DIY Stamped Halloween Lamp

Confession: I have a thing for Halloween. I don't know if it's because it's a week after my birthday, or the childlike fun of it, or the creepy-cool elements, but it's definitely on my shortlist of favorite holidays.  Those spooky elements (minus spiders) really tickle my fancy. As such, I'm often picking up craft supplies post-Halloween then stashing them away for a year to forget about them until the next All Hallow's Eve. I decided to break out some of those supplies before I forgot about them again and create a fun little decor piece.

A few weeks back, I picked up several mini lampshades at the thrift store after seeing a tutorial from LorriMarie Jenkins on YouTube. I finally decided to get off my butt and make something with one of them. 

You can watch all the steps I took to create DIY Stamped Halloween Lamp on YouTube.

Here, I'll just show you some of the pictures of the results and give you a little info about how I made the lamp.

The first thing I did was to dismantle one of the thrifted lampshades and spray the skeleton frame of it with matte black paint. Then, I traced a template of the inside of one of the sections and cut it out so I would know what size of a stamp would fit in them. 

Once I selected my favorite six stamps (all from the Recollections Brand from Michael's), I used a stamping platform and Staz-On Ink to stamp them onto off-white cardstock. 

I crumpled the paper to give it a grungy texture before watercoloring the outside of each of the images. Once the watercolors were dry, I tore out the images in a similar shape as the template I had cut. 

The edges were inked with Distress Oxide in Black Soot and blended in. Then, I used sparkly sprays in Gold and Silver to add a shimmer to them.

After everything dried, I used napkins to coat the front and back of the paper with vegetable oil. I did two coats. This helps make the paper more transparent. You could use any oil or even resin (if you have more patience than me.) 

Then, I punched holes at the top and bottom of each paper and used twine/yarn to tie them to the frame.

I also inserted a battery-operated candle into the tension bars inside the lampshade so that I can light it up!

The colors don't show up in the dark so that the paper looks like something similar to stretched skin (for that uber-creepy factor.)

It was a really fun project, and I can't wait to decide how to use the other lampshades!

Please don't hesitate to let me know if you have any questions about this project. 

Have a Happy Halloween!

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