Scavenger Chic

Make it Yourself, a Lamp made from a Log

• By Joan
• April 6, 2015
• 1 Comment

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter surrounded by family. Mine was spent at a brunch with my side of the family and dinner at my mother-in-laws with my husbands side of the family. I really need to go on a diet, too much delicious food.

I have several projects going right now, but none are quite finished, so I’m bringing you a tree stump lamp I finished in December.

For Christmas last year I gave away five of my homemade lamps.   Each of my  three brother-in-laws  as well as my two oldest sons received a unique lamp.

My oldest son, Keith and his wife, received my pipe lamp because they were there when I discovered  the dump this one came from and gave me my first pin EVER on this lamp, so I assumed they liked it.

Me second son, Kevin and his wife received the Railroad tie lamp because they were foolish enough to admire the piece of railroad tie after they had moved all their stuff out of my garage.

My brother-in-law Bill and his wife took home the lamp I made out of house shutters because they have a more traditional home.  I hope they can find space in their home to display it.

My husbands youngest brother, Jeffrey and his wife Jenn received the lamp made out of a car spring.  They are both fun loving and stray away from the ordinary so I thought this would fit their personalities.  Besides, Jeffrey liked the lamp on instagram, so, be careful what you like.

My last gifted lamp was this tree stump lamp for my brother-in-law, Michael.  He doesn’t have a whole lot of room in his apartment so this design was a little slimmer than others.  He also lives in a rustic, wooded area…I hope I  hit all their personalities.

I tried to find my perfect stump in my woodpile under the deck but none fit the bill.   They were either too fat, too short, too buggy, too long, too rotted….after I had given up there, I found my perfect log sitting in the basket right next to the fireplace.  It was so close to being firewood.

Since it had been under the deck for a couple of years, it was fairly easy to get the bark off with a hammer and chisel.

After he was undressed, my log got a quick sanding with the palm sander.

Next up, a couple of coats of Varathane light walnut.  If you notice little bumps after the first coat, give the piece a quick sanding with fine steel wool or fine sandpaper and wipe with a lint free cloth before doing a second coat.

A hole was drilled down the center of the log and a notch in the bottom for the wires was cut to allow the lamp to sit level.

For complete wiring, check out my other  post on How to Wire  a Lamp (with pictures)

 Here he is sporting his brand new shade in my home before getting wrapped for Christmas.  I hope he is enjoying his new home! 

Homemade lamps are surprisingly easy to put together, all you need is a sturdy base and a lamp kit. I hope you give it a try.

Shared at Metamorphosis Monday , Inspire me Tuesday , Wow us Wednesdays ,

Vintage Inspiration Party,Handmade Hangout Party , Catch as Catch Can ,

Think and make Thursday, Party Junk and Show and Share

Related posts:

Railroad Tie Lamp diy No Wiring! Easy Driftwood Lamp Recycled Post Lamp Upcycled Maple Syrup Can Lanterns