Create-a-cation

I love my summer vacation time. Unlike many, I really don't have the funds to travel to exotic places or spend on lavish cruises or stay in luxurious hotels complete with spa, gourmet food, and maid service. The one thing I do have is LOTS of imagination. Every summer I try to have a few projects to accomplish when I have the energy, time, and can finish something over a few weeks. I thought I'd share some of this summer's creations and some tips about how I was able to do them for pennies on the dollar.





IKEA Shade for about $20--BEFORE.



IKEA Shade--AFTER, for about $16 more!



Here's the steps/materials I used to upgrade the shade: 

1. IKEA Shade and light kit--$25
2. 1/2" Hardware Cloth from Home Depot (found in the gardening section)--$9
3. About 20" of 20 gauge wire
4. Copper Floral Wire from JoAnn's Fabric--$4
5. Assorted beads from my leftover projects.
6. Copper palettes from WalMart (60)--$2.50
7. Jewelry tools--wire cutters and round nose pliers

• Measure the wire to fit around the shade, plus 1". You'll overlap this and wire together with a small piece of wire to secure it to the shade.
• Before you wire your length of hardware cloth to the shade, weave the floral wire though in a design of your choice. This is much easier to do while the cloth is flat. The floral wire came in a five-foot roll. You'll need to purchase wire according to your personal design taste.
• I cut my wire so there were wire points on top and bottom so I could add baubles and beads.
• Wrap your hardware cloth that has been enhanced with the floral wire around your shade and secure with the small piece of 20 gauge wire by weaving your ends tightly together. I actually did this while the shade was hung, but you may want to do this before you hang the lamp. I wanted my naked shade to hang for awhile so I could let the creative juices flow for a bit.

I might still add some to this, but I will let it stew some more before I do. Have fun! I would love to see some of your ideas, too!
 
One of the unexpected by-products of my create-a-cation is while I'm using my right brain, it opens me up to see how my designing and crafting parallels life.
 
We all start out in a pretty basic form, much like my lamp shade, with the potential to be uniquely different from everyone else. Our form--character, personality, appearance, values, will change and morph many times in our lifetime. These changes will be influenced by others, our environment, life events, health, activities, our community, world, friends, culture, and the media. With the advent of Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube, and the plethora of social media, we are exposed to even more input on a daily basis. I'm addicted to Pinterest and love the myriad of ideas I walk away with at the click of a button. I am only limited by my resistance to let my mind wander and let go of preconceived formulas or beliefs. Inspiration is everywhere, and I love it when I'm not afraid to jump in with both feet and just see what will happen. Isn't that what life should be like? My fear is the only thing that gets in the way of a wonderful outcome. Taking the feeling I get when I create and translating it to other parts of my life is a little more difficult. That will be the next step...taking it outside the safety of my home and the things I create. There's always a project, and I'm not finished yet, either in my home creations or my life creations.

I'll post another souvenir from my create-a-cation in the next day or two, complete with more thoughts for summer.