Rustic Elegant Lightfixture

I know I usually share furniture pieces here, but I also dabble in a whole lot of other avenues. I sew, I paint, I paper craft...I am a true mixed media artist loving the assemblage of this and that. My favorite projects are those that come together using things for other than their intended purpose.

That is exactly what inspired my latest project. I came across this perfectly aged, worm hole covered antique oxen yoke at one of my favorite antique shops. The owner has my name in her little book and calls me when she comes across things that are broken and need some extra love. She also is always very flexible with me on her prices. I don't think I've ever paid the marked price for anything I have gotten from her.

When I saw this hanging from a rope on the ceiling I thought to myself; "how great would that look with a couple of drop cloth transferred drum shades"? Well fabulous of course! The rustic wood against the refined shades....perfect!

Believe it or not I started out with two camouflage hanging lamp kits from Cabelas...I know, yes Cabelas! They were in the bargain cave for only $12 apiece complete with shade, cord and their own on and off switches. A very popular Swedish retailer (who shall remain nameless) sells inexpensive cords too, but they don't have switches.

The biggest headache of this whole project was peeling the "camo" fabric off of the shades without breaking the plastic...and it was tough. It showed through the drop cloth fabric so covering over it wasn't an option. I then collected a menagerie of bird and french prints from The Graphics Fairy and created a collage of images using the freezer paper transfer method until the shade felt full.

I attached the fabric with spray adhesive and used a hot glue gun to secure the edges. I simply wove the cords through the rusty rings on the yoke and through trial and error knotted them at the appropriate level. Since I am not an electrician, I simply created a sleeve to cover the exposed cords and camouflage them a bit. I added some lengths of chain to each side for ease of hanging.

I think it adds just the right touch to my booth. Hoping someone scoops it up!


Linking up to these lovely ladies:

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