Thrift Store Refashion: A Fish Bowl Vase Update

Ah, the thrift store!  An upcyclers dream come true, junk piled upon junk.  One such piece of "junk" is a very common find....the fish bowl flower vase.  You know... the "throw away" type that florists send bouquets out in every day.  I made one over with a little bit of sisal rope, which coincidentally was also an upcycled find.  Check it out:

It's a pretty easy project to complete and requires only a bit of sisal rope, hot glue, paint and a button.  But just in case you're interested in seeing it done here's the video tutorial.

Here's another option, using a large soup can:

Happy upcycling!

DIY Valentine Earrings: From Paper Beads and Soda Cans

And we jump straight from Christmas and New Year's to....Valentine's Day!  I'm actually not a fan of Valentine's Day, at least not the over commercialized Valentine's Day that we've all come to know and love.  Receiving highly over priced roses that will be dead in a week's time or waiting in line for two hours to get a table at your favorite restaurant are not all that romantic to me!! I'd much rather enjoy the company of loved one's while making dinner together and sharing handmade gifts from the heart.  To me, that says love! But I digress...

Today, I want to show you how I made these.

I did a video tutorial for this one so hop over to YouTube to get the step-by-step instructions.  You might find the following videos helpful, too, when making this pair of earrings:

How to cut an aluminum can

How to make a paper bead

Have fun with them!

How to Make Paper Bead Christmas Tree Earrings

Well hello there!  I thought I'd stop by my severely neglected blog today to share a little upcycled DIY project perfect for the holiday season.  If you make a habit of stalking my Etsy shop (and I hope you do), you may have seen these cute little country Christmas tree earrings:

If you're the DIY-type I'm going to show you how to make them yourself...right here in this YouTube video tutorial.  Of course, you still have some time to order them from my shop so stop by soon and pick up a pair or two.

How to Make a Wine Bottle Hummingbird Feeder

This time of year you can typically find my Etsy shop shelves stocked with a variety of upcycled bird feeders.  And this year I've added a line of Booze Bottle Bird Feeders made from bottles that a local restaurant would have otherwise thrown in the trash.  Recycling isn't as widely accepted where I live as it is in major cities across the country.  Here, waste management services typically charge restaurants (and even some residents) an additional fee for recycling so it's more cost effective just to toss everything in the garbage.  I know, sad, but true.

I thought I'd show you how to make one of my simpler bird feeder styles.  It's a hummingbird feeder made from a wine bottle and I've put together a video tutorial for it.

I go over the tools you'll need to make this bird feeder in the video, but the one thing that you'll likely have a hard time finding are the stoppers with the built in tube feeder.  I can't tell you how many people ask me if I sell just the stoppers when I'm out at Farmer's Markets and other festivals.  So, here are the one's I use:



I hope you'll enjoy making these and share the project with your bird loving friends!

Linking up to Catch As Catch Can on My Repurposed Life

It's Another DIY Project from Spoon Handles

I'm loving making earrings from spoon and fork handles and you'll find  lots of them in my Etsy shop.  But, if you're the crafty type and want to give it a try for yourself you can see how I make mine in this video tutorial.

Just a word of caution, you will need to use your Dremel on this one and there will likely be a few sparks.  But don't let that stop you, you'll be just fine if you use the proper safety precautions.  And if you're still not so sure about tackling this one on your own, look what you can find in my shop:

So, are you going to give it a go?


Linking up to:

Your Great Idea Linky Party on Or So She Says

My First Birdhouse...From a Tea Pot

Have you seen those adorable little tea kettle bird houses/nest boxes floating around Pinterest?  I LOVE them and have been seriously watching the thrift stores for months for the perfect tea pot.  I finally found it last weekend and made myself this little beauty:

It really was SO simple to make this project.  I just used my favorite outdoor glue, 100% Silicone, to adhere the kettle to a piece of embellished scrap wood (pallet wood in this case), added two hooks and hung it.  Yeah, that's it!  If you want to see exactly how I did it.  Here's the video for it:

Now all we need is a nest!


Linking up here

Sunday: The Creative HomeAcre Blog Hop, Nifty Thrifty Things:  Nifty Thrify Sunday
Monday:  Skip to My Lou:  Made by You Monday, DIY Showoff:  That DIY Party, Love 2 Upcycle:  Upcycled Linky Party, I Should Be Mopping the Floor: Inspiration Monday
Thursday: Katherine's Korner:  Thursday Favorite Things

A $4.25 Goodwill Table...Proudly Displayed by My Bedside

I'm super excited about this project...mostly because I made it for me and in only two days.  Look at this beauty:

This is what I paid $4.25 for at Goodwill's 50% off Independence Day sale (in other words, the BEFORE):

The piece itself had very little wrong with it other than the fact that it was severely outdated!  Structurally, it had great bones and only needed a few small nails replaced to keep the back attached.  To make it mine, I grabbed some yellow paint that I had picked up from the "oops table" and added a plaster of paris and water mixture that would give it same texture as chalk paint (chalk, not chalkboard).

Then a bit of sanding all over to smooth out the paint and distress the nightstand, a coat of wax and a "new" handle (really it's an old handle that I picked up at Habitat for Humanity, and is more my style).

 
And, I could't forget the kitties!  So, I whipped up a pillow that would fit the space puuuurrrfectly!  I couldn't resist and I make no apologies for being so corny!

The finishing touches include a hugely over-sized bunch of garden fresh daisies in a gorgeous thrifted pitcher, some of my favorite books and a homemade soy candle embellished with a piece of broken jewelry.

Now if that's not thrifted, I don't know what is.  Have you refinished a thrift store find lately?



Linking up here:

The Creative HomeAcre Blog Hop
Start at Home:  Paint Party!!
Katherine's Korner:  Thursday Favorite Things