artificial plants & more!

marcos and i went out shopping this weekend, and we found some really cute artificial plants over at the local ikea. i had seen them on a blog and fell in love with them. we went out with the intention of getting a few items that would make our living room feel a little bit more cozy. we didn't really have anything on the walls and our small decor was limited/none (we have cats).

so. we got these little plants, along with a whole bunch of other things, and decorated our room! i am so excited to show it off... i just need to finish sewing the pillows!!

How to Make a Lamp from a Treasured Piece... Welcome to the 24th Metamorphosis Monday!

(Music is only a click away...playlist is posted to your right. Pics are best viewed with computer set on high resolution.)

Before we begin this Met Monday, I wanted to mention two things that may be helpful, especially for beginning bloggers. If you have participated in Met Monday or Tablescape Thursday in the past and did not receive any comments on your posts, please go to your dashboard, "Settings" and "Comments" to see if your blog settings are selected to allow for comments. I recommend choosing "anyone" if you do not wish to limit who can comment. It's very easy to change this setting...just don't forget to hit "save" once you are done. Whenever I notice comments are "turned off," I check the Blogger's profile to see if perhaps they have an e-mail listed for contact. But, unfortunately, many do not have an email listed, so there's no way to let them know that their blog isn't allowing for comments.

If you would like to have an e-mail associated with your blog (without using your private e-mail address) so folks who read your blog and have questions may contact you, you can sign up for a "gmail" e-mail account, via Google. I blogged for quite a while without an e-mail listed under my profile, but once I did create and list one, I started receiving e-mails/questions from my visitors fairly frequently. I was actually able to create an e-mail address that has the name of my blog in the address...mine is betweennapsontheporch@gmail.com. This made it easy for folks to associate it with my blog. Hope these tips are helpful. :-)

Ok, now for some Met Monday fun! You may remember the Metamorphosis Monday post several months ago where I posted about a sweet doggie I found while out antiquing. When I found him, I thought he would be the perfect size to...

...have made into a lamp. I'd been shopping for a small lamp to go on this table in my family room for some time. The room has a bit of a hunt/canine theme, so I knew this little guy would fit right in! :-)

Mary, a delightful visitor of BNOTP, saw this post and was inspired. You see, Mary had a little doggie at her home that was almost exactly like mine. :-) Isn't he cute?

Unfortunately, Mary didn't have any lamp companies in her area that create lamps from original pieces, but did she let that stand in her way? No sirree! She hopped online, ordered all the parts she needed and made her own lamp! :-) Here it is...ready for it's shade.

Mary was able to find a base just like the one on my lamp.

And, here's the finished lamp! Wow! Are you impressed as much as I am?! It never would have occurred to me that I could make my own! As you can see, you don't even have to drill into your ceramic piece to make this lamp...the pole that houses the wiring runs right up the back.

Didn't it turn out beautifully?! Mary has generously shared the list of the online stores where she was able to find the parts she used to make her lamp...they are posted below. Mary, thanks so much for sharing your information and pics. I'm just thrilled that my little doggie now has a twin brother out there in Blogland! :-)

Here are the sources Mary used...just in case you want to make your own lamp. If you do, take "Before and After" pics...I'd love to post them for a future Met Monday! :-)

Grand Brass Lamp Parts
TX Lamp Parts
The Lamp Shop
My Lamp Parts.com

Looking forward to seeing the changes you've been working on for this Metamorphosis Monday!

If you are participating in Metamorphosis Monday, please be sure to add your permalink below, and not your general blog address. If you aren't sure how to obtain your permalink or have any questions about using Mr. Linky for this post, just click HERE for detailed instructions.

Don't forget to copy and paste the Met Monday logo button to your computer so you can add it to your side bar and your Met Monday post. That way visitors will know that your are participating in Metamorphosis Monday.

Please be sure to link back to the host blog, Between Naps on the Porch, so your fellow bloggers who are participating today, will get lots of visits, as well.

Please do not add your link below until your Met Monday post is actually published to your blog.

The following blogs are participating in this Metamorphosis Monday:

Make a Lamp from Something You Love! Welcome to the 11th Metamorphosis Monday!

Several years ago I was out antiquing and I came across this cute doggie. Ummm, the wheels started turning, and I thought he just might be the perfect size to...



...have made into a lamp. I'd been shopping for a small lamp to go on this table in my family room for some time. The room had/has a bit of a hunt/canine theme going on, so this little guy fit right in.



In this pic of the family room, you can just see the lamp beside the chair on the left. The other lamp you see in this pic is a "doggie" lamp, too.



If you have a table or nook somewhere in your home that needs a lamp, and you just haven't been able to find the right one...



keep a look out for a decorative piece you just plain love. Almost anything can be made into a lamp.

To have the lamp made, I took the doggie to a local lamp store. First they had me choose the color I wanted for the base. I chose a dark brown color that I thought would work well on the small table and wouldn't take away from the piece.

They attached the doggie to the base and ran the post up behind him, never having to drill into the piece at all. Here's a view of the back...



I was also able to choose the shade and the finial for my lamp. The total cost for this lamp was around around $65.



It's fun to have a lamp you designed yourself and you know you most likely won't being seeing everywhere. Just imagine all the fun possibilities!

Hope you enjoyed this little metamorphosis...now I'm off to see all the other "Before and Afters" for this Met Monday!



Happy Met Monday! If you are participating in Metamorphosis Monday, please be sure to add your permalink below, and not your general blog address. If you aren't sure how to obtain your permalink or have any questions about using Mr. Linky for this post, just click on the Metamorphosis Monday logo in my sidebar for detailed instructions.

Don't forget to copy and paste the Met Monday logo button to your computer so you can add it to your side bar and your Met Monday post. That way visitors will know that your are participating in Metamorphosis Monday.

Please be sure to link back to the host blog, Between Naps on the Porch, so your fellow bloggers who are participating today, will get lots of visits, as well.

Please do not add your link below until your Met Monday post is actually published to your blog.

The following blogs are participating in this Metamorphosis Monday: