What to do with wine bottles ...

While we're talking wine, let's go all the way. You have ideas on what to do with corks, but what about the bottles? Rewined uses them for beautiful containers for their candles. Husk uses them for water glasses (you can even buy similar glasses at World Market). 

Here are a couple fun things you can do with them:

And if you're feeling ambitious, try these wine bottle chandeliers:

Other ideas?

Guest Blog: Give Old Books a Second, Light Filled Life

My friend Emily and I made resolutions to be more crafty. We had a good run with T-shirt scarves, dabbled in wreath making and now, she's moved on to decoupage. And doing well - well enough to be featured in Charleston City Paper! So here's her craft and how-to. They turned out really lovely.

The Charleston Friends of the Library receive donations of used books, CDs, and DVDs at all 16 branches of the Charleston County Library system. We then use these items to sell at our book sales throughout the year and online at www.shopcharlestonlibraryfriends.org to fundraise for library programming. In some cases, the books receive are damaged with mold, missing covers, or are just simply not in sellable condition, so we have to recycle the leftovers.

I enjoy finding homes for these books that don’t meet our standards. One of my favorite crafts involves using book pages to make into candle-lit jars. They’re great for display on mantles, book shelves, and dining room tables.

Materials Needed

Glass jars (make sure they’re large enough for your candles)

Old book pages

Mod Podge (craft adhesive)

Paintbrush/sponge

Instructions

1. Rinse out the jars and remove the labels. I put my jars in a large bowl with warm water and let them soak for a couple of hours. Some scrubbing might be involved, but not much.

 2. Pick out the old book pages you’d like to use and then size them to fit your jar by tearing the pages. I left the edges jagged. 

 3. Place your jar on a flat surface. I used a paper plate to easily rotate the jar during the process. Coat the side of the book page you’d like to stick to the jar with a paintbrush or sponge using Mod Podge while placing it on the jar. Add an extra coat of Mod Podge on the outside of the book pages after you’ve glued them to the jar to make them extra durable.

 4. Let your jars dry for a few hours. I used a brown paper bag as my drying base.

 5. You can add extra design to the book pages if you’d like. I used a paintbrush to add some color to the existing text. 

6. Put the candles in the jar and display!

Really, really pretty - and not too hard. Or full of supplies you probably don't have. No excuses for not making these! I've done this with tissue paper in the past for holidays. The tissue paper with patterns on it works best - you can cut out tons of hearts or Christmas trees or Happy Birthdays and overlap them to make inexpensive and festive holiday decorations. Check out pretty paper here. 

Emily Everett is the Director of Charleston Friends of the Library, a great non-profit that funds over 4000 programs sponsored by the library. They also do the Big Book Sales - which are AWESOME. I cannot get enough paperback fiction (for $1!) and I rack up on children's books ($2-4) for my niece. You should definitely shop, donate and support! Memberships are only $20 - you can sign up here!

Lowcountry Artist Market - on Pinterest!

My favorite time killer has become especially handy lately.  Pinterest is a great way for me to keep all kinds of Lowcountry Artist Market vendor images in one place.  So start your March 3rd pre-shopping now!  Or check out their etsy pages and stock up at your leisure.

I also have a page for fun DIY ideas, plus party planning (with a DIY flair), ideas for children (includes craftiness) - check it out and start pinning yourselves!

Pallet

Most of you have probably recognized my obsession with Pinterest (and I image many of you are with me on this).  I've actually begun to feel a little more like I'm being productive on there recently - as I've added an Artist Market board, to make your pre-shopping/vendor stalking convenient.  

Anyway, one of my favorite "I could make that" images is seen below.  I love the things people can do with reclaimed wood - pallets specifically. 

And in traditional Pinterest hunting style, here are several more ways to use pallets creatively.  Click on the image for the source!

I love this one for the soft colors on such a rough surface - with that distressed look.
 

And it looks beautiful stained.

Add lovely things to a rustic pallet.  I've seen this with fine china as well - gorgeous effect.

Additional headboard option.

I've seen similar coffee tables with the wheels at Celadon and World Market - DIY for some serious savings.

Or use a stencil for interesting art. 

I've seen several of these just on the side of the road, waiting for pick up.  But if you can't wait to salvage one, you can always buy online.  I'd love to see your suggestions or uses for pallets.  Anyone successfully integrated them into your home? 

Felt

My rosette post ended up leading me on a tangent - felt.  So many ways to use this versatile and inexpensive material.  Soft enough to be perfect for kids and house wares, but can be dressed up enough for adults.  Here are some of my favorites, starting with a little Valentine's Day inspiration:

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For kids (I LOVE the shoes):

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Gifts for Adults:

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Fashion Accessories:

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Or you could skip the DIY route and purchase these fun photo booth favors directly from Red Bird Makes.

Or attempt this gorgeous flower pillow for your home:

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What are your favorite felt products?

Rosettes

One of my resolutions was to create more this year, so I've spent a bit of time looking for things I could make - things that don't require I purchase a vast amount of supplies or spend hours on them.  Starting small.  In my searching, I've noticed a trend - rosettes.  These things are everywhere and used in so many ways!  So here is my attempt at creating them.  

Basic directions:  Find a book you don't care about anymore - you're going to need the pages.  You'll need to cut the top off to make a square out of each page.  Then draw a spiral taking up the entire square.

Starting from the edge of the page, cut along the spiral you drew.

Again, starting from the edge of the paper, roll the pages toward the center.  How tight or loose is up to you.  Mine actually loosened up quite a bit as I was securing them with hot glue.  Which is the last step - just dab some hot glue on the circle left at the end, press your rosette down and voila!

Some are prettier than others.  But my plan is to eventually have enough to make the wreath below, so a individual not-so-pretty guys won't be noticed.

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It's going to be fairly time consuming.  But here are a few of the things I can do from here:

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Change up what you use - ribbon, fabric, paper, felt, etc - to create a variety of things.  Jewelry, decoration, gift wrap, centerpieces - so much!  You can also change the edges of the material for additional styles.

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I love these paper ones.  Would be perfect for a wedding - and could save you quite a bit.

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Feel free to post your own rosette inspirations!