Mason Jar Lamp

I have been wanting to try this for some time now. Thanks to Ryan, I finally got to!! I thought $14 for the jar lamp kit was outrageous, and didn't want to pay it!! Plus, the lamp kits are only for standard mouth jars and I wanted to use a wide mouth jar. I brought this idea to Ryan, who used to be the lamp and vacuum guy at his work, and he said it is possible to make this without the kit. So, here it is!

I will list the price and some tips I found while making this after the instructions.


Supplies:
light socket
lamp electrical cord
carriage bolt 1 1/2" long 1/4" thick
hex nut 1/4"
fender washer 1/4"
Mason Jar
lamp shade
Dremel
light bulb



1. Drill a hole in the center of the lid. (the drill "got away" from Ryan and that is why it looks so large)









2. Drill a hole in the side of the socket bottom.











3. Insert the lamp cord through the hole you just drilled in the socket.











4. Following the package directions, attach the cord to the screws on the socket.








5. Insert the bolt into the bottom of the socket base. Lightly push socket into base.










6. Put the socket cover over the socket and push until it snaps in place.











7. Place the bolt into the hole on the lid. Secure tightly with the washer and nut. Make sure it is centered (ours is not due to the large hole we messed up)

8. Put the rim of the jar over the socket and pull the cord through. It is now ready to be placed on top of you mason jar.



Prices and Tips
I got my socket and cord at Walmart: socket $1.97, cord $1.88. Home Depot wanted $3.88 for the socket and $5.88 for the cord.

I used a half gallon, wide mouth jar. You can use any size jar, I just liked the look of the half gallon size. I found one at Michael's for $2.99 or $3.99. If you have an Ace Hardware nearby, you can order from the site and pick it up at the store with no charge. They wanted $10.49 for 6 jars ($1.75 a jar). Here is the information: Ace Hardware

The lamp shade I used is 9"x9" and was $5.00 at Walmart. Hobby Lobby sells smaller lamp shades for a little cheaper if you used a smaller jar.

Total Cost
Socket 1.97
Cord 1.88
Jar 1.75
Bolt, nut & washer 0.39
Lamp shade 5.00
=$10.99

Chalkboard Canning Jars

I love my canning jars. I started using them for most of my food storage, from bulk items to leftovers - primarily because I think it looks so cute. Sometimes, though, the contents of my jars become a bit of a mystery. They hide in the back of my fridge or pantry for a bit and when I finally re-discover them, I think, "hmmmmmmm... maybe it's.... no, I have no idea." I was cleaning up in my laundry room and found a can of chalkboard spray paint and thought I would go ahead and spray the tops of my canning lids (I don't know that this idea would work for actual canning, though).

I already keep a little container of chalk in my kitchen for our little chalkboard in there, so it has proved very handy to just write the contents on the tops. And today, for lunch, I heated up potato soup, not homemade yogurt.

Glowing Jacks and Monsters

Sooooooooo, it seems that these cute glowing jacks are something a lot of you are making these days....

And, since I made a fresh batch of monsters this afternoon, I decided to re-visit this one and do a show-and-tell of some of my readers who have posted them on their blogs!

So, I'll start by showing you the new ones I made. They turned out super-cute!

First, I envisioned ghosts, but then I said to myself: "Self, if you can make a bunch of ghosts & pumpkins, then why can't you make a bunch of different monsters?"

So, I did.

Let me introduce: Boo, Pointy, Happy (my oldest made this guy after my last batch of pumpkins), we don't know the mummy's name yet.......he's not saying much :), and last, but not least Frankie.

Yes, you can get the faces here. And if you were wondering, I used grey paint on the tops of the ghost & mummy.

And for this little guy, I took a black ink pad and "dirtied" his bandages a little before doing the coats of mod Podge. It streaked a little, but it came out cute anyway.

Here are some cute ones my friend Katie did when we had an impromptu craft day at my house. She found this cute tissue paper and I LOVE the way the little eyes shine through when you light them up!

LOVE the cute way she tied the raffia & ribbon....genius!

My friends Jessica (just had her little baby BOY today), Leslie, Ginny and Chanelle came over too, but sadly, I didn't get any pics (hint, hint). Except Chanelle, who just came to hang out :)

Here are some of my readers that promptly made their own at home (ok, not promptly, since I posted those a few weeks back :)

Xazmin.....All her cute kiddos pitched in for this one and she decided to spray paint the lids instead and they turned out so cute. Check out her post here to see a little video of her pumpkins in action!

Cori.....Made these with her kids too and sat them next to an awesome "Harvest" banner she made. Check out more pics here!

Melissa.....Made some even though it's still 90 degrees where she lives (here too!!!) and was even able to let her little guy help. Check out more here. Plus, she thinks my blog is awesome :)

Thanks ladies! And to ALL of you who make this blog worth the effort!!