let there be light. fixtures.

We built our house in 2007. When I was 6 days postpartum with Iris we all went to Home Depot to pick out light fixtures. I was hobbling around in a fog of hormones and achy butt, pointing at things for Phil to load up into our cart. It was not fun. It was misery. And we have a house full of boob lights to show for it.

Looking back, I wish I had had more time to choose what fixtures we'd end up with. But mostly I wish Pinterest was around back then.

I recently fell head over heels for this light fixture from Pottery Barn Teen, which I thought would look fabulous in Ruby's room:


Image via Pottery Barn

At $128 it was a definite no-go. But never fear... I began a Pinterest adventure looking for a DIY version.

Eureka:


Image via Freshly Picked

Isn't that gorgeous?? It's made of wax paper! Genius.

Problem: While I really like the look of the white, the colors in the Pottery Barn chandelier were what caught my eye. And the lazy side of me thought it seemed a little labor intensive to use wax paper.

So... I used vellum. I'm not going to go through the whole process because Susan at Freshly Picked has a very thorough tutorial.

Instead, I'll show you a few pictures. Here's the thrifted lamp shade I got for $1.50 at the Ann Arbor PTO Thrift Shop, aka my new favorite joint.



Here's the shade once I had cut off the fabric. I then spray-painted it white.



Pretend that I was smart/awesome enough to take a bunch of pictures of myself circle-punching, sewing and draping. Insert those imaginary pictures here. (Oooooh. Aaaaaaah.)

I installed it above the existing boob light using 4 small screw-in hooks. The fixture has a CFL light bulb so it doesn't get hot. I kept the light on all day today while I was inside and checked it periodically. You know, just in case. It was fine. Barely warm even. (If you attempt this project you'll want to do the same thing since all light fixtures are different.)







Total cost breakdown for the project:
Lamp shade: $1.50
Vellum: $20 (I had to special order the colors I wanted which is why it was so expensive)
Circle punch: $10
Thread and paint: Free. I already had them on hand.
Hooks: Free. My dad bought them for me. =)
Total cost: $31.50

And just for fun, here are some of the other projects I've done in her room:





I have plans to DIY a different kind of chandelier for Iris's room. More on that later. I'm also on the lookout for an industrial style fixture for Ocean's room so if anyone has any ideas about that I'm all ears.

Here's a blurry/jumpy Miss Roo enjoying her new chandelier.



Working on something you saw on Pinterest? Get in on the Young House Love Pinterest Challenge!

it's too hot to blog.

I feel like I might die from heat-induced exasperation and annoyance.

Yes, yes. I'm a weenie-whiny baby. And I'm officially opening the floor for all of you to lovingly poke fun at my intolerance of this heat. I know some of you have it much, much worse, speaking in terms of temperature and humidity/misery-quotient. I've been to Atlanta and Dallas, and lived in North Carolina. So I know 90 degrees is nothing compared to what some of you must endure. But my midwestern blood is thick, baby, and I can't take it take it take no more.

So instead of having to use up precious energy blogging about how much I'm sweating, I thought it would be less disgusting to make a Suburban Matron inspired pie chart to indicate how I'm spending my time*.

*Just go ahead and assume simultaneous sweating is occurring with each activity.