Crate DIY Home Decor Bottles by Jeanette Lee

Crate Paper is putting out a request - we want to know what type of projects appeal to you so that we can continue to bring relevant, inspirational ideas to the Crate Blog. In answering this request, we'll randomly select one of you to take home an assortment of Crate Paper's newest collections, Flea Market, Close Knit and Bundled Up. The winner will be announced this Friday, August 16th! Thanks ahead of time, Crate Fans!

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Hello! Jeanette Lee here with another installment of Crate DIY. To me, being a scrapbooker grants the opportunity to think creatively, get my hands 'dirty' and immerse myself in the goodness of playing with papers and products. Personally, I find it very satisfying, but more than that, nothing beats the elated look on a person's face when he/she has received a handmade project from you.

Recently, my sister renovated her old house and with the onset of moving out temporarily and latter running into some construction issues, I could sense her frustration and disappointment. When it was finally time for her to move back home, I wanted to surprise her with a house warming present from me.

Her newly renovated house was simply beautiful, a place where modern meets vintage. With cemented floors, wooden furniture, funky ceiling tiles and bold colors, I knew that making some DIY home decor bottles would be perfect for her vintage wooden rack that she owned.

These are the supplies I used to craft them and that you'll need to get started on making your own...

Recycled Glass Bottles
Paper Doilies
Sticks
Old Vintage Book
Brown Twine
Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch
Assortment of Buttons
Hearts' Die-Cuts
Crate's DIY Ephemera Pack
Washi Tape

I collected these glass bottles from my friend's wedding reception and decided to reuse them. First, I cleansed them with soap and left them out in the open to dry. To fill the bottles up, I used my punch and started punching out butterflies from the pages of an old book. Once I reached a good amount, I began filling the bottles. A tip to save time on punching would be to scrunch your punch outs to create volume and bulk. This gives the illusion that the bottle is filled and makes your punch outs look less uniform and flat.

Next, tie each end of the bottle with brown string. I double knotted each end to ensure that they were sturdy enough to be carried. Reason being is because I wanted to allow my sister to have the liberty to hang these bottles up if needed and even if they weren't used this way, the brown strings still add a rustic, textured flare.

Then, it was time to create my paper doilies' sticks for the bottles. I glued the doillies onto sticks and used embellishments from the Crate DIY Ephemera Pack to create more interest and depth. For cohesiveness, I found vintage elements such as the gold tag, the thread holder card and phrase stickers that suited the overall theme of the house.

In order not to overpower the main highlight of the decoration (doilies), I created other simpler and subtle elements such as washi tape banners and heart die-cut sticks. For the hearts', I die-cut them from patterned papers and placed a button on each one to complete the look.

As for the banners, I used washi strips from Crate Paper's 12 x 12 Washi Tape Sheets. Simply Cut a notch in the center of the washi tape and snip off the two ends at a diagonal. Then, I placed these banners at random in the bottles. I just love how these banners are easy to make and yet, help to add more decorative weight to the bottles.

Phew! I hope you're still with me. That's a wrap! The next time you have a chance, do alter and make home decor items for your special home or for a loved one. The efforts put forth would definitely be appreciated by the people around you. After all, who wouldn't rejoice to receive such a present? (I know I would) Have a great day ahead!

Comments

[Mel Blackburn]

These are lovely, beautiful display!

[Julie Tucker-Wolek]

Those jars are just gorgeous!!! LOVING the flags!!! :)

And for me I like to see layouts and the DIY projects on your blog!! Always love seeing new ways to upcycle goodies!! :)

[S. Molinari]

The videos this month have brought me back to your blog time and time again. I find them to be very inspiring. Please, more of them!!

[Cristina]

I love to see technique tutorials, and start-to-finish pages.

[Natalie (QSOgirl)]

It is fun to see the decor projects, but I am a layout girl at heart. I always want to see more layouts, especially if they have two or more photos (that aren't miniscule). If they are double-page spreads, so much the better. There is a lot of single-photo layout inspiration out there, so I'd love to see the CP Girls' lovely style applied to multi-photo layouts.

[Rachel Millington]

I like to see LO's mainly, just pretty LO's will keep me happy. Cards are good but not too many. I just want to see how people are using Crate products on the blog, inspiration for how I can use the products!

[Marian]

I love to see layouts and the process to make them. I love all the inspiration here.

[Nadine M.]

I love to see more minialbums and layouts and some photo tips for how I can take gorgeous photos for my layouts and minis.

[justasiam]

I would like to see more "real-life" layouts that feature more multi-photos and simple layering. In fact, more ideas on how to cluster elements would be great...many of us have a hard time knowing when a cluster looks finished (at least I do!). And on a more specific note, I scrap almost exclusively 8.5 x 11 so would like to see more in that size as well.

[Lilin]

I love to see more tutorials for decor projects like this! They provide great ideas for gifts and creative ways to use our scrapbook products.

[Julia Schüler]

I really like party and table decorations. And I would like to see some seasonal decorations more often. Maybe next a "Back to School" or "End of Summer" Party?
Of course I enjoyed the video this month too.
All of you do a great job and I visit your website eagerly each day to look at those beautiful projects you show. Thank You!

[micayla]

I would love to see Project Life projects, but to be honest I love everything you do. Keep up the great work.
Micayla

[Niina]

Tutorials and layouts with mixed media elements. Also mixed media artwork and altered would be nice too. All of course with Crates wonderful feel and flare ^-^

[Denise Luscan]

I enjoy everything on this blog. Video tutorials are great. I love learning new techniques and different ways to use the paper. I think this blog really covers it all and keeps up with the trends. Thanks!

[Kelly]

I really enjoy the mini-albums and step-by-step how to's.

[Wendy F]

I too love mini album and layout how to's. A good video tutorial is a great way to get inspiration and try things I normally wouldn't.

[jill]

I would love to see more project life inspiration. and mini albums and gifts would be awesome!

[serena]

I really enjoy watching videos of designers creating scrapbook pages - I like to hear them describe their process as they create. I also really like seeing the project life pages.

[Bernii Miller]

I am loving those gorgeous jars!!!

I LOVE seeing the videos and they really do keep me coming back for more and "wanting" all your goodies. I also love seeing mini albums but would LOVE to see more project life inspired layouts as well :)

[baersgarten]

I love step by step Projects (not really need every step but love to see how the Designers build their Projects, as the blog post today). I do also love Videos. thanks for the Chance to win, I LOVE crate paper!