Even more re-cycling ....

Each year I organise a five day Retreat for the South West Quilters, and this year I invited Jennifer Trollope to show us her technique 'Revelation Burning'. She was using this technique to make a Tiffany Style Lampshade and the requirements included a candlestick style base and a four sided or coolie type shade. I didn't really want a Tiffany style lamp (nowhere to put it!) but I wanted to do the technique, so I raided my loft and found this solid teak base, and I purchased a white coolie type shade from the charity shop. I needed to cover the base before the Retreat, so..............

the first thing I did was rub it down with sandpaper and stick crumpled strips of butchers paper, cut out lace motifs and string over it (in a delicate pattern of course!)

I then painted it with white emulsion, and when it was dry ...

I painted it with copper and brown acrylic paint.

I was now ready to make the lampshade.

This is a pic. of the fabric I used, draped over the shade I bought, and before I 'altered' the base. The 'revelation burning' technique is achieved by layering fabrics, stitching and using a soldering iron to reveal the motifs - in my case the leaves on my fabric. I made lots of seperate leaves to stitch around the bottom of the shade, instead of the beaded fringe the other ladies put on their Tiffany style shades.

It isn't quite finished (it takes me ages .....) I just have to sew the leaves around the bottom of the shade, where you can see the pins. I also touched up the laces on the base with bronze paint

I have to finish it by the end of April to take it to the AGM along with all the others ......

They really did look gorgeous at the end of the Retreat, and every one was very different.

Three of the ladies made me postcards from the fabric they used for their lampshade, by way of a thankyou for organising it ........ aren't they just lovely?

The postcards - and the ladies!

I shall have to show you the postcards in the next posting, I can't get to add more pix. in this post!

PS. I've managed to get them in under ...........