Hobby Lobby lamp bases - update

I was really not liking the lamp I painted for my bedroom as the footprint was taking up too much room on the stand next to my bed. It was also just a bit too tall. I had gone to Home Depot prior to getting those lamp bases and picked up glue and sandpaper for the lamp I found near the dumpsters but I was a bit turned off by the electrical in it. It has a polarized plug but the cord is gold so its age concerned me and when I took it apart, the clamp part for the cord to the socket broke so it is just another base now.

I decided to go ahead and return the glue and sandpaper block and pick up a complete socket kit and work on the dumpster lamp later. It was only $2 more than the glue and sandpaper so I didn't feel guilty about the kit. I had seen the kits online about $4 cheaper but I wanted the ability to return it, with little hassle, in the case it didn't work for my needs.

I gotta tell ya, out of the do-it-yourself things, "making" a lamp is so very easy and it didn't short out or explode when I put it together:



It's a bit top heavy because I used the lamp shade from the lamp that was there before. I would have used the shade from the near the dumpster find but it is even bigger. It would have been perfect because of the color, the pleated fabric and that it's more elegant (or something) - great for a bedroom.

The shade size I have on the living room lamps is perfect but #1 I don't want a light colored shade in my bedroom and #2 one of the lamps would be sans shade. I will just have to wait until I can afford to find the right shade for it. Here's a sample of the shades along with the baskets I painted and added to the living room to complete the balance out a bit behind the futon:



Not bad for $1.50 and some acrylic paints I already had on hand. I didn't paint the insides because painting baskets with a brush is a pain in the butt. It's not magazine worthy but it works for temporary housing. I'm still looking for the right board to mount those fleur-de-lis things on...right means 12" x 36" and also = free. HAHA!

Here is the temporary solution for the other lamp base:



As I stated in the previous post, I had intended to use the bases for candles in the meantime and that's all fine and dandy but when I took out the the candlestick light fixture innerds and outerds (hehe) of that lamp, I was left with the nipple sticking out. I sacrificed one of the dollar store candles I had:



Yes, "nipple" is the technical term...anyhow, that nipple is an integral part of the base so I can't remove it. I also thought about using this:



To look like this:



But with that nipple there, I can't figure out a way to do it in a way that looks good and is secure. In that picture it's balanced carefully with bubble wrap and the luck of my fingers being crossed.

My parents got that for me in 1994 or 1995 when we were in Puerto Vallerta (we went both years) and in my mad packing and purging frenzy to move, I got rid of the base/stand that went with it. I am still remembering some of the things I got rid of and I am not a happy camper over some of the stuff I took to Goodwill.

Anyhow, that would be kind of neat if I can figure out how to get it to stay and look okay - cutting off that nipple would be ideal but it's just not going to happen.

And one last picture for this post:



Saturday I got a bug up my "you-know-what" and since I am staying here longer than I thought, I did a serious cleaning of the kitchen cabinets.

They were gross and I have only done the basic sponge with all-purpose cleaner w/bleach with my normal cleaning but just ick. These apartments were built in the mid 80s so you can imagine the gunk that was on them. I don't have to tell anyone that's lived in apartments before the grossness of some previous tenants. I swear, someone had a jelly fight in here at some point. I scrubbed the heck out of those cabinets and now I can open them without feeling the grime and seeing those gooey blobs of nasty anymore.

I wish I had taken a pic of the before up close so you can see how much of a difference it made. Even corporate managed apartments don't get the "construction clean" between and I wish I had done it sooner. At least that's done although my right arm is protesting the hard work I put into doing some deep cleaning of things this weekend.

I took down the AeroGarden because only one set of the flowers (from the original kit) grew and the one that did grow was too gangly. Also, with the move, I got rid of the box that it came in which incidentally had the nutrient tabs. I will get another seed kit and will go with more (but different) flowers instead of herbs. I like the idea of having flowers growing inside.

A few more Hobby Lobby deals added as well...I've got to stop this buying of stuff. I know I am getting things at seriously reduced prices but it's starting to add up and while I am not spending my money on drinking, I have to get a job before I spend anymore - plus I am bored so I think of things to add to the apartment...

So, happy Monday to all and hope this past weekend was a good one for all.