Mason Jar Lighting

 

A quick troll through Pinterest while searching for Mason Jar lighting will bring back a lot of pretty pictures but many of the links are dead and those that do lead somewhere often are rather sketchy about what they did to make their lighting happen.  Or worse yet use some dangerous short cuts and dubious cutting technique to make things work. 

First rule of DIY when you are talking Electricity- KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING.

I did not have my heart set on a mason jar fixture when I started on the hunt for new lighting for my crafting studio. I wanted just about anything that was not the totally fugly florescent fixture that was in this space back from about 1980.

 I first hunted at my local Re-Store but holy crap.. $80-$100 for an UGLY brass fixture?? hello I could buy new for that price.  So while trolling around Lowes with nothing really striking my fancy I took a spin back to the area in my Lowes where they dump the returns and discontinued items as well as sesonal markdowns. 

This is a hit and miss section at best.. but on this day it was a hit.  I found this  3-light Round Mini Pendant fixture..   

 It is normally $50 but had been returned and  they said it had missing parts so it was marked to $20.  I opened it up.. laid it all out and could not find anything missing ( pays to know what you are looking for!) - SOLD

Now this fixture was made so that you can then add any of their blown glass shades at between $10 and $30 each and some were quite nice but not what I was going for.. that is when I flashed back on Mason Jar lighting. 3 large Mason Jars  later I was ready to get to work!

Making the connection between the jar and the fixture is the most baffling part for most people but with a bit of crafty know how it was not hard at all.

You will need the jars you want to use ( with tops and rings) and a metal punch. Mine is the We R Memory Keepers - Crop-A-Dile II Big Bite  I would never craft without this thing.. hands down one of my top 5 tools.

This is where you will be making the connection to hook the jar to the fixture.  Unscrew this white nut, you will be using it to mark the hole you need to make on the top of your jar.

Using a Sharpie mark the INSIDE of the ring..you don't want this too big! 

Now punch around the ring.. skipping spots as you go around.. aim to be making your hole a bit but not a lot bigger.  After the first round of punches then do it again cutting the center part free. By doing it this way you will not distort the top of the lid!!

 Now you have an opening that looks like a very strong mouse has nibbled it away.. it will be sharp.. so be careful!  While punching, add smaller holes around the  edge to release heat from the  jar. 

Slip the  mason jar RING onto the fixture then the top with the hole punched in it and secure with the white nut you used to draw the circle. You can see here that the holes are to the outside so they will allow heat exchange.

Check things out by slipping the ring down and screwing it on the jar.. perfect!  ( do not hang it with the jar attached.. re-attach the  bulbs and jars after you mount the  ceiling  pendant part of the fixture. )

Possibly the easiest project I have done in a while.. and it casts happy sparkling light around the room and I love that!

Are you thinking about a Mason Jar lighting project??  If so remember to Pin this so you will know here to find it when you are ready!