mason jar pendant light.

I haven't written about updates to the house lately. One reason is that I've just been busy with life and there really haven't been any completed updates to share. There are lots of things in the works, though!

This is one project that I did manage to complete - a pendant light over my sink made out of a mason jar:

I had seen the idea, and was sharing it with my mom, when she mentioned that she had a mason jar I could use.

There are a couple different ways to do this - you can use a pendant light kit (like this tutorial from  Remodelaholic) or buy all the pieces to create your own lamp kit (like this tutorial from kara paslay designs). After researching prices, the cost would be about the same, so I decided to use a pendant light kit. It was also easier, and I didn't need to worry about covering up the lamp cord when I was done. The hardest part was putting the hole in the lid of the jar. Dad helped me with this by drilling a series of holes in a circle and using tin snips to cut between the holes.

Then, we went to hang the new light in place of the old globe fixture, and discovered another problem. The insulation from old fixture had been removed, so the heat from it had started to crack the insulation on one of the wires, which could have been a fire hazard - just one of surprises that sometimes comes with an old house! I wrapped the wire in electrical tape, then finished installing the pendant.

(See the bike through the window? That's my neighbors' upstairs apartment entry - the man who lives there talks to Dakota all the time...and she talks back.)

I love the way it looks! It was a pretty inexpensive project, since the only thing I purchased was the pendant light kit ($17) and the light bulb, and it's a unique light fixture.