{More than a} Message in a Bottle

I love containers. If they’re old, I love them even more. Suitcases, boxes, crates, jars, bowls. If it’s pretty, that’s one thing. But if you can use it, well then, I’m in love.

I have these bottles that I have been collecting. Starbucks frappuccino bottles, the kind that you can get from the grocery store. To me, they are totally reminiscent of old fashioned milk bottles. Our daughter loves drinking milk out of them. (She has an antiquarian’s heart.)



Come to find out, we aren’t the only ones that love them. Lots of you do! It is crazy to see how many different ways these bottles can be repurposed. I love that. Grass roots recycling, at its best.

Regardless of how you are going to repurpose them, you’ll need to get them cleaned up first. The labels are simply a sticker. So, I usually peel the stickers off, run the bottles through the dishwasher, and then remove the gummy residue left over. I like to use  Goo Gone to get the goop off. I have found that it really works better than anything else out there.

                                        
Once you have your bottles cleaned up, the possibilities are endless. Below I have put together just a few of the ideas that I have found on Pinterest. Follow Me on Pinterest


1. A soap dispenser by Domesticated Nomad.
2. Bowling party milk bottles by Hostess {with the mostess}
3. Sweet tea bottles by A Nest for All Seasons
4. Milk Men by Bakerella
5. Halloween treat jars by A Step in the Journey
6. Candy Apple Teacher Gifts by Giggles Galore
7. Milk Bottle and Bakers Twine by Whisker Graphics
8. Reindeer Food by Sweet Cheeks Tasty Treats
9. Homemade Gift with frappuccino bottles by Tip Junkie
10. Vases by Goodknits
11. Lux lamp by Alternative Consumer
If you have other ways that you have repurposed Starbucks frapp bottles, I’d love to see them. Please share!
Now, if I can just figure out what I want to do next with them…
XOXO,
Abby

Abby Smolarsky2 Comments

Either Oar {Beach House, Lake House}

A few weeks ago, Ken and I headed out on a Friday to see if we could pick up some antique and vintage items. We must’ve stopped at 6 garage sales, in addition to our regular spots where we usually find stuff. It was just one of those days where there is just not anything good. It was about time for him to head to work and me to go pick up the kids from school, and we were exhausted. On our way home we stopped at one last garage sale, and I’m so glad we did. We picked up a vintage coke crate in excellent condition, filled with vintage coke bottles, a beautiful, old rustic box, and two wooden oars. The oars weren’t old, but ever since I saw this picture on Pinterest, my brain had been coming up with tons of ideas.

Oar Rack from A Beach Cottage
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Since we found two oars, I decided to show you two different ways that they could turn out, depending on your preference.
First step, sand off the finish. On one of the oars, I sanded less in certain spots.
The oar on the left has been sanded. The one on the right has not.
I just love the character from this split in the wood. We’re all a little cracked up, aren’t we? 🙂
After the oars were sanded, it was time to re-stain them. Why would I sand off the finish and them refinish them? Because I want them to look old and rustic! 
The oar that I sanded less gets the DIY vinegar stain that I showed you how to make on the crates.
One day I will think ahead and wear gloves. 

On the other oar, I made a glaze using Benjamin Moore Studio Finishes clear latex glaze mixed with Benjamin Moore Hawthorne Yellow. I used a wet paper towel to wipe some of the glaze off while it was still wet.
After the oar with the glaze on it dried, I added a stain to it. I used Varathane stain in “sunbleached.” My goal was to get a weathered look. But you could use any color you wanted, depending on the finished look that you were going for.

Finally, both oars got robe hooks and hanging hardware.
Here is the finished product! I like to call them “Beach House” and “Lake House”. 
“Beach House”

“Lake House”

 Both of the kids said that they like the “Lake House” oar better. Ken likes the “Beach House” one. I can’t decide which one that I like. What do you like? Leave me a comment and let me know. If you like either one, will you please “pin” it to Pinterest?
XOXO,
Abby

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Insu-Laters, Baby

Hi there! Did you miss me? Sorry I’m posting later today, but I’ve had you on my mind. I couldn’t wait to show y’all what you can do with these great glass insulators. These are as utilitarian as they come. Glass insulators were used for years on telephone poles to keep the wire connections dry from the outdoor elements. Water conducts electricity, and that’s not good!

Glass insulators come in all kinds of colors. Different colors do not have any meaning or purpose. They simply made insulators at the end of the day with whatever glass color they had been using earlier in the day. I love that! Something so utilitarian, that it wasn’t even given a dedicated color, has now become something that people seek out to find and save.

You might also find ceramic ones. I prefer the glass, but that’s just me. If you like the ceramic ones, then love them for all you’re worth. Unfortunately, the ceramic ones won’t be much use for what I’m showing you today, though.

So today your supplies are: glass insulators and electric flicker tea light candles.

Glass Insulators

 Y’all, glass insulators as a whole are not rare. Certain colors are hard to find. However, if you aren’t looking for a specific color, you should be able to find these very easily anywhere vintage and antique items are sold.

Battery Operated Tea Light Candles

I found my tea light candles at Sam’s Club. They have a great set around Christmas time for a very good price, and it even includes extra batteries. But you can get yours anywhere. CVS, Walmart, Publix. Any.where. I saw a set of 3 at Walmart today for 99 cents.

Okay, now here’s the hard ridiculously easy part. Turn on the light and put it under the insulator. That’s it. You’re done. You don’t have to have any special talent for this project. Anyone can do it.

Instant Ambiance


I love using these outside on a patio table. The flickering lights make everything sparkle. They’re also great on a fireplace mantle. You don’t have to worry about having to blow the candle out.


Here’s another idea that is just as simple and easy to pull off:


The insulators fit perfectly into the openings of a vintage Coca-Cola crate. Instant vases for flowers from your yard!

What I love about both of these projects is that neither is permanent. You can use them for candlelight one day, and then for vases the next.


Be sure to come back tomorrow. I’ll be giving a sneak peak of what I’ll be selling at the fair on Saturday. (Tiny Hint: I will have these insulators with candles available there.) Let me know what you think of the insulators.
XOXO,
Abby

Abby Smolarsky3 Comments

All that and a bigger paint chip!

It’s so hard to decide on a paint color from a tiny paint chip that you get in the store. Sure, a lot of them look great in a 1 x 2″ rectangle, but how is it going to look on an entire wall? Or 4 walls? “Peanut Butter Cookie” may end up looking more like “Butternut Barf” when you get 4 walls completely painted.

One option is to buy samples of each of the colors that you are considering. But, if you are considering several colors, this is going to get expensive and you’re going to wind up with several containers of paint that you don’t need.

If you’re working with a professional painter or a designer, they should be able to order you a larger paint chip in sizes that start like that of an index card and on up. But most of us are picking paint colors on our own, and even doing the actual painting on our own.I have a cheap and easy way for you to get a larger paint sample.

First you’ll need some supplies: a separate piece of white card stock for each color you are considering, enough paint chips from the store to fill up one piece of card stock, tape, and something to cut with if your paint chip is on a strip with other colors.


Why white card stock? There are a few reasons. First, you need something sturdier than regular paper if you want to be able to prop your new, larger paint chip onto something. Second, you don’t want to have the existing color affect your opinion of the sample color when you hold it up to the wall. Most trim is painted white or off white. When you leave a white “trim” border around the edge, and then hold it up to the wall, the existing color doesn’t compete as much. Lastly, you want to be able to move your new paint chip around. It will look different on each wall because of sunlight direction. It will look different in corners and at night. Mounting your paint chips on a piece of card stock will allow you to view your color in different areas of the room.

After you get all of your materials together, start to put them together on the card stock. You can use regular gift wrap tape or double stick tape. I used both. It doesn’t really matter. This is simply a tool to make for  yourself to make your life easier. Don’t fret over the details.

These bigger paint samples are from Sherwin Williams. They already came as a single color. But if you have several colors on the strip, cut out the color you are considering and tape them by themselves onto a piece of card stock.

Here is how three different paint chips turned out:

It’s going to be much easier to decide what color you like best when you can see more of it. And you’ll find that this is much easier and cheaper than buying samples of paint. It took me about 2 minutes to do all three samples.

And because I know you’re curious, here are the colors above:
Sherwin Williams Hot 6843, Sherwin Williams Copper Pot 7709, Sherwin Williams Harmonic Tan 6136.
Sherwin williams 800488 Krylon Interior Latex Paint Eggshell Antique White 5 Gallon (Google Affiliate Ad)

XOXO,
//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.jsAbby

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Working Hard All Day (in my pj’s)

I’m trying to get ready for a fair on Saturday. Today the kids had off from school, so I was in my pj’s until 5 p.m. working at the “frame factory.” Amazingly enough, I *did* get dinner on the table. AND, it even included a vegetable! Ah, small wonders.

These are turning out really cute! In the spirit of Field of Dreams, I keep repeating to myself, “If you make it, they will buy it.” Right? That’s how it works, right? 🙂 The kids have been so funny, trying to decide which one looks the best and is their “favorite.” I love the ways that they support me! Which is something that I totally needed today. It’s been a crazy long weekend. The tip of the iceberg was when I brought both kids to their soccer games wearing the wrong uniforms. And one of them didn’t bring shin guards. (They won’t let you play without them.) So, yes, I really needed a day where I could stay in my pj’s until 5 p.m. Even if I was working hard in the “frame factory” all day. XOXO, Abby

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That’s just crate!

October is always really hectic at our house. It’s my favorite month of the year, and I always have a million fantastic unrealistic ways that I want to spend the autumnal season. I think October might be busier at our house than December. We have soccer games and family birthdays, not to mention the traditional pumpkin picking, carving, and eating that goes along with season. So when I registered to sell at a craft fair this month, I obviously wasn’t thinking clearly. I do happen to operate well on a time deadline, so you guessed it…another adventure!

I needed some way to display my wares at the craft fair. Not having a lot of extra time (see above) or money (see above), I wanted to do something fast and easy. I was inspired by these two guys below that I have used in vignettes around the holidays. The chippy red bench came from my sister’s garage sale about 10 years ago. And the green crate came from someplace like JoAnn’s or Hobby Lobby.

Next I did a search on Pinterest for crates. Don’t you just love Pinterest? Of course, I found some inspiration.
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First I found this DIY crate project from Vintage Chic.


Next I found some inspiration for creating a vinegar stain from The Money Pit

.

I decided that I wanted to create some crates that looked like they were left in a barn. I gathered my materials, which included: two unfinished crates from Michaels, apple cider vinegar, a mason jar, a foam brush, some pennies, tea bags, and some steel wool. The crates were normally $12.99, but I used a 40% off coupon for each (purchased on different days) and a 20% off total purchase coupon. I found the vinegar, tea, jar, and brush at Walmart. The steel wool came from Home Depot in the paint department.


Don’t you love the patina showing on Abe? I have another project with these coming up in the future that I can’t wait to show you.

Step 1. Make the stain. Fill the jar with the apple cider vinegar. Add the steel wool, pennies, and tea. The website I found didn’t do it exactly like this. But I like to experiment, so I came up with my own stain cocktail recipe. I left it sitting on my counter for 2-3 days. You have to be careful with the tea, though, because it will mold. I took the tea bags out after a few hours.



Step 2. Sand the rough edges. (Oops, I didn’t picture my sanding block!) You will want to decide how much to sand, depending on how you’re using the crates. I wanted mine to be rough and old looking, so I only sanded the rough edges and splinters.

Step 3. Find a spot where you can get messy. This may be a DIY stain made with materials from home, but it is a stain. And it does. Stain. Even concrete in a garage. This would be great outside on the grass with some newspapers.

Step 4. Give the steel wool in the jar a few dunks up and down to get all of the fantastic color mixing through. Dip your foam brush in and, going with the grain of the wood, start brushing it on. The more coats you do the darker it gets. Don’t worry if it doesn’t look like it’s doing anything at first. The wood reacts with the ingredients and starts to change color. I did three coats on mine.

Here’s the before and after.


This was one of the easiest projects I’ve done. When I have time, I plan on adding some wording to the sides of the crates, either my company logo or something utilitarian like, “Peaches.” Don’t feel like you have the time for this project? No worries, you can purchase weathered looking crates online!

Let me know what you think!


XOXO,
Abby

P.S. Here is a great site to get steel wool from, delivered right to your door! Red Devil 630-0316 Steel Wool Course #3 (Google Affiliate Ad) //assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js

Abby Smolarsky6 Comments