filling my lamps

The (handcarved! with oak leaves and acorns!) mantle in our new cottage has two plugs on the wall up there, so the purchase of a new pair of lamps was definitely pending. Especially since there is no overhead lighting in our living room, and my light-loving self is getting rather weary of this dark, winter-pending dreariness. I had such lamp angst, which is not really surprising, since I always have decorator angst, but am tickled with my final decision.

A crafty decision. An acorn-crafty decision. How could it be wrong?

I've admired fillable glass lamps that have been popping up here and there. Like this nice Atrium Lamp from Pottery barn, which is extremely awesome. But both the size and price have been bigger than I had in mind.

Luckily for my mantle and dark living room, that baby had an appointment yesterday in Philadelphia* and we made the requisite stop at IKEA Conshohoken on the way home.
I (heart) IKEA maybe a little too much. But what's a girl to do when they keep on bringing such delights as this cheerful alpine fabric (the one I used for the backdrop in today's photos)--with goats, no less! Lots of great textile series there right now.

Back on topic: I picked up a pair of JONSBO EGBY lamps for $19.99 each. Larger glass bases in the same series are also available for $39.99 and $49.99. I like their proportions better, but they were way too big. This lamp, at 13", is just the right size for its allotted space.
Here's mine:

These lamps aren't designed to be fillable, but the situation is workable with a little creativity. The top doesn't screw off, like with fillable lamps, but the bottom is open, and the electrical gadgetry is well-enclosed, so I am not worried about increasing the fire risk.Step one: Fill 'er up. I chose (surprise!) acorns. I emptied the basket from my seasonal table, then had to go to the garage to borrow a bit from the 2007 harvest (2008 had very few acorns. Fascinating story).Step two: Cover that hole. I pulled a couple of metal discs from the recycling bin that were just the right size: the metal caps from juice concentrates. I love those things: no sharp edges, all perfect roundness. I used a few dabs of melted goo from my mini glue gun to attach it. Hot glue doesn't do a great job attaching very smooth things together, especially when you let it cool just a wee bit, which was exactly what I wanted: I can easily separate them when I fancy another fill, but for now it keeps my acorns in and their dust off my mantle. (Ay, excuse the photo. It was getting dark, and I was tripping over kids).Quite lovely, methinks.Suitable for a variety of collections. Like Littlest Pet Shops ;).After I stop giggling at myself, I think I'll replace the poor trapped animals (there was some disgruntlement from the girls) with red glass marbles. Very holiday. Plus the husband requested it. He thinks acorns are drab, but too bad for him.

A good glow to enjoy.(That mantle is cluttered with inspiration bits for the walls and such. This room is not done (oh, those bare walls!), but sometime before the next millenium I'll have a great finished mantle to show off to you...)

*last week's MRI showed dreaded enhancement, so we had to meet with our surgeon to discuss and maybe biopsy. This broke my heart, so I didn't even tell my mom, but the official-for-now thought on the glowing area is that it's just showing "normal" post-operative cell growth: healing after surgery. Huge sighs of relief here. MRIs every 4 weeks, so it's being watched very carefully, but there is no palpable mass, and it's in a place that should show if it grows (scapula).