This, my friends, is a lamp I made way way back in 2007...yep, over ten years old, and it still lights up just like it did the day I put it together. (Of course, it's probably in all that time have seen it's share of bulb changes!) One day I was out shopping somewhere in a venue that carried real old antique stuff and I saw this lamp that was made out of a glass jar and filled to the brim with something like seashells....It was love at first sight - I didn't actually buy it, as I had a better idea...I chose to be inspired by it, as what I really wanted was a lamp just like that one, just not filled with seashells. (I have nothing against seashells - I just wanted to put something else in there, just what ? I've always been quirky like that.) Out of nowhere I had the idea....I got to thinking about all the cute little toy miniatures I had from my childhood that I kept in shoe boxes or whatnot, and I got to wondering if I should put them in some kind of display case so I could enjoy looking at them....and then I just got this genius idea out of nowhere....Jars are great to display stuff, and jars can make great lamps too, and then..well something about a stone and birds comes to mind!
The meson jar I used is also an old timer too, if you collect them and you see "Perfect Mason" on the front, that's the big giveaway, most new ones don't have that anymore. But it's a half gallon 64 oz jar big enough to hold all my cute little toys from way back when. Everything from Cabbage Patch Kids to Strawberry Shortcake and friends, found a way. Then came the bottle kit - I've always been scared to death of messing with electric wires, but this kit is not the least bit as scary as it sounds as long as you just read the directions and follow them.
Actually the most scary part is the step where you have to create a hole in the jar to thread the wires through....I was in luck as my boyfriend at the time was used to power tools and was able to do the much-intimidating job of drilling the hole without a disaster on my hands. Boom - I was in business! I must have obsessed about this lamp all through the summer of 2007, adjusting the toys, the shade, and that stuff.
I also run a craft blog (which I spend more time on that this one) and I discussed it in a post there too.but I went into more depth talking about putting it together and how readers could do the same. I guarded this baby like a well-kept secret, but felt like I ought to share this, when you reach adulthood and you realize you collect stuff like I do, there are ways you may not have considered to repurpose them and bring them to new life! Hope you enjoy!
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