

Here’s another lamp before & after. This one’s in my foyer & as you can see above it was a bright gold. I used Sophisticated Finishes in Blackened Bronze on this too. It wasn’t brass, but some sort of resin material, so the SF sticks to it very well. Looks much better, don’t you think?
So, that’s my quick little tutorial on lampshades & painting things! It’s a great way to update some old things you have laying around the house. Start looking around & you will probably have something you can paint. I do it all the time! Picture frames, lamps, anything brass or gold can be painted to whatever you want it to be. It’s such a frugal money saver & a great way to get a new look!
- A true Southerner makes friends standing in line. We don’t do “queues”, we do “lines”. And when we’re in line, we talk to everybody.
- A true Southerner never goes snipe hunting twice. (I really did have this done to me growing up, anyone else?!)
- A true Atlanta Southerner knows that all directions start with “Go down Peachtree” & includes the phrase “when you see the Waffle House” & when you’re in Cobb County, all directions begin with “go to the Big Chicken“. (this one is totally true…see pic below!)
- The North has double last names, the South has double first names.
- You may hear a Southerner say “ought” to a dog or a child. This is short for “y’all ought not do that” and is the equivalent of saying “No!”
- If there is the prediction of even the slightest chance of snow, we must go to the grocery store. It doesn’t matter if we need anything or not, we just have to go and pick up bread & milk.
- It is not a shopping cart, it is a buggy.
- “Jeet” is actually a phrase meaning, “Did you eat?” (a personal favorite of my hubby, LOL!)
I should have just included this pic of the Big Chicken in my post originally (See #3)! You really have to get a visual of it to really appreciate the magnitude of this thing. I grew up a few miles from the Big Chicken, so it’s always been a part of my life. This landmark started back in the 60’s as a chicken restaurant, which eventually went out of business & was sold to KFC in 1974. They kept it as is & it was finally renovated in 1996, with the help of Pepsi. Back in the early 90’s, there was talk of tearing down the Big Chicken & those of us who grew up with it launched a campaign to save it & we won! There was actually voting, help from polticians, the whole nine yards, but we who have a soft spot for the Big Chicken prevailed & here she stands to this day!
Hope you had a good laugh! We are pretty predictable down here in the South!
Rhoda,
Thanks for the tips! I will try some of them. I love the southern tag. You are so right in southern will make friends in the grocery line. I’m a transplant from California and I have just fallen in love with the South and the especially people like you that are the epitome of “Southern Hospitality.” Have a nice weekend!
Blessings!
Rhoda, I love your list!
I had forgotten about Snipe hunting!
The milk and bread thing holds true for here, as well!
Pat
Rhoda, Thanks so much for taking the time to do this post! I printed it out and I’m going to give it a try. I have so much toile material!
Your Southern Thangs list was so funny! So true about the Big Chicken (I should take a picture so everyone can see what we’re talking about)!
I still don’t get the milk and bread thing though. What am I suppose to do with that? Besides, usually the power goes out- so what do you do with your milk then. I’ve never understood it LOL!
Have a great weekend!
Manuela
I love your southern list… I went snipe hunting once as well! I knew I ought not! I’ve got my list up.
I’m off to Michaels. We have a beautiful 10 year old home, but everything is brass colored. I’ve changed out kitchen knobs, faucets, and fixtures. But those fans and light fixtures in the rest of the house… I’m thinking a pewter will work!
Shhh~ don’t tell anyone.
Great tutorial Rhoda!
We lived in California for many (too many) years. We then moved to Pensacola,FL and the first time I went to the grocery store I got greeted, smiled at and yes’md…then I chatted with some folks in the parking lot for about 15 minutes. I went home and said to my SweetiePie “I am SO happy to be back in the South” it is truly my home sweet home.
I enjoyed your lamp covering lessons. I have a couple of lamp shades that I might try. And the Atlanta directions – right on! You really have to live here to understand the Big Chicken!
Oh Rhoda, I’m so excited that you posted this tutorial. I’m supposed to be heading up north right now but just stopped by quickly to check out a couple of my favorite bloggers and am bombarded with good stuff. Can’t wait to get home Sunday night to study your post. Have a great weekend.
Sue
Rhoda, thanks for the excellent tutorial on covering a lampshade. I plan to do two next week.
I lived in Marietta for over 30 years, and I am very familar with The Big Chicken. In fact I even made a cardboard one for the school spring play where I taught art.
Love your blog.
Connie
Rhoda, great tips! I have quite a few items for which I need to use those, and your instructions were great! Thank you, too, for your comment about my photos. I save them from just about every commercial decorating site I visit…no thought involved, really, more of an “isn’t that pretty?” and then click “save”. 😉 I have way too many and expect my computer to crash under the burden at any minute.
I loved your list!! 🙂 I especially laughed about the grocery stores during any forecast of snow (they close schools for anything over 1/2″, too), and about the double first names. My son, having gone to college in MS, is quite charmed by the girls having two first names, and said that if he has daughters, his will be named that way, too (he hopes to stay in the South to live, too). I’m sure that I will have a granddaughter named Mary Grace or something similar (which will be fine with me!).
I enjoyed your post today.
Love, Andrea
Rhoda,
Thanks so much for the lamp tips. I’m sure they will be put to good use.
Love your list!
Being from California, I really find it interesting and funny.
Have a great weekend,
Rosemary
Hi Rhoda, I haven’t ever commented on your blog but read it regularly! Love it! Thanks for the great lampshade tips! I can’t wait to try one! Can you also use the spray adhesive on fabric shades?
kkb
Hey Ro, Love the brass paint stuff. Im gonna do it this weekend. I’ll send you the b & a’s. I’m going to sell this house soon and dont what to spend $ for someone else! love,love cousin/friend
I’m glad y’all are getting inspired to go & paint something or redo a lampshade! There are so many things you can to these days to update things.
KKB, thanks for finally posting! I love it when lurkers come out & talk, LOL. Yes, you can definitely use the spray adhesive on fabric shades. Whatever you are covering up can be sprayed & the new fabric put right on top. Doesn’t matter if it’s paper or fabric, it will stick.
I’d love to hear from some of you who do some makeovers.
A big Hello to my cousin April!
Hugs,
Rhoda
I loved reading your southern list! Though I am from the Midwest, my parents were both from the south, so I can relate to much of this!
🙂
What a wonderful tutorial! You are amazing and so creative!
Loved your list..I am Southern by blood, Yankee by birth so I DO know all about the wonderful things ya’ll have been writing about! I have had a good chuckle reading them all!
Hugs,
Sue
Rhoda
I am new to your blog and am enjoying your entries. Great ideas! And by the way, here in SC we are known to “mash” buttons, and “cut” off lights.
Hi Rhoda…..
Thanks for the tips…your posts are always inspiring.
Being from the NE I don’t know a thing about “snipe hunting” and sometime pls. explain the Big Chicken. I do know shopping when a storm is in the forecast though…we call those shoppers “panic shoppers” of which I am one…LOL
I always enjoy visiting !!!
Happy Yardsaling,
Kathy =)
Love the Southern Thangs…funny though… some of the same things are said up here in Nebraska…but of course…I would never consider myself a northerner….we are the midwest…the Heartland!
I have visited the south many times…absolutely Love it!
Rhoda,
Enjoyed reading through the tips for covering the lampshades, (it’s been awhile since I’ve covered one) and I do want to try the bronze paint….
I counted 33 lamps in our home….I leave several small ones on all the time…..
Thank you for the complimentary comment on my grandmother’s picture and the blue and white dishes….
Thank you for the good wishes on our 47th anniversary and I hope you had a nice one as well……Betty
Rhoda~ That is so sweet of you to take the time to post on how to create these beautiful shades.
And the list is so funny…yes, growing up in TX, I knew all about snipe hunting! lol
And my Mom (Mary Beth) is the only one of her sisters (Freddie Mae, Dixie Ray) who didn’t give her children double first names! Have a great weekend.