Bathroom electrical nightmares

This bathroom was wired for one outlet, a fan and an overhead light. All switches and outlets were beige and very old. We are slowly replacing all of them in the house. Some aren't even wired correctly! But that's beside the point. The point is, I've been getting an education in wiring! 

The bathroom had no vanity light. What?!  Every bathroom needs one of those! I figured that since we had the wall partially open it shouldn't be too hard. Drill a hole and drop a wire where we want the light. Bring it over and tap it into the existing electrical. And... That's exactly how it works!  But it's not as simple as it seemed... Cry...

Here is the wall before.  Also, before I patched drywall. 

And here we are with my dropped wire. (Also, an electrical box usually gets put in too. However, there are a few missing those in this house too!)

This part was fairly simple. I thought I was on easy street...

Then this happened...

And I just realized I didn't get a shot of all the craziness in this box. But trust me!  It was crazy!  I'm not even sure how everything was working and not starting our house on fire!  (Also, you might notice that is not a GFCI outlet. In a bathroom where water is everywhere, this is a must).

At this point I let Spyman take over. He made a valiant effort, but after much wailing and gnashing of teeth, the new electrical box was in and it looked pretty... But nothing worked.  Sad!

So we took a day off and played. Then, after Spyman went to work, I watched a million YouTube videos about electrical work. Then I deconstructed the whole thing and reassembled it. 

Now the switches worked but not my outlet. Cry again! Also, the closet light didn't work either. I knew where I went wrong but I needed a break again... A week later I finally fixed it and everything works.  Slick as snot. ;)

And I have a vanity light!

We still need to move the box up a little, which is why it's not in the wall yet. But we get a little closer every day!

I'm not going to pretend to tell you how to do this since I'm not a professional, but it is pretty easy and makes sense once you figure it out. And a million YouTube videos will help you.

DIY Mercury Glass

I found the perfect pendant light for the bathroom!  It is a beautiful Mercury glass pendant. And I scored it for $29!

I also scored a sweet new vanity light for only $14.  But I had to buy the glass shades for it. I knew I wanted Mercury glass. So I went hunting. And I found them... Anywhere from $18-$79 apiece... And I needed two!  (This would totally negate the sweet deal I found) Then I remembered seeing DIY Mercury tutorials online. And found these sweet gems for $2.50 each. 

I thought... Let's give it a try!

Every tutorial called for vinegar and water. I had no vinegar but thought that maybe a little soapy water would do the trick, so I subbed for that. So here's what you need:

Glass shades

Tape

Spray bottle filled with soapy water

Krylon looking glass spray paint

First, I taped off the outside of my globes

Then turned them upside down and misted them lightly with the soapy water. I practiced on cardboard to make sure I got the most pattern right. Then I lightly sprayed the looking glass paint. 

I gotta say... This stuff is cool. I sprayed a couple of light coats and then misted the inside one more time with my soapy water and began waiting for it to dry. 

Tick tock...

And...

It totally worked!!!  I love it!  I think that the soapy water was a good choice. It provides resist and eats away a little at the paint on the back end. I'm so happy with the finished product!