Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Mason Jar Lamp: Part 2

After finishing the base to the lamp, I have been working on making a shade for the lamp. I used one part from the old lampshade that I took apart in the last post.  I tore the lampshade apart and took out the wire frame to attach my new shade to the lamp.




I decided to use some nice scrapbooking paper for the shade, but I first used construction paper to determine the shape and size that I wanted my lampshade to be. Once I decided, I used this paper to make a template for my lampshade. (If you want to try to make this, let me know and I can post my template on here.) I used double-sided tape to tape two large pieces of scrapbooking paper together and then traced my template on the backside of the paper and cut it out.



Next, I taped the edges together to complete the lampshade and then placed it on top of the ring.




I could have glued or taped the ring onto the shade, but I wanted to be able to replace it if I decide to later.



Linked to:
Someday Crafts
Ginger Snap Crafts





Friday, October 14, 2011

Mason Jar Lamp: Part I

I am in the process of making a small mason jar lamp for my night stand. I finished making the lamp base, but still need to make a lampshade for it. Here is what I did.

I first drilled a hole on the back of the jar near the bottom for the cords. In another post I will describe how I created the hole in the jar.
 

Next, I painted the inside of jar blue. The hole/paint combination can make a mess, so be careful.

 

I used the parts from an old lamp. If you have an old lamp that you don't want, I will describe how I took this one apart. If you don't have an extra lamp around, you can buy the parts at a hardware store or online.




First, UNPLUG THE LAMP!! 
Then I unscrewed the casing to expose the wire connections. The wires are held in with screws, so I unscrewed these connections with a phillips screw driver. I used a piece of tape to mark which wire connected to each screw.
 


Once the wires are free, I pulled the wires out of the lamp base, and fed them through the hole in the bottom of the mason jar.


 The next step was creating a hole in the lid for the bulb holder thing to rest. I used a hammer and screw driver to nail a hole in the top. Then I reconnected the wires and screwed the casing back together.





 The next step is to make a lampshade, and probably get a smaller light bulb...


Linked to:
The Crafty Nest
Just a Girl
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Welcome


Welcome to 4 the Love of Mason Jars! This is my first attempt at a blog, so bear with me.  I hope you enjoy your time here, and don’t worry, not every post will be about mason jars…