This Little Light of Mine...

In November 2011, my husband and I traveled to Myrtle Beach, SC for the Thanksgiving holiday week. We had a nice time traveling around nearby cities and not so nearby cities (Charleston) to check out the area.

I enjoyed visiting South Carolina. I loved being near the ocean and hearing the rhythm of the waves each morning and night. All the sights, all the seafood ... love, love, love!

When I go someplace I've never been before, my shopping interests aren't for the touristy shops for souvenirs. I like going to the local thrifts stores - Goodwill is a fairly easy find. 

We went to a few Goodwill stores just outside of Myrtle Beach. The only thing I came away with was this black metal lamp. It appeared someone spray painted it black because they didn't bother to cover the electrical cord or the brass fitting at the top. I paid $3.93 + tax.

Lamp Before

I liked the height of the lamp and figured it would work well on my desk at work. It sat in the trunk of our car the remainder of the week we were on vacation. Traveled home with us and sat in the garage a few weeks. I brought it in the house and took some not-so-good pictures for the before look.

It ended up back in the garage because I wasn't sure when I would have time to get to it.

Lamp After

At one point when I was out and about running errands, I came across a package of acrylic paints I thought would work for painting the lamp.

A few weeks ago on a rainy Saturday afternoon I brought the lamp back inside, cleaned it up and started painting. The acrylic paints weren't covering the metal like I wanted and the dried paint appeared dull and chalky. I wasn't happy with it.

More recently, I decided I would try the bright nail enamel I had purchased for my little key painting project. I loved the shiny metallic sheen the nail enamel left. I dug through my bathroom closet and found some old nail enamel I had for eons - bright red, orange and a copper metallic (what was I thinking at the time?).

I proceeded to use all the colors to paint the lamp, even using the French manicure white to add some polka-dots.

I added a lampshade with chubby little cherubs - and it now sits on the corner of my desk at the office.


My South Carolina Goodwill lamp is bright (and not just from the light bulb), cheery and whimsical - just what I was going for.