Jazzing Up My Pendant Lamp
by
Lovesunique
3 Materials
$10
2 Days
Easy
I was inspired by another Hometalker who changed the look of her kitchen pendants by using Mod Podge and dye.
I have never liked the color of this glass shade. I had one that was white alabaster and it matched the shade to my ceiling fan perfectly. I broke the shade by doing a really dumb thing. When I tried to find a replacement the shade costs more than a new lighting fixture with shade included! So I was kind of stuck because this was all I could find at the time.
I'm going to make this post short and sweet. All you need is the Mod Podge, dye, a brush and a mixing bowl. I poured way too much Mod Podge. I used 1/4 of the bottle which is about 4 oz. I really only needed 2 oz. or less. So next time I would experiment with the amount by starting out with less rather than more...always the better way to go. The color of the Rit dye is aquamarine and I only used a few drops. You can also use food coloring. Because my glass shade was a gawd awful color and not translucent it seemed to me I needed more than one coat to get the shade to turn color on me. So I did three coats. I started with the inside of the shade. I would say here place your shade on something it won't stick to. I used shiny paper. Maybe even a sheet of wax paper would do. I say this because you are working with glue and glue sticks to paper. Mod Podge dries really fast! I was surprised. I used the foam brushes. If you wash out the glue right away you can reuse them. So I used one and washed it and used a new one for the next coat. By the time I was ready for the third coat, my brushes were dry. Also, watch your brush strokes and don't load up the brush with a lot of glue. Slow, measured strokes the length of the shade are best.
So, here is my shade and it looks a lot better. I'm still getting used to it. Sometimes it looks too blue and other times just right because of the natural light in the kitchen. When the light is turned on it becomes really pale. It sure beats that amber color that matched nothing in my kitchen. This is an inexpensive fix! I mean I can even use the left over dye on my husband's white T-shirts that are no longer white!
Because I now have a bowl full of blue Mod Podge I decided to try it on clear glass. This is just one coat on the outside and probably just enough for effect. I think I will do a few more jars. I'm pretty sure the glue will keep in the bowl with a lid on. If it starts to grow mold I will update this post.
The label on the Mod Podge says it is a water based sealer, glue and finish. So pretty sure I have a washable and durable surface on my shade. One can only hope for a happy ending. If not, I have plenty of Mod Podge left for a do-over.
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1 comment
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This is a brilliant change- it looks great!
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