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Looking back, it must have been somewhere in my early 40’s when I got lazy about doing things myself.  As an excuse I’d like to suggest I was probably in the throes of motherhood, PTA, avid volunteering and taking care of business around the homestead for hubby and kids.

Here is the sconce before paint.

In any event if a piece of furniture needed to be refinished, a room needed to be painted, pillows needed to be made, etc. I would call up any one of my friends that had similar interests and activities and ask them for a reference for a person that could do the job for me.  I’d get a bid and then present the quote to my hubby—we’d discuss the issue and decide if we could afford to have the job done.

I was able to buy this pair of sconces for only $37 including shipping on eBay.

Not too many years ago I discovered the amazing world of blogging.  There are so many talented people out there who can do almost anything AND they are happy to share the ‘how to’ with you.  Some even give a picture-by-picture tutorial of how to do whatever it is they’ve done.

The samples at left were the inspiration for wanting a pair of wall sconces.  Cost was a factor, the middle and right picture are Restoration Hardware and retail for $149-$159 each.

So, I’ve been inspired to try a DIY of my own.  I happened to be on eBay and bid on a pair of old, brass (the seller thought) wall sconces.  I bid the minimum bid, convinced I’d be outbid by days end.  I actually won the auction and with shipping the pair cost me $37.  When I opened the box I was delighted with the style but knew I’d need to paint them since there were paint spatters on the brass.  There are so many household projects that can be tackled by even a novice (moi).  With a computer you can find detailed instructions on almost any DIY project, I encourage you to give it a try.  It’s very fun!

This is a 'before' and 'after' of a closet conversion. Creative and pretty.

The Lettered Cottage, Mustard Seed Creations and Our Suburban Cottage have all given informative instructions on how to paint various items.  I figured the worst case scenario would be that the sconces would be terrible and I’d have to sell them on eBay!

Stay tuned, my next post will provide the how-to and finished wall sconces…