Etched Fairy House Lamp

Hi Crafty Friends!

As a member of the design team for etchall, I get to try out some of their new products from time to time.  This month, as part of the etchall® design team, I received the new self-illuminating lampshade kit or "Lighten Up" Kit.  It's a battery-operated lampshade that will fit over a glass bottle or jar.  The white cap screws off and batteries go inside.  The plastic template makes it easy to cut paper or fabric to cover the shade.

"Lighten Up" Kit

I pondered for a couple of weeks on the direction that I wanted to go with this new lampshade.  Then, the light went on!!  I made a little gnome home once that was a lot of fun, so I thought I'd go in that direction with this piece and create a Fairy House Lamp.  I wanted to make the jar and shade look like a fairy house in a tree.

Here's the glass jar I used:

Glass Jar

I masked off the windows with some shelf liner I had.  I masked off more windows on the sides.

Masked Windows

Then, I applied etchall® etching creme.  Mine is getting a little old so it has turned brown, but it still works.  

etchall® etching creme applied

I let it etch for 15 minutes, then scraped most of it off and put it back in the jar because it's reusable.  Then, I rinsed off the remaining creme under cold water and etched the other sides in the same way.

Once it was etched, I applied a couple of colors of metal patinas from Ranger.  These are some of the best paints I've found for coloring etched glass.  Here's how it looked after painting.

Painted Jar

The "Lighten Up" lampshade comes with a template that I used to cut out green paper to cover the lampshade.

Cutting out the lampshade

This attached pattern made it so easy to fit the shade.  I attached the paper to the shade with spray adhesive, which worked very well.  Then, to make it look like a tree, I cut leaves with a die and die cutter and covered the shade.

I used several different colors and types of paper.  Because I'll want to take the cap off and change the batteries eventually, I worked up to the edge of the cap.  Then, I glued more leaves to the top and bent the leaves down over the side of the cap.

To finish the Fairy House Lamp, I glued pieces of sticks and tiles around the door and windows.  I added a piece of brown paper for the door and glued on a door knob.  Then, I took a brown pen and drew wood grain lines to the sides of the jar.

The self-illuminating shade has a switch on the underside and a pressure plate in the center.  To keep the light on, you must keep pressure on the plate with a bottle or some other way.  For my lamp, I turned the lid upside down on the top of the jar and added a wine bottle cork to the center.  It's not seen when you put the shade on the jar.  

Here's the final Fairy House Lamp.  Now, I just have to wait for the fairy!

Etched Fairy House Lamp

Fairy House Lamp

You could use the lamp inside or out on the patio.  I think I'll put it outside on my table with some potted plants.  When the light is on, it illuminates the interior of the house.

Word got out about the new house in the neighborhood and a gnome stopped by!  Unfortunately, he decided that it was too small!

It was so much fun creating this little lamp!  I hope you'll try it, too!  

Happy creating!

Terry