Tuesday 21 May 2013

Ombre lamp project

So I painted my lampshade over the weekend and now I really can't decide whether I like it or not. I'm pretty satisfied with the result but on the other hand it was supposed to look better, so I'm a bit disappointed too. Anyway, if you want to give it a try, here's how I did it.



  1. In two bowls mix white paint with chosen colors. If you already have the colors you want to use jump to step 3.
  2. You will need to make two shades of the same color, one dark and one light. Make 1/3 more than you need.
  3. In third bowl combine 1/3 of the dark shade with 1/3 of the light shade to create "middle" shade. 
  4. Paint. I found that the easiest way is to divide the object-to-be-painted into sections, one for each shade, then paint each section starting from its top. When you get to the point where the two shades meet, use a dry brush to blend them together - just go up and down with your brush, something like doing "x" with it until they blend nicely and you no longer see where they met (or until you are satisfied with the result. I achieved neither of that..). Repeat the process for all the sections.
I used a dry brush, then a sponge, then a cloth and finished it off with my fingers. The lampshade I painted was made with thin paper and because of that, and because it was a bit awkward to hold and paint it (and because it had wires all over, and it was round, and it was my first project) I didn't really blend it very well. But hey, Mr Hubby totally loves it so it's all good!


TIPS:

  1. You can choose any colors you like, they don't have to be shades of one color as you will blend them together with your "middle" color.
  2. You can use the technique to ombre paint pretty much everything, even walls.
  3. In case of painting large objects I'd recommend adding an extra section between two sections that you are going to paint, for example for three shades you would need five sections. Use the blank sections to blend the colors together - in that case you will have equally divided colors as you will pretty much create two extra shades when blending the ones you already have. Hope that makes sense. *I haven't use this technique yet so I'm not sure if that would work well.*
  4. The easiest way to ombre paint a round lampshade is to paint spray it. Just simply spray it from the top and it will nicely leave you with an ombre effect. I didn't have the spray in the color I wanted.  

If you have any questions or suggestions on how to improve this project, please leave a comment below. Thank you!

P.S. As you may or may not noticed I haven't put any photos of my finished lamp. I simply haven't taken any yet and was hoping to do that this morning but it's raining outside and it's really dark in my room now, so I didn't manage to take a good shot. Will do so asap! :) 

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