palm pendant light: d.i.y'd and done!

At long last, the palm print pendant light is all gussied up and ready for the spotlight! Here's hoping you love the results as much as I do:

Cute, no?! I definitely think it's the best incarnation of this nine-lives lady yet. 

She started out all ivory and bland, then got an Amanda Nisbet Positano inspired makeover (which I liked, but which really didn't work with the living area attached), followed quickly by a bleaching and Indian stamp treatment. Unfortunately, all this left her kinda blotchy and, quite frankly, lacking a certain je-ne-sais-quoi. We both knew she could do better. 

So I immediately started planning her newest look: the palmification!

The first step? Removing the old fabric, and hopefully tracing it to make a template. Unfortunately, like I mentioned before, what I thought would be the easiest part of this project turned into an absolute nightmare! The old fabric clung to that light like it's life depended on it, and only came off in tiny little chunks. Here's a little reminder of what I had to deal with:

In the end I had to wet it, wait, and scrape with a serrated blade. For four hours. Whatever they used to adhere this stuff, sign me up, because I have some things I'd like to forever-stick. And this right here? This is the stuff to make it happen.

Yet while it drove me crazy, it also helped me, because I knew I wanted an extremely smooth surface and that painting on the adhesive would be the best way to get it. I didn't want to use spray, because I'd had issues with it in the past. Trying to figure out what they had used, I figured out what I would use: wallpaper paste.

Magic. I seriously will never go back to using spray adhesive to recover lamp shades. No bleed through, easier application, a seriously smooth finish and no residue all over your floor. A win in every way.

After the paste was good and dry, the original trim - the only element that came off the old light well - went back on with a glue gun, cleaning up all the edges and ensuring the fabric was stuck for good.

Here is the final look again!

And what she looks like all lit up:

I couldn't be happier.

Now all I need is the perfect new black and white seat fabric to finish off the space. The ultimate goal is something like Les Touches, but until I find a yard of that at a bargain basement price, I think some white linen may be getting a d.i.y splatter effect. Or maybe a modified zebra paint job? Whatever it is, I don't want it to be too flashy, because I think my girl palm should be the star of the show!

She deserves it, wouldn't you agree? ;)