02 July 2010

Vintage Postcard Bottle Vases

My hubby is totally addicted to Snapple juices. He has an "in" at Walgreens and buys them by the case. I found a bunch of bottles hidden all over the house as I was straightening up the other day and just stuck a pencil into one and later on thought, "Hey, what if I put a flower in here?" So I put a fake dollar store job in and then, even later on I thought, "What if I do a bunch?" and then even later, "How can I make it a holiday-seasonal thing?" And then I passed out from exhaustion because it was about 2:00 in the morning. (Dumb steroids!) But the very next day, I got started! I found some vintage postcard images here. You could also find some at The Graphics Fairy (love her) or at this lovely site I only just discovered called, Free Pretty Things for You! I LOVE vintage images. They make me feel warm and nostalgic and sappy... well, except for the weird, psycho ones... but the good ones are soooooo good. I sized and printed them on cardstock; then cut them out.You can prepare the bottles by removing the label and thoroughly washing and drying them. Then, remove the date stamps with some nail-polish remover. I didn't bother to get the sticky stuff off the side because I was adhering the label anyway... might as well use it.
Proceed to the gluing stage by lightly rolling the postcard so it has a slight curve- the same as the bottle. Then glue and position it right over the already sticky part. Secure with rubber bands until dry.For the neck, I used thin strips of fabric but twine or ribbon would look equally cute. I used some gold shank buttons to bind the fabric and fastened it around the bottle. You could also just tie a knot.That was just about it. I made a bunch more, added the cheap-o flowers and voila! New 4th of July decorations for the house.
Here is what they look like in the house on top of the family room bookcases. I love them... cheap and easy, just the way I like it!

15 comments:

  1. Bethany,
    thank you for finding me!
    you have such a creative blog, i cant wait to go through all your post!
    thank you for the super sweet comment!
    XOXO!!
    your newest follower,
    Keren

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for visiting and your kind comments on the pebble mat. I hope you do try one! These bottles are terrific...I am a hopeless collectors of bottles, now I know what I can do with some of them!

    ReplyDelete
  3. They are fabulous. And I love cheap and easy crafts too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow! Those are so cute! I love using throw-aways for crafts and giving garbage a new life, what a great idea! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Those are adorable - I love them on the fence!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. These are really cute! (and gerber daisys are always a happy thing!!) Love them...

    ReplyDelete
  7. Bethany, obrigada pelos elogios no meu bloguito!
    Amei o seu, prá começar já vi várias coisas que gosto.

    De cara, reciclagem, feltros e mandalas. Sua modelo e muito linda, rsrsrsrs.
    volte quando quiser, viu!

    Já estou te seguindo para voltar depois...
    Bjs: Tia Ném. BRASIL

    ReplyDelete
  8. Very cute idea...I actually showcased it today on my blog. Please check it out:-)
    insidebrucrewlife.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. oh! these are LOVELY!

    ReplyDelete
  10. These are great! And thanks for the vintage card link. I'll have to save this for next year.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks everyone. I was seriously so sick of seeing these bottles around the house, it was nice to be able to change my feelings about them (ha ha). E Obrigadissima Tia Nem! Volto logo! Tchau!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love how you brought your hubby into your project!I had never heard of Free Pretty Things for You - thanks for sharing this great site! I'm now following you and can't want to see what else you're up to...

    ReplyDelete
  13. Pretty, practical, and full of some great tips. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Super cute!! I love the cards you used!

    ReplyDelete
  15. These are DARLING!! And so perfect 1)because i could NOT remember the name of Graphics Fairy and have been searching 2)I've become obsessed with decorating bottles and 3)I pick a holiday every year to work on and this year is 4th of July. Thanks a TON!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts with Thumbnails