cotton feet and woolen ears: Rock and Roll Nursery Lamp

I made this lamp for my son’s nursery before he was born. I needed a lamp to complete the room but had no budget left. I had to work with bits I already had around the house. You don’t need much for this project and the best bit that you can customize any way you want. It’s simple and funky.

I used cute quotes to spruce up the lamp shade. I would like to encourage you not to play safe. Use a quirky quote, a bold statement or a funny saying. You will love it I promise. It makes a great baby gift too.

Here is what you need:

1) Any lamp with a plain white, cream or light coloured lampshade

2) Ink stencil letters

3) Optional: Spray paint the base with the colour of your choice for a total refreshed look.

This is how you do it:

Start with lampshade because that’s the cool part and you can’t wait to do it. Take off the shade from the base, wipe off dust or any greasy stain you might have and then one by one stamp on the letters. It’s a delicate process. The best way I found to do it is was on my lap with a book or small chopping board underneath the side I was working on. Mind you I was 8 months pregnant at the time so my giant belly was great support for it. ;) You have to try and test the pressure applying the ink onto the surface to get it right. It might bleed in for the first few letters (did for me) but don’t give up you will get it right soon. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect, it wasn’t meant to be. Mistakes are good. Mistakes will make your piece unique and prove it was handmade. I love mistakes in hand made projects, they add character.

Optionally you can spray paint the base of the lamp a new colour but if you have a cool one it’s not necessary. Mine was very out of date and needed a face lift. Here’s how…

1) Cover the wire and bulb base with masking tape.

2) Apply primer to the base where you will spray paint

3) Spray the base and let it dry. Always spray outdoors only!

4) Assemble back, switch on and adore.

Sourcing:

Lamp: I used 5 years old table lamp which was knocking around the house. It was bought in Argos back in the day, one of those buy 2 for €10 deals..

Ink stencil letters: Any Avoca shop or Industry on Cow’s lane. They are a bit pricey but once you get hooked on using them you will use them all the time for so many different things so consider them as investment. Price is somewhere around the 20 euros mark, can’t remember exactly.

Spray paint: O’Sullivan Garphics on Camden street. I use the Montana range for a lot of project. Please note that spray paint isn’t considered baby chewing safe, however my lamp will be totally out of reach before my baby grows out of the chewing everything phase. They often have a promotion of 5 cans for €20. Originally it is used by graffiti artist but as I say it has worked for me on a whole range of projects so far.

Primer: You may need to treat the lamp base with primer to ensure a good bond with the paint. Aim for an all purpose primer and use according to the instructions on the tin. In Woddie's DIY you can get a tin for about €15 and it lasts for a million projects.

Pink and blue are the most popular colour for baby girls and baby boys. I would like to encourage you to think outside the box when you are choosing the colour. Many shades of orange, red, purple, green or grey works for all genders and Montana has a fabulous range to choose from. Also with designing for babies you must have a long term perspective. A cartoon character or princess might be a favorite for now, but the lamp will out of date than in a few years. This lamp I made I’ll be happy to have in my own bedroom once my son thinks it’s not cool enough. ;)