DIY Pulley Light Fixture

I always wanted a pulley light fixture since the first time I saw one. They look amazing in industrial and farm style designed rooms. But, they are a little pricey to buy. I swore when I got a pulley that I would make one.

Well, the time has come! I scored a pulley from a yard sale. While I'm in the middle of redoing the kitchen, the timing couldn't be better!

It was a little dirty and rough.

So I cleaned it up and sanded it down to smooth it out.

Then rubbed coconut oil into it.

Since the pulley was ready, I grabbed my electrical light fixture stash for parts to put this whole pulley lighting together.

I had a flush mount canopy and a mounting bracket that was do-able. Worried about weight, I bought some toggle bolts for mounting them.

Then I needed two identical corded sockets and didn't have any on hand. So after looking around I ended up buying 2 mason jar cord kits. Perfect, because the lids are vented for heat. I also bought 2 Edison Style light bulbs.

As for shades, I was cutting bottles and jars with hopes to use milk bottles. After cutting several to get a couple of them with smooth cuts, the jar was too narrow for my hands to screw in the bulbs.

Ugh. I ended up with mason jars which was fine because it was my second choice.

It's important to use open bottles and jars due to fire hazards. Those jars just screwed onto fixtures without venting scares the BeJeebers out of me.

Once I had all of the parts prepared, it was time to assemble the whole fixture.

I mounted the bracket with 4 toggle bolts into the ceiling. According to the manufacturer, each can hold up to 50 pounds, I just wanted to make real sure that nothing was going to come falling down on anyone. Once the bracket was secure, I mounted the canopy. ( It came from another ceiling fixture in my junk stash.)

Before hanging the pulley from the canopy, I fed the corded sockets through. Then added some linked chain to weave the cords through. The chain was another security measure. The links were easy to open and close back with two pairs of pliers as I attached it to the canopy.

At this point, I was able to hang the pulley from the mounted canopy and run the cords to the wall where the outlet is located.

Then the exciting moment... adding the shades and the bulbs!

Ha!!! I did it!

It is so pretty that it makes a great accent light in the room.

Little accomplishments bring such joy, don't they?

Little things that make life fun are worth the time.

I'm so excited to finally have this little dream come true.

Have you wanted to make one of these or similar?

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Addie Pendant Light Knock Off: Cutting A Bottle

This month the Inspiration Tribe is working with the theme of Knock Off projects.
Loving the industrial look of repurposed bottles into light fixtures, I looked for one that I can add into my workshop makeover challenge.

I found this one in the Ballard Designs catalog and loved it... in a kinda sorta way. If it was more industrial - rustic looking.

And, I had a large bottle to use for it. Knowing I that I could add a rustic look, it had potential.

Using a bottle cutter I allowed enough space to hold the socket and a bulb inside. Then scored the glass.

When I cut glass bottles (which is a bit more challenging than cutting tiles), I use the temperature shock method because it gives a smooth break by scoring the glass with the cutter first.

That shock method is just simply using containers of boiling water and very cold water. (Safety glasses, rubber gloves and tongs are required.)

1. Score the glass with a cutter, with steady contact, all around the bottle or subject you are using without pressure. (pressing too hard will create disasters.)

2. Dunk the scored bottle into boiling water ( I rolled the bottle in a large kettle of boiled water in my double basin sink.)

3. Then shock the heated bottle by putting it into cold water. (Again, I used a large kettle of cold water with ice cubes added to it and rolled the bottle in it on the other side of the sink.)

4. The bottle will take a few seconds to take affect, but you will hear the "pop" and the two sections will come apart while giving off a bit of air pressure. Sometimes, you may need to go back and forth from hot to cold to hot, etc. But do it quickly to utilize the water temperatures. If you end up with the glass break in the boiling water, retrieve the parts with tongs. Switching can also change the water temperature. (Tip: keep more boiled water handy at the stove to add to the hot and a bowl of cubes to add to the cold.)

Not all cuts will be perfect but it is much more effective than the "tapping method". 

Have extra bottles in case of bad splits. With this one, I had a one shot deal and it turned out well. 

Then I gathered up a plug in type of light socket with a cord switch to be hooked up and hung.

And, bought an awesome vintage light bulb.
I'm so in love with the style.

To insert the wiring through the bottle top, I had to remove the wires first. (Easy to do. Just loosen the screws to release the wiring.)

I replaced the bottle cap and punched a hole through it to feed the loose wire into the bottle.
Then replaced the wires by tightening them around the screws and put the socket back together.

After sanding the cut area of the glass with sand paper and a bit of water to smooth it, I used electrical tape as the trim. It was too stretchy, so I removed it and used black duct tape that I cut down to 1.5" to wrap around the brim for about 3/4" on the inside and 3/4" on the outside.

Then the fun part: added the light bulb, hooked it, and hung the pendant up. 

The hardest part of the project was a good glass break. Otherwise, it's really easy!

Pretty enlightening, isn't it? :)

It's going to look awesome over my workbench. Now I'm off to turn a dresser into the workbench with some fun ideas "attached" to it!

Truck Headboard with Lights

It was time to turn boring wood furniture into something more fun and masculine for my tween. Everything in the room got a makeover. Including this twin headboard for his queen sized bed. (I know; it's not right.) With a small 9'x 11' bedroom and a much needed window in the way, the twin sized headboard fits best. You'll see why when you see the room reveal. 

Anyway, this little wooden headboard doesn't need to look so nursery room anymore; right? 

With a plan in mind, while reversing some bead-board paneling,  and cut to fit inside the frame, I screwed it on.

Primitive, I know, but you'll see it will be painted.

Painting with primer and paint in one, in an off white, gave me a blank canvas.

That "hard-to-draw-on-canvas" showed my "rough" sketch of an old 50's truck grill well enough to paint.
(Don't pay much attention to the sloppiness. It was just a sketching to place where I had to paint and what.)

Not really a pop artist, I attempted some color. Kind of poster looking, but it serves the purpose.

Then, I painted the frame in Country Chic Paint in Liquorice as with the rest of the furniture. 

Now, on to the plan. (big smile)
These battery operated lights are perfect for headlights on the truck.

So I taped off the light shield and painted them in chrome.

Then attached them where the headlights are on the front of the truck. See where I was going?

Oh, and for more fun, this cute little motorcycle license plate was a junk yard find. It fit perfectly so I attached it with sheet metal screws. Then it was off for mounting onto the wall.

Now, of course I had to add a little gallery above the headboard. The repurposed sewing machine lid and some license plates pulled the theme together. 

The lights are hand push for on and off with auto shut off. 

Perfect night light setting. 

As I suspected, my son man came home from school ecstatic. What the what???? "Mom, this isn't cool... it's AWESOME!" 

As long as he is happy, I'm happy.

Hmmm, you know what? I think painting garage doors with this idea would be cool. Well, without the nightlights... just the vehicles... looking like they are in the garage. That's one way to have a Ferrari ~  (wink!)

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My RePurposed Life - Catch as Catch Can 212

Painted Lamp Shade for TCW: 1 Stencil 4 Ways Series

www.thecraftersworkshop.com    #TCWstencillove 

As guest creator for The Crafter's Workshop, I've been assigned stencil set number 383 designed by Ronda Palazzari. The purpose of the One Stencil Four Ways series is to demonstrate the endless possibilities of a stencil based on numerous creators.  




For my next project is this plain lamp shade.  Boring.  (eyes rolling)  It needs something... anything will help it. Lacking color and design, I had to give it a makeover. 

Using this stencil set for the second time, I opted to use all of them and small parts of them to create a design on the lamp shade. 

For color, I started by painting the shade with watered down acrylic in a light turquoise. Similar to watercolor paint, I allowed bleeding and blending with some dry brushing in vertical strokes. 

Then I painted the top and bottom trim in black for contrast. 

I tried to create a pattern of the stencils in upper left and bottom right on each panel of the shade for visual interest. That utilized two stencils per panel.

Using masking tape to hold in place, I sponged on black acrylic paint. 

This pattern was repeated on the panel on the opposite side. 

Then I used parts of each stencil in the remaining spaces. 

It's almost as though the shade was made for the lamp... (smirking and winking) 

Now the lamp is full of character.

From boring to "so sassy"!