Craft #5-- String wrapped bottles

School has been keeping me busy lately!  So between that and a failed attempt at my next craft, I haven't gotten to post lately. So here's a simple, pretty, and actually fairly quick project for a weekend, or just any afternoon!  I actually had to go and find the pin, I didn't realize that I hadn't actually pinned it myself-- just seen it on my friends' boards. So here is the link to the pin I decided I liked best, but I didn't actually follow their directions. So, here's my version!

Basic idea: wrap a bottle in string. (A lot of my crafts seem to revolve around wrapping things)
I had these little mini glass wine bottles laying around because I thought they would make a really cute something-or-other, and then I used the same blue crochet thread from my other projects-- I had no idea it would come in this handy--and I used white glue, because it was what I had, but if you plan on using these for vases, it might be better to pick something a little less water-soluble.

I didn't peel the label off of my first bottle, thinking that I would just wrap the string really close together and you wouldn't be able to see it.  From far away you can't really tell, but from close up you can see the colors, especially the metallic, so I did peel what I could off of the second bottle, but I didn't spend too much time on it since I was still going to cover it up.

I put a dab of glue where I wanted my string to start, and smooshed it around where I wanted to start wrapping the string so there was a nice thin coating. I didn't want to end up with glue-coated string like from when I made the Easter eggs, but if that is indeed what you're going for, that could be cool too, and check out the craft!

Next step was to wind the string!
I wanted it to be nice and tight and pretty, and the best technique I found was to move the bottle rather than the string. I added more glue as I went along down the bottle, so that it didn't dry before I got there, and so that I had something not-gluey to hold.

I stopped wrapping a little bit before the bottom, just because, and smeared a nice dollop of glue onto it.

And there you go, all done! Easy peasy, you probably have everything in your house already, and it only took me about one episode of Bones to make them, so you have no excuse not to go find some bright spring-y colors and make your mom a trio of vases for Mother's Day! :) 

Questions or comments, let me know!

Craft #1-- Date Jar

Alright! In between classes, homework, and apartment hunting, I made my first DIY: "Date Night in a Jar" (you can click on the picture to see the how-to from Life in the Green House, but they, in fact, got the idea from an older Pinterest link, which leads here)
I have been talking about making something like this for about three years-- the entire time my boyfriend and I have been dating, and my roommate T thinks it's funny that I'm making this now since my boyfriend and I are basically long-distance.  Still, when we're together, we get gussied up and go out now and then, but on regular days we go through a series of "I don't really care, what do you want to do?" and then end up renting a movie or watching TV.  Not the end of the world- we've found some shows that we really enjoy, but it would be nice to spice up life with some variety now and then, so! on to The Date Jar!  

Basic idea:  Paint craft sticks, and then write date ideas on them!  Super simple!

I toodled over to the store on my way home from class the other day to get glue for my next diy and picked up some big craft sticks, and then washed out and peeled the label off a spaghetti sauce jar, which ended up being the perfect height!
  In the other blog, she spray painted her craft sticks, but my lovely roommate T had some acrylic paint that she let me use.


 I decided on four colors:  purple, blue, aqua, and "primrose pink." I started out painting 10 sticks in each color, leaving me 8 or so left over in case I messed up or came up with more exciting date ideas.

The paint dried pretty fast, which was nice. After everything was painted, I came up with a list of date ideas that I wanted to put on my sticks. I adapted some date ideas from the Green House, some from my roommates, some from Google, and some just because they're our usual.   By the time I finished writing the list, the sticks were dry and ready to be written on!


Here's where I deviated-- on the Green House she divided up her dates by price, essentially.
 I divvied my dates up differently:

Blue sticks = food choices- some of mine were Mexican, Chinese, pizza, breakfast, spaghetti, something we've never tried before, random page in a cookbook, and dessert only.

Pink = activities that are away from home, and not too pricey like bowling, mini golf, out to the movies, or to the park, massages, trip to the mall, dress up fancy and go to a restaurant...

Purple = home-based and free or inexpensive, casual activities like renting a Redbox movie, playing board games, xbox/wii games, blackout (no electricity or phones), popcorn and a marathon, sports night and spa night.

 This way, you have the flexibility of choosing to just pick an activity, or have a meal and do something fun, or make something at home and keep things chill. A little something for everyone. :)

Next step was decorating the jar.  I wanted to cover it to prevent peeking at the sticks inside, and also because I didn't get all the gooey stuff off from the label, so I got crafty.  I raided my stash of tissue paper and found some in a nice light blue that went with my color scheme, so I cut that (folded hot-dog style) to fit in the middle of the jar. There was some watery white glue left from my first attempt at the next project, and I used my finger to spread that around on the jar, and smoothed the paper over it. Full-strength white glue would have been too much for the tissue paper, but this was perfect. Plus it reminded me a lot of making tissue paper vases like this in elementary school.  :P



 I then made a label for the jar, just from printer paper and a Sharpie, and a key for what the different colors mean, which I put on the back (adhering both labels with the same glue I used before)
Last addition was the ribbon, which came from my collection. It just adds the final touch :)
 et voila!
I'll let you know when we get to use it!