Sunday, November 8, 2009

thinking of gift making?





it's that time of year when we want to cuddle by the fire, read a good book, watch an old movie and usually working on one thing or another that we are making as a gift...i have a scarf that i began a year ago, determined to give eli last year for christmas...yes i know....but i'm really really determined to finish it this year....





i stumbled upon these inexpensive ideas from 'design sponge' for things you can make to give or to decorate your own home with....we are talking nearly free with what you already have around the house...and of course you can modify these all you want to put your own spin on them...
above are little crochet cozy's - i know you can whip these up in no time...think of all the endless possibilities for these...you can use a small candle holder in them, or antique bottle to hold some water, and wallah - it's done...and i'm still in the teacher's gift time of my life, what a sweet thought this would be...







the above is as challenging as you want to make it...i've listed the instructions below...there are two ways you can do this, one for people like me - wrap some wire around the neck of the bottle, stick a nail in the wall, and you are done....or for others who want it to be perfect - here you go...
"Total cost for this project (if you don’t count the cost of the wine, because, well, you get to enjoy that in other ways) was under $5 per vase.

You will need (per vase):- (1) Empty wine bottle of your choice- (1) Top plate connector/ceiling flanges (3/8″ size)- (1) 1″ split ring hanger- (2) screws to fit and hold the top plate connector (you may also want drywall anchors if you are not mounting directly into studs or another material)- (1) piece of 3/8″ threaded rod, cut into 2 1/2″ pieces.- 1/2″ double sided foam mounting tape (optional – if your bottle’s neck is smaller than 1″, like ours were)- Silk flowers of your choice.

1.
With a hack saw, cut your threaded rod down to size. Ours were about 2 1/2″ long, as we didn’t want our bottles hanging out too far from the walls. If you are hanging multiple bottles, just be sure you cut your pieces to equal sizes.

2.
Position the top-plate connector on your wall, and mark the holes where the screws will go. Pre-drill the holes, insert any necessary drywall anchors, and then attach the plate to the wall.

3.
Screw in your cut rod pieces, and then your split ring hanger.

4.
If your wine bottle has a narrow neck (the 1″ split ring is loose around it and doesn’t fit snugly), apply a layer or two (as needed) of foam mounting tape to the neck of the bottle where it will be held by the split ring. Remove the backing from the other side of the tape, position the bottle in the split ring, and tighten the screws to secure in place. Pop in your flowers and voila!
Notes: We had quite a time finding the proper hardware. I think we went to a total of 3 Lowes around the city before we found them in stock and in the right size. Some stores had them in the Plumbing section, others had them in the Electrical. We’ve seen the connector piece called both a Top Plate Connector and a Ceiling Flange, who knows what it is actually called. The hardware (except for the threaded rod) comes in either copper or zinc (silver) finish, so you can choose whichever would best match your decor (or break out the spray paint)."

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