Easy "Milk Bottle" Vase

This post is actually for my friend Karen (and her daughter, Jessica) who sent me a note saying she needed some "repurposing" ideas for a class they'll be hosting this spring.  So, Karen and Miss Jessica, I hope you like this one!

My sunshiny kitchen window...

A couple of years ago, I purchased these teeny, tiny milk bottle vases from the Dollar Spot at Target.  I just loved their simplicity.  I put them on my kitchen window sill and used them to decorate for the seasons/holidays.  Occasionally, I'd wish they were bigger, but they weren't, so that was that.

Cute, but limited by their teeny size.

This past winter, my daughter went through a phase where she was drinking Starbuck frappuccinos with far too much regularity (yes, I know I'm a bad parent...I've accepted it and moved on!).  One day, as I was collecting the bottle(s) she left out (grr!), I realized they looked like little milk bottles and an idea was born.


Doesn't this look like a milk bottle?

First things first, I removed the labels from the Starbucks bottle.  They peel off pretty easily, but you'll definitely need Goo Gone to get the adhesive off the glass.  After that, I put them through the dishwasher to get them sparkly clean.



After a few coats of spray paint.

Then I filled a large can (a #10 can worked well) with sand (for weight/counter balance...clean kitty litter would work well, too) and stuck some dowels into it.  (Picture a bizarre barren bush.)    Put the bottles on the dowels upside down and spray paint the bottles.  It took a few thin coats to get good coverage. 

Before and After

When I was done, I had little white milk bottles.  After that, a few minutes with the Silhouette machine and I'd created bigger versions of my tiny milk bottles.

After adding Silhouette vinyl.  (Sorry for the photo quality...I took the
picture late one night.  Doesn't everyone finish crafty stuff late at night?)

There you have it, a quick and easy and virtually free repurposing idea (assuming you have a Frappuccino junkie in your house).   Karen, do you like this one?  Look again, doesn't this get your creative juices flowing?

Virtually free...

P.S.  Even after all these years, I still miss being your neighbor!!