$5 Lamp Before and After

 I have been in search of the perfect lamp for my piano.  I needed one that would blend in with my decor yet give good lighting for the pianist.  In my search I found some great options, but they came at a cost that really was not going to work for me.  

 Then I came upon this beauty!!

She caught my eye.  I took a double take...hmmm...looks like candle holders and it looks colonial.  

Oh!  and the price is $5?!  I'll take it!

Would you buy it?

 I thought I had some candle covers that would fit over the light fixtures, but they were too small.  Plan B was to grubby them up with my mixture of coffee grounds and cinnamon...smelled good:)...and apply with glue.

Here is a pic of before and after they dried.  You can see the plastic cover is chipped.  No problem!  You cant see it anyway!

 I painted the lamp with two coats of Annie Sloan's Graphite, letting it dry 24 hours between the two coats because I just wanted it to adhere well with less coats.  It did not chip at all!  I then waxed it in dark wax.

 It buffed up so lovely!

The lighting in the first pic is too bright.  The truer color is on right pic.

 Before and After:

Now would you buy it?

It fits this space perfect and the lighting is amazing!!

Prim Grubby Jars

I am enjoying this grubby thing, and I will be having more projects to share with you in the near future.  Here are some mason jars I recently did.  

Now I used Elmer's Glue, but it was not the washable kind.

This is what it looks like with the first coat of grubby mix 

(coffee grounds and cinnamon)

After the mix is completely dry (I waited at least 8 hours) before I brushed on more glue and mix for a second coat.

This is the final glue process after applying two coats of grub.  You just paint the glue all over the dried grubby mix. Don't worry the glue dries clear.  The pic on the right shows what it looks like as the glue is drying.

Here are some finished Prim-grubbed Jars.

I wanted color on some of them, so I painted half of them.

I still like the Primitive look so I also stained them.  

I made some grubby tags and wrapped homespun and cheesecloth around them. 

Here are the painted jars.  

I added some faux greenery to half for a Prim Christmas look.

I love the way they turned out!

Making Grubby Nightlights

First of all I would like to give credit to this crafty lady, Maggie, where I got this great idea from.  I wish I thought of it myself.  It is so easy! She recommended using the Walmart brand silicone, so I did.  I have no other brand to compare the silicone with.  It worked well for me.  

I mixed the silicone with some fresh ground cinnamon that I grounded using my coffee grinder.  That is why there looks like chunks of something on the light bulbs.  After stirring the silicone and cinnamon in a glass jar, I dipped the light bulb into the mix and twisted and turned until I covered the bulb.

I bought the nightlight at our local Dollar Store

For the night light base, I mixed ground coffee and my ground cinnamon. 

 No I did not use expensive coffee.  I had bought it for $1.  

I used good ole Elmer's Glue--not the washable kind.

1. Using a paint brush, brush on glue where you want it to be grubby.
2. Sprinkle coffee and cinnamon mix over the glue. Let dry for a couple hours or just until a tiny bit of mix comes off when you tap it.  Mix will come off even when dried overnight.
3. Repeat layering until desired coverage.  I only did one layer since the background was black.
4. Brush final coat of glue over grubby mix and let dry till completely clear and shiny. The grubby mix darkens as it dries.

Here is a visual of how I hung the silicone bulbs and layered the grubby mix.

I love Visuals!

Finally I stained a first-aid gauze pad with some coffee and vanilla. Then I cut it into small strips to tie around the grub.

Boy, do they smell good!

Love it!