DIY Chunky Crocheted Vase Sweaters

I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only person that is suffering from being overrun by generic glass vases that you've never used again since their first appearance housing a gifted bouquet of flowers.  I have a ridiculous amount.  I've been trying to figure out something "sustainable" to do with them.  You could always spray paint them... or... spray paint them..  That was all I could come up with, but then what do I do with a plethora of spray painted, oddly shaped vases?  I get exhausted just thinking about it all.  You could also donate them... some florists take in orphaned vases to reuse, which I think is brilliant.  Unfortunately, the only one around here I could find was a significant drive away.

So, the round up I put together last of DIY Harvest Centerpieces inspired me.  Specifically, the repurposed sweaters as vase covers.  However, not wanting to cut up any of my sweaters, I decided to create my own.  I always have plenty of yarn stashed away... finally, the solution to my hoards of vases (and hoards of yarn) seemed easy, attainable... and attractive!

If you don't know how to crochet, I'll refer you towards some amazing tutorials to help you.  I don't think I'm anywhere near proficient enough to teach someone the basics, (although, I did try to teach 2 of my good friends this past weekend with some success!)  But, if you already know how to chain your first row and the basic crochet stitches, you'll be good to go!

I chained just enough to slightly stretch around the circumference of the base of the vase.  You want your vase sweater to squeeze slightly so it will stay in place.  Once you get your chain long enough, connect the end to your loop.  You will have a circle. 

Next, chain 3 up and do a triple crochet stitch.  I find this gives such a great chunky feel to it, leaving the yarn with space between stitches without getting too tight.  Once you come full circle, do a single crochet stitch to connect the ends of that row.  You should have a seemless connection.  Just repeat that until your sweater is as tall as you need it to be to cover your vase.

Sources for Learning to Crochet:

Learn How to Crochet Part 1 - This video is very well done and I think pretty easy to follow.  Give it a shot if you want to learn the basics of crocheting.

Futuregirl Craft Blog - I've been following Alice for over 6 years now. She's the one that inspired me to learn to crochet to begin with.  Her blog offers some amazing tutorials and ideas!

The Happy Hooker - This book will teach you SO easily how to read crochet patterns.  Honestly, I never thought I'd understand all the weirdness that is a crochet pattern, but with this book, I was making flowers in no time. 

**Disclaimer:  The above mentioned sources are not promoting this post.  I am simply mentioning them because they work.  I've tried them myself and I think they can help you all become awesome Hookers, too!

   

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DIY Test Tube Vase

So... I have this crazy obsession with scientific equipment at estate sales.  I have a ridiculous amount of beakers that I've scored for ridiculously awesome prices.  So when I found this box of test tubes at an estate sale of a former geologist for a mere $3... I literally did a happy dance.  Seriously, did a jig in the middle of the old stinky house.  (This really isn't a rare occurrence for me when finding something exciting, my husband can attest to that.)

Let me just say this is the first of many projects that will be coming from this box of awesomeness!

Now that's not the only amazing deal involved in this project! That adorable leather belt wrapped around it... I got it at Forever 21 on clearance for a mere $0.25!

You will need:

12 test tubes

Glue gun & glue sticks

Adorable little belt

After cleaning the test tubes, I figured out how I wanted them arranged and then started gluing them together.  Then I used tiny little stick slices to fill the bottoms of the tubes, wrapped the belt around them, and put some little evergreens in so you don't have to use water if you don't want to.  The great thing about the belt is that you can change it to match whatever holiday it is or whatever themed party you are throwing!

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MAKE: Revived Vintage Screen Garden Wall

This project was inspired by what my family thought was a very odd purchase at an estate sale for $2.  An old mesh screen framed in old wood.  It was love at first sight to me.  As soon as I saw it a hundred ideas flooded my imagination of what could be made with it. 

After a couple weeks of pondering, I settled on the idea of a garden wall.  My aloe plant (that had a bunch of babies last year) was ready to give birth yet again.  Check out my post about separating your aloe plants here.  This little wall piece was going to give me the perfect place to display my new potted baby aloe plants. 

I had seen these little white aluminum pots at Ikea months ago and knew they'd be perfect for this!  A tiny S-hook would fit perfectly in the little holes around the top.  They'll also be great to pull off this wall during the colder months and bring the plants inside where it is safe and warm. 

I love this project because it can be made appropriate for any and all seasons and holidays! 

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LIVE: My Faux Trophy Wall

So the wall above my couch has been an on going source of torment for me.  I could never quite decide what to put on it... so I just didn't put anything on it.  Then my obsession with faux taxidermy started forming and the answer revealed itself to me... A TROPHY WALL.  Now I love this wall, but I never get to see it because it's behind my head.  You will occassionally find me standing in the doorway to the dining room just gazing at my trophy wall.  No, not really, but I do love it.  We're currently working on redecorating the living room.  At the moment there are lots of bright colors in it and I'm toning it down, going for a more natural look.  The trophy wall is step 1 to accomplishing this look.  Step 2 is shopping for a rug!  (which is a nightmare to me).

Anyway... here's my trophy wall and a little portion of my living room.

The 2 paper mache heads (rhino and zebra) I got on super clearance from Anthro!  The 3 small ones on black plaques were an estate sale find.  They were originally very tacky and colorful, but a little bit of paint went a long way!  I added the fun golden masks to spruce things up a little.  The big porcelain deer head is from a local decor shop that I frequent.  And of course, the dinos tutorial can be found here.

At first the deer and zebra weren't framed, but I felt the wall lacked some cohesion and adding those seemed to pull everything together.

This is just a bonus because they're too cute and were prancing in front of my photo shoot.  I thought they deserved some attention!

I'm so pleased with how this turned out!  And the best part is that there's still room for more!  My husband laughs every time I buy another animal head, but, oh well.  I kinda love them.

I'll be sharing parts of my house sporadically.  Jen has been bugging me to share my closet with you.. it's actually more of a "dressing room" since I took over our spare bedroom to use as my closet.  So, that may be next!



     
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CRAFT: Repurposed Birchbox Boxes

Does anyone else have a habit of hoarding boxes the way I do?  It's so hard to find a good box when you need one, so if a fine specimen of a box happens to cross my path, I don't let that sucker out of my sight.  I've been stashing mine and my husband's empty Birchbox boxes ever since we started getting them last year.  Of course, I had no clue what I was going to use them for, but they were just SUCH GREAT BOXES that I couldn't throw them out. 

Unfortunately, the guy boxes are way more awesome than the regular old girl box.  It's like a tiny little drawer.  I saw a few of them stacked in the corner of my studio and knew immediately that I had to make a tiny little chest of drawers out of them. 

I don't know about you, but my husband tends to leave tiny things laying all over the house.. change, receipts, ticket stubs, pocket knives, ear buds.. WHATEVER.  So I thought giving him a tiny chest of drawers like this to use will help him keep organized and help me keep my sanity!

I used chalkboard paint for the faces of the drawers so I can re-label them as needed with chalk markers.

As always, a glue gun is key!  I just put a little swirl on each corner to glue the shell of the boxes together.

 

      Check out our link party page to see where we link up each week!