Repurposed Glass Lamp Shades

It's that time again for our "Do It Over Designers" Blog Hop - the last one for this year! The "Do It Over Designers" is a group of creative bloggers who love to recycle/upcycle/ DIY, hosted by  Anne @The Apple Street Cottage.               It happens the 4th Saturday of every other month and it's all about taking something old and/or unused and 'doing it over' into something new. Thanks Anne for hosting this wonderful blog hop!

Have you ever looked at an item and said to yourself, "that looks like a . . . . . ."  Well that happened to me at the thrift store. A few weeks ago I stopped by the Goodwill to look for something to repurpose. The place was busy! Lots of people looking and buying! I had never seen it that crowded. Anyway, I was going down each aisle trying to find something - but nothing was jumping out at me. I was about to leave and looked at the very last shelf in the area and saw a box with plastic wrap sticking up. I thought it unusual for items to be in a box so I pushed the wrapping aside and lo and behold there were four glass lamp shades inside. I picked one up and said to myself, "this looks like a bell!" Ding, ding, ding! I found my repurpose item. Two dollars each or four for eight dollars. I bought all four. I know that seems expensive but everything is expensive these days - even at the thrift store! Once home, I went online to see what Goodwill's online store carried. They had two glass lampshades for $14.99! So I felt pretty good about shelling out eight dollars for mine! 

Now on to my project - how to repurpose glass lamp shades into hanging bells!

Materials:

• Glass Lamp Shades (3)
• Plastic Candleholders (6 small)
• Hot Knife (for cutting plastic)
• Quick Hold  Glue
• Decorative glass crystals (3)
• Clear decorative cording
• Parchment paper
• Clamps
• Ribbon
• Greenery

How To:

Begin by placing clean glass lamp shades on your work surface!

I needed something to close up the openings of the lamp shades! Looking around in my stash, I found plastic candleholders from another 'Do It Over' project that fit perfectly upside down in the opening! 

So I added Quick Hold glue around the top opening of the lamp shade and .  .  .

placed the upside down candleholder down in the opening to dry in place.

Next, I also found in my stash glass crystals with a hole in the top, similar to the one pictured, to make the bell clappers! If you didn't know - the clapper is the part of the bell that hangs down to "bang" against the sides. 

I thought I would use clear stretchy cording to tie the clapper on and run it up through the opening of the shade but found it very difficult to secure the tied knots together. So I pulled out a roll of decorative cording that had small clear balls attached which was much easier to use and also looked prettier, too!

To attach the crystals - first, determine how long you want the length of the cords hanging through the shade. Double the amount and cut off the excess. Twist the folded cording together lengthwise and insert the end of one cord through the opening of the crystal, meeting the end of the other cord. Tie the ends together in two to three knots as tight as you can. Holding the knots together, grab a small piece of parchment paper and place under the knots. Apply Quick Hold glue to the knots and wrap the parchment paper over the glued knots. Clamp together the parchment paper with the knots, holding in place until dry.

Once the cording knots around the crystal clapper is dry, run the cords through the opening of the lamp up through the body of the bell to the dome and crown - from the bottom to the top, adjusting how low or high to hang the crystal clappers.

To make the crown (the top portion), using a hot iron, cut the bottom flair off of a plastic candleholder.

Add Quick Hold glue around the brim and .  .  .

attach to the top opening of the bell.

Add books on top to secure until dry.

I'm loving how this lamp shade bell looks! And if you shake it sideways, it will truly ring loud!

Arrange the bells in a staggered look grouped together on greenery or hang separately as a focal point in your decor! So many options!

And finally, add a decorative bow and tails for a gorgeous holiday look!

Be sure to visit all of this month's creative projects by the  "Do It Over Designers"  listed below:

Little Vintage Cottage

Modern on Monticello

Purple Hues & Me

Sum of Their Stories

Tea and Forget-Me-Nots

Color Me Thrifty

Vintage Style Gal

The Apple Street Cottage

Birdz of a Feather

Exquisitely Unremarkable

Christmas Glitter Foam Flower Decor

 

With the holiday season upon us, we're all scrambling for Christmas craft ideas to make! Welcome to the last session of the year for our Creative Craft Hop! We have two wonderful hosts - Donna @ Modern on Monticello and Sara @Birdz of a Feather who take turns every other month! The lovely and creative Sara is our host this month!   If you're coming over from  Cecilia @My Thrift Store Addiction, Welcome! Wasn't Cecilia's Gingerbread House adorable! 

If you follow my blog, you should know by now that I love making crafts out of  foam sheets especially glitter foam sheets! And this month I'll be making something really easy and simple - a Christmas Glitter Foam Flower! So let's get started!

Materials:

• Glitter Foam Sheet (12"x18")
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Clothes pins (clamps)
• Hot Glue 
• Embellishments

 Lay a 12"x18' glitter foam sheet down on your work surface. Measure out a four by eighteen inch piece and cut out.

Fold wrong sides together. Use clothes pins (won't leave marks) to hold the foam edges together. Cut the end of the folded foam sheet off at an angle.

Begin cutting the folded foam into slits at an angle - about 3/8" wide. I know that's an odd measurement. I eyeballed cutting the strips and should have measured the width first. But you don't need to be precise in cutting the slits.

Continue cutting the foam at an angle until .  .  .

reaching the end. Then cut off the end piece completely .  .  .

at an angle. 

Open the foam piece and add a drop of glue just inside the right side. I wrapped a few pieces of complementary floral embellishments together with wire to place in the center of the foam flower. 

Close together the glitter foam at an angle. Place the floral pick on top while wrapping the foam end over the pick to secure. 

Continue wrapping the entire folded foam strip around the pick - making sure the decorative loops stand out. You may want to add a few drops of glue to keep the folded foam sheet together. Did you notice I removed the center bulb in the floral pick? It didn't seem to be a uniform design with the rest of the pick pieces.

Keep wrapping the foam around and around until .  .  .

reaching the end. Then secure the end with hot glue.

Once the end is secure, cut out and glue on a matching small foam sheet circle to cover the open bottom.

I must say that this Christmas Glitter Foam Flower looks gorgeous!

Perfect on top of a Christmas gift wrap or .  .  .

in a tablesetting or .  .  .

 as a Christmas ornament hanging on a tree! Imagine making lots of ornaments in colorful glitter foam!

So many holiday decor options!

Up next is  Allyson from Southern Sunflowers  sharing her awesome ideas on creating Christmas Clay Pot crafts! 

And be sure to check out all of the talented bloggers sharing their amazing creations listed below: 

Easy DIY Pine Cone Christmas Trees and Topiaries

Crochet Mug Cozy Pattern Free

Hot Cocoa Reindeer

Christmas Deer Revamp

Easy Rag Garland Decor

Darling Gingerbread House Crafted with Dollar Store Decor

Christmas Glitter Foam Flower Decor

Christmas Clay Pot Craft Ideas for Santa and Elf

Three Easy Christmas Tree Ribbon DIY Projects

Upcycled Plastic Bottle Christmas Ornaments

 

I'm back at it again grabbing plastic bottles out of the recycled bin! This time I'm using Minute Maid Fruit drink bottles! The plastic bottle is smooth and firm at 52 fl. oz - that's thirteen inches around  - perfect to create some gorgeous Upcycled Christmas Ornaments! 

It's time for another Sustainable Craft Challenge hosted by Julie @Sum of Their Stories! Welcome! This challenge is all about sustainable crafting with a different theme each month!  The projects must have some sort of a sustainable element to them. This could be an upcycling or recycling element, or something that reduces waste, uses leftovers, etc. This month's theme is Christmas - as if you hadn't guess that already, lol!

Materials Used:

• Minute Maid Fruit drink empty bottles (52 oz.)
• Dawn Platinum Plus Power Wash
• Silver Rhinestone Self Adhesive Strips
• Craft Knife, Scissors
• Parchment Paper
• Quick Hold Glue
• Clamps
• Silver Bow Wire
• Masking tape

Disclosure I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites, this post may contain links. I may receive a very small commission at no cost to you! The affiliate money I earn helps pay my crafting expenses. Thanks so much for your support!

How to:

Start with a clean Minute Maid 52 ounce bottle like the one pictured below. 

Remove the clear labels - front and back. Usually I use Vaseline to remove any sticky residue that's left but since the label was thin clear plastic with a sticky backing, I used Dawn Platinum Plus Power Wash to remove the stickiness and that worked out perfectly with no residue. Plus it even removed the 'sell by' date printed on the bottle!

The self adhesive rhinestones I'm using are from Temu. I know lots of you object to the site. But I've never had a problem with them - they carry some of the exact same things found on Amazon at a cheaper price. Would you believe that I've ordered items from Temu that were delivered by Amazon! Plus, most of my clothes, shoes, trinkets, etc. all have labels that say, "Made in China." 

The rhinestones tapes I received were four rolls of four yards each for $4.44.  When I ordered them, I thought I was getting larger mesh stones - similar to the ones I got from the Dollar Tree. I was at first, quite disappointed when I saw how small the stones were. Unfortunately, the Dollar Tree doesn't have the silver ones in stock at the store. But available online to buy 36 for $45! No way did I need that many and at that price! The self adhesive rhinestones I received were quite pretty and I loved how they gave off a glittery effect - especially around lights! I'm so glad I came up with a way to create something using them! 

I simply removed the paper from the backing of the rhinestone strip and wrapped it around the bottle, starting near the top. It was so much easier to wrap first and then cut out, then to cut out the plastic rings first and then add the rhinestone strip.

Once the strip met where it started, I cut off the excess and .  .  .

started another row .  .  .

leaving just enough space for a craft knife or small sharp scissors blade to cut the rhinestones rings off.

I was able to attach ten rhinestone strips onto one plastic bottle and two strips onto another one (not shown). I wanted to make three ornaments using four rhinestone rings per ornament.

Next, begin cutting the rhinestone rings out using a craft knife.

Removing the top first.

Then using small sharp scissors to remove the first rhinestone ring.

Doesn't this look like a diamond bracelet - all sparkling and glittery!

These photos doesn't do justice to the dazzling effect of the rhinestones! 

To assemble the ornament, cross the rhinestone ring at the center, as if a clock, 12-6, 9-3 positions gluing in place using Quick Hold glue (from the makers of E6000). Secure glued center with a clamp covered with parchment paper (so the clamp won't stick) until dry.

Glue on the next ring between the 1-2 and 7-8 positions.

and finally, glue on the fourth rhinestone ring between the 10-11 and 4-5 positions. Clamping in place until dry.

To make a hanging cap - fold an 8" length of silver bow wire in half, tying the ends in a knot. Lay the bow wire knot across the end of a rhinestone mesh strip and .  .  .

begin rolling together until .  .  .

reaching the size of the ornament center top.

Add a dab of glue in the center and .  .  .

place hanging cap on top of glue. Use masking tape to hold in place until dry.

 I'm loving how the ornaments look! Especially the sparkling rhinestones!

Adding brilliance and glamour to the plastic bottle strips!

And the possibilities of decorating the inside area is unlimited, too!

Welcome again to our Sustainable Craft Challenge Blog Hop!  

Be sure to check out all the creative "Christmas" Sustainable Craft projects from my fellow crafters listed below:

Julie @ Sum of Their Stories  -  Christmas Ornaments From An Old Sari

Terri @ Our Good Life -  Recycled Crystal Tabletop Christmas Tree

Gail @ Purple Hues and Me -  Upcycled Plastic Bottle Christmas Ornaments

Allyson @ Southern Sunflowers -  DIY Rock Painting Art Ideas for Christmas

Christine @ Christine's Crafts -  Creative Paper Baubles: Sustainable Crafting with Wallpaper

Marci @ Old Rock Farmhouse -  DIY Seed Packets

T'onna @ Sew Crafty Crochet  - Winter Star Ornament