Inspire me please, you crafty lot!

bigmomma051204

Hi all... i need some help as i am extremely UN-crafty! Basically my little boy of 7yrs has FINALLY realised the joys of reading to himself - as i have always been a MEGA reader, i told him tales of how i would keep my bedside lamp on for hours reading and would then read under the covers with a torch etc LOL...... So, of course now HE wants to do the same! I have veto'ed the torch thing (how my poor eyes still work i shall never know!) but have told him i will get him a bedside lamp with his favourite characters on. Have just looked and A) nowhere seems to have lamps with the characters he likes on and anything slightly suitable is MEGA pricey!!!! SO... i have an old plain cream bedside lamp - how could i Jazz it up for him? Stickers look a bit tat IMHO and tend to come off with the heat of the bulb... help?!



[threadbanner]box[/threadbanner]

Cheapskate

Could you buy some fabric with his fave characters on and cover the shade? Not too dark a fabric or he won't see a thing, obviously! To make it fairly easy, use fabric glue - any decent craft or sewing shop should have it and be able to help you plan it out. Or attach figures to plain fabric and cover the shade.

HTH

A xo

nanamags

You even do the same with wrapping paper which would be more economical.

kittycat204

ebay, charity shop? or just the old fabric and glue trick.

Triggles

Actually you can get a small round torch that has a brilliant light on it for a few quid in a number of places. We bought one for DS2, and it's been used for this purpose constantly. Just keep a supply of rechargeable batteries and you're ready to go.

torbrex

Iron on transfers would not be affected by the heat of the bulb, you could print off anything you wanted.

Sandollar_2

What about a wind up torch?
I have one I keep in the car and another in the fuse box.
2 minutes winding gives 30 minutes of bright light. If you're still supervising teeth brushing you could be winding it while he bruses his teeth. This way you are teaching him how long to brush his teeth for and make him look forward to jump into bed. It would also serve as a timer for how long he can read for. If he falls asleep reading it doesn't matter as the torch will go out when the charge is gone and of course there is no worry if he outgrows his favourite characters.

hth

[Deleted User]

I agree with the wind-up torch I think I paid about £6.00 for one for my DGS Ben and he now takes it with him when he goes fishing .He has used it since he was about 7 and he thought it was brilliant for reading under the covers as he at the time shared a room with a younger brother so it meant he could read and not disturb his sibling

Bibbitybob

nanamags wrote: »

You even do the same with wrapping paper which would be more economical.

Good idea, but wouldn't that risk a fire hazard :eek:

I'd be tempted to strip off and recover a cheap shade with new fabric, there are lots of tutorials online if you google. Or failing that, cut some fabric characters out and fabric or hot glue them onto a plain shade

lally666young

Stencil kits are a great idea, what about making potato damn I cant think of the name now. And get your son to help you apply them to the shade. Ask him to pick a theme such as space and the beach as they are uber easy to copy.

debbym

How about decorating the base of the lamp - not the shade? If it has some flattish space (even if it is metal) you could buy some wrapping paper with his favourite characters on, cut them out and glue them to the base (good old PVA should do the trick). You can update this easier too as he grows out of them; also the kind of thing he can help with whereas updating a fabric shade might be a solo thing.