Repurposing Dollar Tree Glassware!

This week, I made a few new items for my bedroom makeover!

After a quick trick to Dollar Tree for random glassware, and a not-quite-so-quick trip to Home Depot for spray paint, I spent the next few days painting, allowing dry time, and glueing.  So here is what I made:

Hurricane Lamps

Using two glass candle sticks, 2 glass vases, white gloss spray paint, and E6000 glue, I made these awesome decorative candle holders.

1. Clean your candle sticks with window cleaner.
2. spray paint  (carefully, in big even strokes, 12 inches or so from surface of the glass)
3. wait 24 hours and re-spray candle sticks
4. clean your vases
5. using E6000 glue (which is made for affixing glass), carefully put the two pieces together
6. allow to dry for at least 24 hours

Important facts: if you rush the "drying" process for painting or gluing, you may have peeling paint or broken glassware.







Food Serving Dish or Bedroom Catch-All

Using almost the same method described above, I took two $1 white ceramic dishes and glued them to the painted candlestick to create an awesome tray.  This could be used for serving food (be carefully with food touching spray painted candlestick), though I would definitely use a top coat of paint if going to wash in dishwasher, or as a catch-all for beside the bedroom door.  Keys? Wallet? Lose change?




So, grab glassware that you never use or head to the Dollar Tree.

String Pendant Light

So, as I browsed Pinterest last week, I saw this amazing string pendant light and decided that I had to make one! The idea was pinned from this website-- Made By Girl , but I also looked at a variety of other blogs and Pinterest posts with the same pendant light.  Here is what I did:



MATERIALS
1 old exercise ball (or a beach ball or balloons-- depending on the size you'd like)

white yarn (pick a smoother and less "fuzzy" yarn)

Fabric Stiffener (I made my own-- use equal parts white Elmer's Glue and white)

A light fixture (mine was left over from an old paper lantern-- Ikea also sells this kit)

A piece of painter's plastic or an old shower curtain to cover your workspace (don't use cloth, it sticks to the ball)

Medium sized cardboard box

Gloves (this gets messy!)

Scissors



DIRECTIONS

1.  Put the fabric stiffener in a large bowl.  Instead of spending a lot of money to buy the actual name-brand stiffener, I made my own.  Combine equal parts water and white Elmer's glue (for example, two cups of Elmer's glue and two cups of water).


2.  Wrap your ball in plastic wrap from the kitchen-- this will help with preventing sticking.

3. Slowly begin winding your string around the ball.  Be sure to tuck your string edges in as you wrap, as this will help with keeping it from unwinding as you work. You can uses large lengths of string, but I tried to not cut and restart (though admittedly a large knot or two prevented my success at this).

4. Wrap, wrap, wind, wind... clean up mess.

5. After you've finished wrapping the ball in string, sit it on the top of an opened cardboard box.  The less string you have touching the better.

6.  Allow to dry for 24 hours. This is important-- you must contain yourself and wait!

7. Be sure that your string is completely hardened.

8. Cut a small 2-3 inch in diameter hole in your string (this is where you will insert your lighting fixture).

9. Pop your ball/balloon (this is the most nerve-wracking part) and begin to cut your ball and extract the pieces. This is messy (as you can see in the picture)

10. After you've removed all of the plastic ball pieces, use a q-tip to carefully brush through any holes where the glue has caused webbing or closures.

11.  Install lighting kit according to directions (or rig it up as best you can like I did).


As you can see from the picture below, I used mine over my bed.  It looks fantastic and has held its shape for a week now. You can also see, in the first picture above, that it casts a very cool pattern on the curtains and ceiling when lit.

Another great idea for these lights is to make a variety of sizes and to hang them as one installation (even unlit).

Wine Cork Board

I made my first wine cork board when I was in college. Recently, I decided to make two more as gifts. These are super easy to make and can be customized for almost any design aesthetic.  Try a shabby chic frame, a sleek black modern frame, or even a woodsy frame.   

Sleek and modern black frames

TOOLS

Hot glue gun and glue sticks (you can also use Alene's craft glue)

MATERIALS

wine corks

frame

Ideas for materials:  (1)  wine corks can be purchased on eBay and other sites for cheap if you are wanting to make this activity and haven't saved your corks (2) repurpose an old picture frame or visit a thrift store

Directions

1.  Remove the backing and glass from your picture frame. You will not need either of these.

2. Cut cardboard (an old gift box, a shipping box, or any other thick cardboard) to fit the back of your frame (don't cut it to fit inside the frame or you will not have enough room for the corks to fit inside the actual frame itself. Instead, cut the cardboard to be the size of the back of the frame.

Rough wood frame

3. Hot glue your cardboard to the back of the frame.

4. Spend a few minutes arranging your corks into the desired pattern. I love the two vertical beside two horizontal style, but because of the odd size of most picture frames, you will need to mix it up a bit.  This is an important step and will save you time and hassle during the glue phase. Some cork sizes vary; I lay out my corks by size and then work them into the frame like a puzzle.

5. Once you've organized your corks into the pattern you want, start gluing each one into the frame (to the cardboard backing).

That's it.  Easy to do!