Repurposed : DIY Light

I'm teaming up with an amazing group of ladies for a new blog series called "Repurpose, Recycle, Reuse". Our goal is to get ourselves thinking creatively on how to use things we already own and make them better or more to our style. I'm super excited about doing this and am happy to show you what I have come up with for February's challenge.

I'm a huge sucker for those 70% off signs and especially if those signs happen at Target. I have a really hard time saying no to something if it's under $5. I mean, it probably was $15 or more, so $4 is really nothing, right? Well, sometimes that works out and sometimes not so much. Take this candlestick holder for instance:

Cute, right? That's what I thought so I bought it back in November. I soon realized (like a month or so later) that it fits the taper style candles and I just don't see myself having those around the house at this time. I can totally see them being taken out of the candleholder and used as a sword or something like that (mom of a boy problems). So, I bought the candleholder for $4 and it just sat there. Three months later, I finally found a great use for it and I'm so happy I did.

I made it in to a light.

Not only is it pretty, but it's also functional for our lifestyle. I'm not sure the moral of the story is to keep buying $4 decor items, but this time it worked out. So, I'm happy.

I know you probably don't have this exact decor item to make a light out of, but this tutorial could be used on many different items. I was thinking I might try to make a light out of glass vase and also a block of wood. Both would be fun alternatives to this.

So, you need to gather your supplies. *I bought my cord, switch and socket separate (so that they would fit in the candle base), but it would be much simpler to buy them as one unit. These run about $6.

Next, Luke drilled a hole, large enough to accommodate the wires, in to the candle base.

Insert the wires up the bottom of the decor item into the holder. For this part, we had a space constraint so we took off the bottom metal piece from the socket. If you didn't have space issues, then you would just leave this on (see below, right).

Check to make sure your socket fits securely and make sure the wires and screws are insulated from the decor item.

Take the cardboard piece off of the socket and color it gold. This really helped make the socket piece less noticeable.

Put a lightbulb in and turn it on.

This came in at around $10. I love how unexpected it is. It totally fits us and our house and I really couldn't be happier. I'm on a mission to turn other things in to lights, so be watching.

Be sure to check out all the amazing things that the other ladies have come up with.