Introducing Reinette, the "Little Queen"

Reinette arrived in my imagination two months ago. It all happened in one of those wonderful early morning, almost awakened states of consciousness. I saw her in total in a flash and there she remained as I struggled by trial and error to bring into being. The essentials components were easy ... I knew the fabrics and found complimentary trims and beads easily. The trials and errors, yes plural trials and errors, cropped starting at the top. I wanted a 3D effect for the crown so, I started by twisting single strips of silk and tacking them in place - they looked bulky and unstable so off they came. After a week of methodical "auditions," Reinette was finally crowned with slim and sturdy bars of silk that contrasted and harmonized with the amber and blue silks I'd chosen for her basic construction.  

I had no difficulty creating the sweet little windows on her sides however, the metal settings for lovely amber stones offered no convenient way to secure them. Simply gluing them onto the small open windows would not ensure long term survival. Fortunately, a friend of mine had the perfect drill bit and skill to put a hole through the backings. In preparing them for mounting, I also decided to add a net over the stones giving me another way to anchor and support the embellishments.

One of the most time consuming aspects of creating an artistic version of a vintage beaded lamp shade is the design and stringing of the beaded fringe. Stringing the beads is tedious and needs to be perfect so the eye can rest and the beads compliment rather than compete with the shade. At this point, more issues arose! The beautiful, cobalt blue, 30mm, tubular bugle beads did not all measure 30mm as advertised! One package measured 32mm another 29mm. This created a bit of a nightmare because I didn't discover the difference until I'd strung 115 of the 180 strands.

Once the shade was completed and labeled, I was able to start work on the antique lamp base. I love the old bridge lamps and appreciate the way they glow beside my chair and over my shoulder as I cozy up with a good book. This particular lamp had an abundance of swirls and flowers. She was a joy to embellish with royal blues, amber and silver.  

If you are interested in brightening up your home or office with Reinette, the Little Queen, let me know! Go to my web site, ShadesToRemember.com.