Fiberglass-A-Go-Go

Lamps just ain't what they used to be.  I've developed a penchant for fiberglass.  I love texture, and plain fiberglass is great... then you factor in paint and glitter and all kinds of fun things.
I've searched far and wide over antique stores and the internet for a cool double-tiered lampshade to turn into a swag lamp.  This pretty thing was a birthday gift from a dear friend at Mileslove Studios.

It's lovely.  I can't wait to finish rearranging my house and decide on a final spot for it and plug that baby in.  Lonely lampshades can be turned into swag lamps like this, and if you're in Houston, the Heights Trading Post is a good place to seek help if you're electrically inept like I am.  I also found this:

 This thing was absolutely filthy when I found it.  It was way more discolored and had a thick layer of dust at the bottom.  It would turn on for a few seconds, sizzle, and then flicker out.  Scary.  So I had it rewired and I cleaned it thoroughly while it was disassembled.  The fiberglass on this one is super thick, so I was able to lift a lot of the staining out with multiple soakings in Oxy Clean.

Tadaaaa!

And this one, this was a serendipitous surprise.

I love fiberglass extramuch when it has crazy paint, and I love glitter in just about any context- this one has both.  And stars...stars! Love me some stars. There are a few cracks in the shade on this one, but I really couldn't care less.  It's still so awesome. 

And I almost forgot- just when my bamboo tray failed me, I found this beauty at tiny charity shop.  It's a full-size tray with sparkly gold knit fabric set in the fiberglass.  

I wonder where it came from- it's basically a cafeteria tray, but gold.  I'm now the proud owner of the swankiest cafeteria tray ever.