A "Bright" Idea

I don't know about you but, lately, I notice lighting everywhere I go. In restaurants, at stores, friend's houses, you name it. I'm always checking out lighting fixtures. Turns out, there is some pretty amazing and stylish stuff out there. For the new place, we have a $2500 allowance for lighting. It sounds like a lot but it can add up rather quickly. Like anything, though, it is my goal to make that amount stretch as far as possible. Actually, my real goal is to come in under budget and leave us some cash in our pocket.

Yes, that means some serious DIY projects and some serious bargain shopping will need to happen. The first of which I attempted this past week. Who doesn't love a good mason jar light? I've admired this one from Pottery Barn for a while now.

The price tag on this baby is $149. I figured I could do much better than that. So, I began researching and found this tutorial for making one of my own. Thank you to the The Cheney's House to Home blog for the amazing directions. (Their tutorial is for a 3-jar pendant but I wanted 5, so I just made two more.)

First, I gathered all of my supplies....

The tools that I needed I already had on hand:

1. A drill with a 1/4 inch drill bit

2. A wire stripper/cutter

3. Phillips head screwdriver

4. Knife

The rest of the stuff I picked up at Hobby Lobby and Lowes:

1. 5 glass mason jars - $13

2. 5 keyless sockets - $12

3. 2 packs of lamp cord - $13

4. 1 ceiling plate - $5

Total cost for this project - $43. A lot better than $149. 

Here is my finished product! Sorry the picture is a little dark and blurry. I'm excited about how it turned out. We didn't hook it up, yet, so I guess I shouldn't get too excited until I know for sure that it works. We have a friend who is an electrician so we might ask him to hang it in our current house to make sure it's in working order before we put it in the new place. Until then, I'll keep my fingers crossed! If all goes well, it will find a home in our kitchen above our table. Stay tuned for some additional posts about my money-saving lighting finds and projects.