{PB Inspired Etched Mercury Glass Lamp}

Thanks to everyone who voted for me in round two of Creative Bloggers Got Talent.  I made it to round three!  You can check out the top fifteen here.  This is the project I created for round two, and since the winners have been posted, I can share the tutorial with you now.  :) Do you ever check out Pottery Barn online just to dream a little?  I do.  Recently, I came across this AWESOME etched mercury glass lamp.  I love it, but, unfortunately, I don't have $259 to spend on one lamp.  So I started thinking about how I could make my own.  I remembered seeing these lamps that the awesome Shannon of Anythingology made, and as soon as I thought of them, I knew how I could create my own etched mercury glass lamp!   To make the lamp, I started with a glass cylinder vase, Krylon Looking Glass spray paint, and faux etching paint.  I used other supplies that I'll tell you about when I get to them.

I covered the outside of the cylinder vase with newspaper and tape and followed some DIY mercury glass directions I had pinned from A Stylish Interior.  (Here's another set of directions too from Take the Side Street.)  I did one thing a little different than the directions, though.  (I think I saw this somewhere on the web as well.)  After I did the whole spray paint and vinegar thing over and over, the glass just didn't have the exact mercury look I was going for.  So I sprayed the inside with Krylon Metallic Gold spray paint.

Dollar Store Basket Pumpkin Light

Fall is here.  At least I think it is....  I'm not sure with the weather we've been having where I live.  But anyway, I have been wanting to making something using only dollar store supplies for a while now.  All the times I've gone in the dollar store, nothing has inspired me--that is, until last week.
I saw two round baskets in the floral section and those little lights you put in Christmas houses in the Christmas section, and inspiration struck!  I purchased those, along with some silk fall leaves.  Krylon Pumpkin orange paint from Walmart was my final purchase.  (Too bad the dollar store doesn't sale Krylon because I would single-handedly keep mine in business!)

Disregard the yarn.  I didn't end up using it.

The first thing I did was cut a slit in the side of one of my baskets for the light to fit in.  I didn't leave the light in it because I had to spray it, but I made sure it fit.  I had some Kilz primer at home, so I sprayed the inside and outside of my baskets with it to make sure the regular spray paint would stay on it.  I also had some yellow Krylon spray at home, so I sprayed the inside of the baskets with it.

After both baskets were primed and the insides sprayed, I used some wire and pliers I had to wire the baskets together.

I threaded the wire through the edges of the baskets at four different points and twisted it to hold the baskets together.  Then I sprayed the basket contraption orange.  After it dried, I put the light in the hole I had previously made.