Pottery Barn hack job and back to crafts.....for now. I love you sweet pottery barn but you kill me with your pries so I must, and I do mean MUST make it on my own. Love ---me. Tear. I know you love PB too so here's how to do a PB lamp shabby chic cottage style.

It's no surprise that I'm hacking Pottery Barn. We went in a few days ago, and I found some things I love. One was this lamp. $100? Uhh... no.

I also fell in love with this shade. $59? No, thank you very much.

But, you know me, I can always find a cheaper alternative!

I already had the shade, it used to be my dining room light, picked up at Goodwill for $2 back last summer. Yesterday, when I went thrifting with {Living With} Lindsay, she spotted the lamp for $7. She is genius!

Using my favorite cheap white spray paint (thanks to Mother Nature for letting the sun finally shine today), I gave the lamp acouple of realllllly good coats. Then I roughed it up with sand paper.

 Madeline and I mixed up a little raw umber paint with some Ralph Lauren glaze. Mixing in some paint means that not every distressed finish in your house looks exactly the same. It gives it a little more depth and variation.

Wipe it off in circles, so that you don't have wiping marks left over.
 Once finished distressing, set aside to let dry.

Next go make some tea. Or coffee. Either will work.
I used leftover tea bags from making today's batch of sweet tea.
{We go through a gallon a day!}

Once it's cooled, "paint" a couple of coats of tea onto the shade. If your shade is already the color you want, skip this step. Blot with paper towels to help absorb the excess. Set aside to dry - or blow dry it with a hair dryer (I'm impatient!). I did this while my spray paint was drying.

Just like with last week's curtains, translate your favorite phrase (mine is from a love note Mr. SCC wrote me years ago), and print it off, I used this font at 175 point.

Trim your words and tape them to the inside of the shade.

Put the shade on a lamp and painted it, just like the curtains.
I used a Paris postmark rubber stamp for the postmarks.

A $159 lamp for less than $10. I'm. In. Love.