Crafty Bottles

[Alternate post title: An excuse to drink more!]

So we've had an empty Disaronno bottle on our kitchen counter for the past few weeks. I didn't want to throw it out, although I'm not sure why. After my last bottle project from Christmas, I just knew there was probably some potential.

Yum.

I turned to (what else?) my Pinterest boards for inspiration and found these in particular:

wine bottles

yarn-wrapped beer bottles

With these ideas in mind, I headed to Joann's and bought a roll of jute for $2.49. After soaking the bottle in hot water to get the label off, I settled in with my glue gun and began wrapping... and wrapping. I just glued at the corners every few rows or so, to keep it all in place.

About a half hour later, I ended up with this:

It seemed a little lonely by itself though, so I stole another random bottle/vase from a different room in the house and gave it a jute makeover too. I'm kinda diggin' them.

And I've still got plenty of jute to spare! Not bad for $2.49. So, what crafty things have you done with empty bottles?



Linking up to:

Weeekend Bloggy Reading @ Serenity Now

Lovely Crafty Weekend @ Lovely Crafty Home

http://www.ourdiydiaries.com/2012/01/fab-not-drab-party-and-features-fridays.html

Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop @ Homemaker on a Dime

Be Inspired @ Elizabeth & Co.

The Brassy & The Beautiful: Part 1

Sometimes you just have to ask yourself, Why the hell did it take me so long to do this??

Even though I gave our guest bathroom a makeover over a year ago and added an oil-rubbed bronze T.P holder and towel bar, I neglected to change out the cheap-o hardware on the vanity. So this weekend, I finally decided the time had come to say goodbye to the brass...

...and hello to these oil-rubbed bronze beauties!

4 pulls from Menard's: $15.28
Never having to look at cheap, brassy drawer pulls again: Priceless.

Now we just need to change out that silver faucet to match.... someday....

But back to the present and more realistic goals. Hopefully soon I'll be sharing Part 2: the master bathroom vanity makeover!

What are some small, easy changes you've made in your house that have made a BIG difference?

The Potential of Pallets

A few months ago, I stumbled upon a blog post that described how to make a free-standing shelf unit out of wood pallets. The 6 pallets were cut in half and stacked on top of each other, creating three large shelf openings. In this particular post, she put wicker baskets on the shelves. The reason I’m describing the project instead of just showing it is that I can’t find that blog anymore, and I must not have bookmarked it (or pinned it, since I wasn't on Pinterest at that time). So if this project sounds familiar to anyone, let me know where you’ve seen it!

The point I’m getting at is that this made me realize the potential of upcycling pallets to use as furniture or home decor, which I’d never really thought of before. Kind of an "industrial chic" look, or something to that effect. So ever since then, I’ve been slightly obsessed with the idea. Of course, Pinterest has only helped to fuel my obsession. Here are a few of my favorite repurposed pallet projects I’ve come across:

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Since I’m running out of room for any type of large furniture on the main floor of our house, I’m thinking that a pallet project could be in my future once our basement is finished. Now the question is… where’s a good place to snag some decent used pallets (for free of course)?

If you like these types of projects, check out my boards on Pinterest. And if you're a fellow pinner, let me know so I can follow you!