DIY Michael Jackson Lamp – Thrift Store Lamp Makeover

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A DIY Michael Jackson lamp for a girls room. Thrift store lamp makeover project using paint and a tracing transfer technique.

I’m in the process of making a few changes to my daughter’s bedroom. In addition to the adorable new desk makeover and the upcycled bench I made, I wanted to tackle lighting.

Since she happens to be a huge Michael Jackson fan, I thought it’d be fun to bring her love for MJ into her room!

Because kids grow and change so fast, however, I wanted it to be on a small item, just in case she changes her mind and moves on from MJ down the road.

Thrift Store Lamp Makeover: A DIY Michael Jackson Lamp for a Girls Room

I usually start with my before pic, but I’m too excited this time, so I’m going to jump right into my after!

I made her a lamp!! Her very own MJ lamp!

I started with this wooden block lamp I picked up at the thrift store for a whopping $2.60!  Here’s how cheap I am… I saw it one day for $3.95 and thought that was too much.  I already knew I wanted to do this and I knew I was looking for a wooden lamp that had flat sides, but $4 was too much for me?? Seriously, there is something wrong with me.  So I went back a few days later ready to buck up, and here she was marked down just for me!

I primed her and then sprayed on some Krylon Ocean Breeze (love!!).

Here’s the fun part!  I Googled Michael Jackson silhouettes until I found what I was looking for and then I just sized them and printed them out.

Cut the extra paper off and then flipped them over and scribbled over the back

Then when you flip them back and over and lay them on your object (the lamp), you can trace the outlines and it transfers for you. I forgot to get a pic of the outline on the lamp but here you can see where I just traced back over it.

Then I just got a small paintbrush out and painted in my lines! You could probably use a Sharpie or paint pen if you wanted, but I prefer the look of acrylic paint.

I’m not convinced I’m keeping this lamp shade (in fact, I’m not, so not sure why I’m wording it like that)… I just wanted to get a picture and this was what I had on hand…

(please ignore the fact that I taped the top part of the cord to avoid overspray and then proceeded to spray the rest of the cord anyways.)

And the best part??  Mrs. Michael Jackson is completely thrilled with it!  In fact, she even drooled, “It is so totally more than awesome, Mommy!!”.

I’m glad, Mrs. Jackson… I’m so glad!