last friday was pARTy night, and 5 of my wonderful friends came over and we decorated ikea grono lamps. i am in awe of the creativity — the lights are just amazing! it’s always so fun to see what my friends come up with when we get together to create. (i just wish the photos would do them justice!) i’ve got detailed descriptions of the lights and more photos after the jump…

each person (except for me and jaime) worked on 2 lights. we all focused on paper as the main decorative element. rather than glue the paper to the glass, we used gel matte medium — it’s a little more forgiving when it comes to placement than glue is, and it dries clear. it does take a while to dry, though, and anna had to resort to using a hair dryer, otherwise she may have spent the night on my couch!

jaime cutting pages from a new yorker…

…then pasting to the lamp with gel matte medium.

kathryn attaching paper to the glass.

waiting for anna’s creations to dry!

i regret not taking pictures of everyone’s lights with the light bulb off! that way you would be able to see the colors and detail. dang. next time. so here’s who made what, and a description of their work:

jaime made a coney-island themed light, using full pages from a new yorker magazine that had photos of the famed amusement park. she also used velum circles, and cut out a great skyline illustration. it’s one of my favorite lights!

kathryn made 2 distinct lights, but used the burnt horn beads on both to tie them together. the light on the right was covered with paper that had light green leaves embedded, and she used a green ribbon down the middle. the dragonflies are little charms i had in the supply box, and i just love the 2 lights together. i hope she keeps them in the same room, as they really are a great pair!

anna‘s lights really blew me away! i don’t think i have the photo order correct, but you are seeing all four sides of the 2 lights she made. i just love them. she cut “grass” from 3 or 4 different green papers, and cut circles out of oilpaper and papyrus scraps. i think she should quit her job and start making stuff full-time!

the first light jackie made is actually pictured in the last 2 photos, and it’s the only light i photographed with the light bulb on and off, because it was so amazing. she found the paintings in my german modern art book. she chose expressionist paintings of women that were beautiful in of themselves, but the best part is when the light is on, you see the paintings that are on the back as well. gorgeous. her second light is the first photo. she cut circles of paper, and i was very surprised by the fact that she managed to pick out all of my eieieo studio scraps from my rather large paper collection without knowing the papers come from the same company!

jenn‘s lights are simplicity at its best! the first light is covered with a white paper (i know, it looks tan here, i’m so sorry!) that has gold dots. very clean and bright! the second light is covered with my green swirly paper that i’ve had forever, i’m so glad it got so much use! she finished off the light with a green ribbon. if i remember correctly, she’s giving it to a special someone that loves the color green, who will remain nameless in the off chance she reads this blog entry.

lastly, me. my love of my circle punches continues. i made a simple light, which is a gift for a friend. typically i don’t have a lot of time to actually create at pARTy, as i’m helping others out, drinking lots of wine, and taking pictures. but i so thoroughly enjoy these creative nights, even if i don’t make much! but i did do a more detailed light back in november, that can be viewed here.

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