Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Upcycled Vases

ETA: I took the liberty to run out to the craft store for a few flowers today. I had to share! Thanks for all the sweet comments. Yes, it IS that easy!!

I found this craft idea at Apartment Therapy, via Pinterest. I can tell you--it stuck with me. It was cute, used materials I already had, and was easy enough for anyone to do.

Here is what I started with:
I used clean glass containers of different shapes and sizes, and used what I had. Since I knew these could no longer be used as vases with water inside, I chose the bottles carefully...

Next, I poured one of my two colors into the inside of a vase, and swirled it around until the entire inside was covered.



I poured out any remaining paint from the inside. Then I wiped the lip of the container with a wet cloth, and let it dry overnight, so the paint would set.


When I woke up this morning, these gems greeted me with a big hello...



I later found a darker version of that pretty blue and added one of those, too. I love it!



I'm especially fond of the fact that the outside is so shiny. So pretty to look at!



My daughter came home from school and jumped in on the action. I love what she did with hers! Tomorrow she's going to arrange fake gerbera daisies in them and put them in her room. I'll be sure to post a pic. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree with that one! Aren't they the cutest?




I hope something inspires you today as well!







40 comments:

Sherry said...

Oh.my.word. First of all, I'm repinning and second of all I know what I'm doing this weekend. =) I love it!!

MichelleB said...

That was one of my favorite things I got from Pinterest too! Love how yours came out! Can't wait to try this myself!

Debbi Tehrani said...

OMGoodness! How cute and how clever! I may have to try this.

kristine said...

Great project! Jillian would love to do this one, and inexpensive too. Thanks for the ideas Trish!

Randa said...

That's such a great idea! And it looks so cool!

justem said...

so so cool!!!
thanks for sharing!

Andrea said...

I L.O.V.E. these bottles - what a cool and inexpensive project! Guess I'm going to have to take a look @ pinterest...

Ryzmomplus2 said...

oh we are so doing this! so cute!

curlyqmosaics said...

What a fabulous idea! I am a huge fan of aquas...will definitely give it a try!

Jewel said...

I L.O.V.E this. They turned out super cute. The colors you picked are just perfect. Ok, I am going to have to check out pinterest too.

Emily said...

I love this idea because I like to collect glass vases everytime I go to the thrift store. I have tons of them sitting around and now I can add some color to them to make them stand out. thanks!

borcherding said...

For real? It's that EASY?? I know what I'm doing this weekend!! SUPER COOL!!

Maryann said...

love.love.love this!!! I can't wait to try. Thanks!!!

Damaris said...

What a wonderful idea. So doing this with daughter. LOve all the lovely colors.
Hugs,
Me

XXOO AMY said...

perfect! what are the names of the blues? I can never find the exact right shade of robins egg blue!

TamiV said...

THese are adorable, and such an easy idea. Question though...doesn't the paint get goopy again when you put water in the vase?

Anonymous said...

Wanna know how to make these so you can put real flowers in them?

I did this with jars that had large mouths. When I want real flowers, I just stick a paper cup with water inside the jar and put the flowers in that.

Yours are very pretty!

jamie said...

how did i miss these?
a.d.o.r.a.b.l.e.
~j

Anonymous said...

I love this idea! And it looks so easy!

jess said...

How is it that this works so well for other people? I've tried it and I always have trouble with the paint not sticking. :(

Jenny @ Simcoe Street said...

love this!!!

Jenny
www.simcoestreet.blogspot.com

Lexy said...

Love your original thought and process posted.
Question - as a beginner, what kind of paint did you use? Did you add white to the turquoise to make the lighter turquoise? so clever. Thanks.

Unknown said...

Love your vases! I made some too and linked back to you on my blog. Just wanted you to know! http://titus2workinprogress.blogspot.com/2011/10/painted-bottles.html

Marie B. said...

I'm in LOVE with this project! I just made five of these in about a half an hour! And they are fabulous! So, so easy too! For first time glass painters, don't forget to do the swirling part. Actually, I put a piece of paper over the opening and shook vigorously and that seemed to help spread the paint out.

Carrie @ My Favorite Finds said...

I am thinking of making something like this over the weekend. I read another comment on a different blog, saying they used FolkArt paint, and it didn't stick, and it cracked. The tutorial showed using PermaEnamel. Is that necessary? Or does the acrylic paint work just fine?

Ashley P said...

I've done this...the problem I had was that acrylic paint I use is too thick. Did you thin it at all? I ended up using enamel paint and brushing it on then had to bake it in the oven. I also tried the air-dry enamel paint and it didn't work nearly as well, dried very streaky.

Lauren said...

What kind of paint did you use?! I tried but regular acrylic was too thick to swirl and coat.

Trish said...

I used Folk Art paint without any problems. Is the paint you're using older perhaps? Not sure. Sorry you had problems!

Unknown said...

These are all so cute! I really like the colors.

Annie said...

I love these!!

Sorry, maybe this is naive, but why can't the vases be used with real flowers after?? Will they die too quickly because of the chemicals? Or does the paint wear away from the water?

Thanks! :)

Unknown said...

Beautiful and what a good idea, never thought of doing it like this, thank you thank you for the tip!

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This post is definitely a keeper and should be a smash among serious bloggers! Thank you for taking to time to images all this stuff and for giving your opinion on them and why you believe they work.wholesale vase store

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