Lighting

I've been wanting to put a pendant light above our kitchen sink for a long time. I just couldn't find one that I LOVED.

Then I saw this. Right? But for $129 I wasn't going to do THAT.

Image courtesy of Pottery Barn.

I just knew I could make it and for cheaper too.

So, in the midst of building the chaise and sewing cushion covers I got sidetracked by this tiny project and needed to finish it before our families arrived for the big weekend. It got finished while my Dad was here, and before T's family came!

I think I spent all of fourteen bucks. For the whole thing. THE WHOLE THING. FOURTEEN DOLLARS.

Before:

And after:

HOW AWESOME IS THAT???? (I know I still have that wreath up. Back off.)

Here's the process.

I looked for old canning jars, but didn't find any with lids, although I knew I could just buy the lids, I started thinking about how I didn't really want to put lights up that used to have food in them, and sometimes, as hard as you try, the gunk just doesn't come out of those jars! So I got new ones. They come in packs of 10 for $9.99. I used three for this and the rest as votives with the little wire handle (like I did at Halloween) with the rest of them.

Then, I went to HD and got lamp wire and light kits.

You use butt splicers (I know. But that's what they are called.) to connect the black and white wires to the lamp wire. Now. Make sure you know which one is the black and white, because that will be VERY important in the end. Black and white still need to match up when you connect them to the ceiling.

I had no problems with this step. None at all. Nope. I didn't have to call in reinforcements....and if you think that I'm telling you the truth, then you don't know me! Of course I had to get help! I called in my hubby to fix it in the end. I won't lie. But, not until I got so frustrated I nearly cried.

I drilled a small hole in the center of the jar top.

Strung the wires with the light through the jar top and attached the light bulb.

I wrapped the wires in jute.

If you hang the lights without the jars on them, it is much lighter and much easier. I'm just sayin'....

The first ceiling cover was too small so not all three wires fit and I had to go back to HD for a different one. Of course it was brass, so I had to paint it, but whatev. That's nothing.

Then after I couldn't get the base to connect to the ceiling, I had to call in the big guns. He finished it up, switched two wires that were causing a light not to work and attached it to the ceiling as well as he could. 

We still have a tiny little problem at the top where the threading is, but that will be fixed in no time.

And done. LOVE IT. Now I want to put them everywhere. Seriously. I'm thinking laundry room, foyer, hallway....where else?