Happy Independence Day America!
A few weeks ago I attended a birthday party for my niece at The Scrap Exchange in Durham. My kids had to drag me kicking and screaming out of there because I was in creative nirvana. There were all kinds of little gems of creativity. Bottlecaps, rolls of paper, extra tiles, scraps of fabric, stencils, etc. It was like being a kid in a candy store! One of the many things that caught my eye were these little glass vases. I brought a few of them to the register and the lady asked if I really only wanted three of them. Then she explained that they cost $1 each or $10 for the whole case!
So, I bought the whole case (it was a no brainer.)
But, what the heck would I do with 48 teeny glass bottles? I ended up using some to make these beauties.
They make adorable window ornaments and gifts. Can you imagine these hanging in the windows of a church during a wedding (coordinated to the wedding party colors of course)? Cute, right?!
They were super simple to make.
Materials:
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Instructions:
Cut a long length of wire (about 2′ long). Fold it in half and thread one bead onto the wire. Then thread the wire through both holes on a button.
Wrap the wire around the middle of the bottle. Twist the wire tightly around the back of the bottle.
Continue wrapping the rest of the wire around the bottle and tuck the ends underneath itself.
Cut another long length of wire for the top of the vase. Find the center of the wire and wrap it around the glass bottle one time. Twist the wire around itself once to secure it to the neck fo the bottle.
Continue wrapping the wire around a few times. Then loop the ends under itself and add a curl or bend to the wire to keep it from slipping back through.
Continue to crimp and curl the wire with the needle-nosed pliers.
Add a bead or two and curl the wire. Continue adding beads to your liking. Then loop the wires up and twist them together.
Cut off the excess from one of the wires.
Curl the remaining end into a curly-Q hook for hanging.
Find a special window and hang your vase with a thumb tack and fishing line. Fill the vase with water and some freshly cut flowers.
Enjoy your little beaded glass vase!
I hope you have a Happy 4th of July. I will be remembering those who have sacrificed their lives while protecting our country. And a very special thank you to all of our soldiers and their families who continue to serve in the military.
P.s. Anyone have any ideas what to do with 45 little glass bottles?
These are awesome! I have three of them I bought years ago and they are just perfect for any occasion. What a great price and great place to going shopping at. I am jealous you have such a great store in NC. We don’t have anything like that where I live. Bummer.
Happy 4th
Vanessa
Vanessa, thanks for your comment. I wonder if you can find something like this online or eBay?
Hi, Brittany
I checked on etsy, google, ebay and I did not see anything like this. What I loved about your design is you added beads, and buttons. The ones I have only have wire. I love how you jazzed your’s up. I think if you made these and sold them on etsy , ebay or Tophatter you will do well. Go for it! They are lovely!
Vanessa
Vanessa, email me offlist and I’ll ship you a few ;-).
I love those hanging vases!! They are so cute. Thanks for sharing. I have to pin these. : ) Another project I want to do.
Happy Fourth!!
Hi, I am so glad that I happened upon this idea on Pinterest. The bottles looked so familiar to me. . . because I bought a case at the Scrap Exchange in Durham, too! I just couldn’t resist either. Great idea! Thanks!
Heidi, get out! You mean they suckered someone else into purchasing them too?! Ha, I can’t wait to see what you make with them. See you next time? I’ll be the girl eyeing another case of bottles.
These are soooo cute! Great project.
Thanks Korrie.
Insanely cute! Perhaps an idea for the glass baby food jars I’ve been hoarding!
I love baby food jars. Okay, truth be told, I have a hard time throwing away any jars! I have a bottle obsession (uh, that didn’t come out right.)
These are fantastic! I love how the wire isn’t perfectly straight/curved, it’s a look you just can’t get in the shops and you can see instantly that they’re handmade!
Thanks!
I live in Durham too and just bought a flat of these, though when I purchased the individuals were $.50 each, not $1.00. There are 56 per case. I’m going to fill each one with soil from the states as we travel the country (there are enough for all of the states plus DC and the territories). I really like your idea of embellishing them though. Originally I was just going to do sticker labels. Now maybe I’ll do tags, tied on with wire! Thanks for the inspiration.
Charlotte, ha! You are probably right, I did a rough count of the # in the case. I love your idea for the bottles. Do you travel a lot? Send me a picture when you make yours.
love that store! you need to have a party. . those could be the place cards. . .put a flower in each one. . tie a tag with some string around the neck. . .write your guests name on the tag. . .everyone will know where they are to sit. . .plus have a super cute favor to take home. . .or you can give them to me and I will have a party 🙂
Super cute idea Su! But, you always have such great ideas.
Oh these are SO TEENSY and CUTE I could almost die. I totally see where you had to take home the whole case. You had no choice! It was just the right thing to do. 🙂
Ha, yup, they just HAD to come home with me. They were like little kids with the death grip around my ankles. No way to leave them behind.
Good morning. My name is Rochelle Walsh. I work for SNAP Bell Park. We have been around for over thirty years and we are not for profit. We have three locations SNAP Eastern Queens, SNAP Bell Park and SNAP Brookville. We look to our community for their generosity.
That is why I am writing to you today, your generosity. Here at SNAP Bell park we like to put center pieces on our tables. We would love it if you would be willing to give us some kind of donation. Your donation will help make our place look better.
If you are willing to help us then there are a few things that we can do for you. We will put you in our paper that thousands will see, we will have our members write to you in appreciation of your generosity, we will recommend you to everyone we know and we will have our boss and other sites do business with you in the future.
I hope this is something that we can work out. I look forward to hearing and working with you on this matter. You can reach me at [email protected]. We are open Monday-Friday from 8:30-4. We are located at 227-02a Hillside Ave Queens Village, NY 11427. Please find it in your heart to help us.
Rochelle, what kind of donation are you looking for? Money? Or some of the little bottles?
I wish we had a store like that close by. Now, I will have to obsessively Google tiny glass bottles!
Oh so pretty!
These are so pretty! I recently bought some little bottles when garage sale shopping with the intent on making them into hanging bottles. Your pretty bottles give me some ideas on how to make mine. Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful tutorial.
What a cute idea, luv it! I’m not able to find the lil’ jars, is there a site on-line that I could buy them?
Thnx!
La Vonne, if you search for aromatherapy jars online you should be able to find them. This company sells them in cases: http://www.containerandpackaging.com/catalog/glass-bottles/13/?c=Clear#0,0&0&0&Clear&0&0&0&13&0&0&list&0&0,0
These are so cute! Such a great idea!
These are so Pretty, Thank You for sharing. would you know of a craft site I could purchase these bottles from? Would love to make these for my Daughters Wedding Shower.
Try looking for wholesalers that sell apothecary jars. Try googling wholesale glass bottles and you’ll get oodles of hits. Like: http://www.specialtybottle.com/
I love your idea. I will put ivy or similar plant stems in and let them grow. Not very many blooms in a super hot Texas yard! I would love to find some little jars like these. Meanwhile I saw a site yesterday where a lady painted old spice jars with pastel glass paint, baked them, then strung on wires, different lengths to make an outdoor wind chime. Used beads n curls like you did. Filled with water and blooms for outdoor parties. Thanks for sharing. Carolyn
Silly me never thought to check bottle size. Just left craft store with some not so tiny. My plan is to make them using your idea for my “girls” as we do Christmas from the Heart. These can hang form the kitchen window or wherever they decide. All gifts are handmade not store bought. Love the idea!
What gauge wire did you use?