronger.

Inspire.

Send Me On My Way

Well known as the theme song from the childhood classic, "Matilda",Rusted Root dance their little hearts away as they jam to this 90's song. Loving the free joy of this song, I can't get enough of it and their dancing. Perfectly displaying my desire to be frolicking in the fields, this song is perfect to be the anthem to my life right now.

The Morning Of