How To Turn A Broken Old Lamp Into An Awesome Cake Plate

I bought this old lamp for $1 at a yard sale.

The lady assured me it was in good working order.

It wasn’t.

Time for Plan B!

Here’s how I transformed a broken old lamp into an awesome cake plate.

* * *

Supplies:

• Lamp base
• Plate
• Heavy-duty glue
• Paint (optional)

I kind of had a feeling that yard sale lady wasn’t being totally honest with me, but heck, the lamp was only $1 so it was worth the risk.

Besides, rewiring a broken lamp is easy to do. You can buy an electrical kit for around $10 at a home improvement store. The instructions are so easy to follow that even I have done this before. I decided that if the lamp didn’t work when I brought it home, I would just rewire it.

Then at the next yard sale I found a really pretty plate with blue, yellow and pink flowers that match my home decor perfectly. We are on a cake plate kick at the shop right now so I decided I would try my hand at making one for myself from my yard sale treasures.

I started by removing the wiring from the old lamp, but was left with this nubby metal screwy thing at the top of the lamp that needed to be removed for the plate to sit up there properly.

I sawed it off with a hacksaw. Easy peasy.

The next step is optional. I could have left the lamp as is with its pretty silvery patina … but you know I was going to paint it. I went with my go-to color combination of hot pink for the base coat followed by navy blue. I paint everything in my house this way—and I love it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the blue paint dried, I rubbed the lamp with a damp cloth to reveal the hot pink underneath. This technique is called wet distressing. I applied a top coat to protect the paint job. I also added a little bit of gold mica powder to the curvy parts. I just waited until the top coat dried a little bit, but was still sticky, and rubbed the mica powder on with my finger for a little sparkle.

I used this Amazing Goop (seriously, that’s what it is called) to glue the plate to the top of the lamp. I found this stuff in the plumbing section at Walmart when I was looking for a waterproof glue to repair the solar chandelier I made last summer. I have also seen it in the glue section at Michaels craft store. It stinks like crazy and is probably super-toxic, but I figure it is going on the BOTTOM of the plate so whatever.

I let it cure overnight.

The next day I headed over to The Swiss Bakery, one of my favorite places in my neighborhood. A plate this pretty needs to showcase a more beautiful cake than the lopsided creations I try to bake!

Here it is:

Two seconds after taking these photos, Joey stuck his finger in the cake.

And then I dropped it. True story.

I guess that’s the end of my short and sweet career as a food stylist!

~ Courtney

* * *

All Things New Again is a family-owned furniture and paint boutique in Leesburg, Virginia (about an hour or so west of Washington, D.C.) We offer hand painted furniture and other awesome up cycled finds. Stop by and see us the next time you are in town!