So when I reclaimed this one from my daughter, I knew she needed a refresh and a special place in my garden to invoke those sweet Wildwood memories and brighten a corner in our yard.

She is in great shape for her age. Very little rust. And most of it is just surface rust.

I’ve heard that you can repair more serious damage with auto repair body filler. Good to note that for the future. But my project will just consist of sanding and painting, fortunately.

Let’s Get Started

As always, we start with a good cleaning followed by a good sanding to remove loose paint and smooth the surface for better paint adhesion.

After sanding, she got another wipedown to remove the dust.

Time for paint color selection. I just received a lovely yellow paint from Black Dog Salvage Furniture Paint. This paint was designed for use on salvaged, antique, and vintage items marked for restoration. So, BDSFP is perfect for this vintage metal yard or patio chair. Let me introduce you to Star City Sunshine!

I expected 3 coats would be needed since this yellow is covering the pinky mauve which covered the red.

Here is the chair after one coat.

As expected, I moved onto a second coat. The trick to better coverage is to ensure the first coat has completely dried before moving onto the next coat. This keeps the paint from streaking. Here is Sunshine during application of the second coat.

And finally, voila!

It’s that time of month where the Thrift Store Decor Team publishes new posts! On the second Wednesday of every month, the team shares new projects featuring upcycled, recycled, renewed or newly created items that you can use in your decor. Accompanying the transformation pieces are always new tips, skills and products to help you in your DIY and upcycling journey!

You will find all of this month’s projects at the end of this post. Be sure to visit everyone!

Now, to decide where this beauty should live.

For now, she is residing on the deck by the entryway. She is quite welcoming.

And she looks even better in the bright sun!

Ah! I just love vintage everywhere!

Here is another vintage garden post:

And apparently I do like vintage seating!

My Repurposed Life DIY Outdoor Fairy Light Lampshade

Shop At Blu Refreshed Vintage Metal Patio Chair

Our Crafty Mom Thrift Store Lampshade Makeover

Funky Junk Interiors DIY Upcycled Globe Light, Cloche, Pedestal Bowl and Paper Towel Stand

Redhead Can Decorate  Glass Rainbow Garden Tower 

Exquisitely Unremarkable Thrifted Botanical Print Makeover

The post A Timely Refresh for a Vintage Metal Yard Chair appeared first on Shop at Blu.

I think it’s the after affect of having a Dad with 7 siblings who grew up in working class Philadelphia just after the Depression…but I have trouble throwing things away. I see value in everything. So when Mr. Blu said it’s time for this old mantle to go…I just could not do it!

I do love old wood and I’ve restored enough of it to know that you can revive wood. I think rustic items in your outdoor space are fabulous. You may remember this mantle from years ago…my first deck decorating post.

She weathered the Alabama heat and storms well. But she shore doesn’t look like that anymore. Several years ago, we removed her to rebuild our deck and she has been sitting under the deck since…neglected and discarded.

I’ve decided to give her a last hurrah! If we are reviving something fabulous, you know it must Thrift Store Decor Team Wednesday.

And I have the perfect spot for her!

I have wanted to start a lovely perennial garden right here. Why not build it around this ol’ gal? So I removed the planter and sign from the fence. Oh boy, this fence will need a good pressure washing to make a better backdrop for the antique mantle.

I dragged the mantle over for a visual.

She fit perfectly but I should have reinforced her wobbly joints before I moved her. She needs to be realigned. The rotted wood was worse than I had suspected. When I moved her out of the way to clean the fence she kinda sorta fell apart. So I laid her flat on the grass and put her in line for a bath.

The fence needed cleaning so I grabbed my Ryobi pressure washer to give the fence a refresh.

Wow! Already looking much better.

Since the fence cleaned up so well, I decided to pressure wash the mantle as well. I knew the chippy paint would probably all be removed but I knew the antique wood was under there and I thought that was a great trade off to restore/expose some of that antique woodgrain. Hopefully we will see an improvement.

I pressure washed the antique mantle and was pleasantly surprised to see some of the beauty of the wood appear from beneath the grime.

I moved her piece by piece into place against the fence.

One piece at a time until she stood tall.

The mantle shelf will need to be replaced as this one is beyond repair. But that is a project for another day. I also noticed, after seeing the old post picture above, that the supports for the mantle shelf are missing. So I will need to replace those. I leveled her and nailed her to the cross posts of the fence.

I am also considering to paint her as she is quite difficult to see next to the fence, even though the fence was cleaned. Wood on wood makes it a bit difficult to appreciate the antique mantle’s lines and the curves of the pillars. Normally, I would not paint an old mantle but this gal is definitely beyond her prime and I think I will need some help making her really shine again. That said, I might have some tricks up my sleeve to restore that wood a bit more. We will call that part two of this project! Stay tuned for that.

With the mantle in place and secured to the cross bars of the fence, I felt confident that the Alabama wind won’t send her back into pieces!

Planting a Garden around the Antique Mantle

This time of year, I usually have newly acquired plants sitting in the driveway waiting to be planted. Like these hydrangeas. $14.99 each? Yes, please and thank you Aldi!

And that is a butterfly bush behind the purple hydrangea. My old one did not survive this past winter. It was unusually cold. I had also grabbed a few perennials in vibrant yellow that caught my eye. Those will go into the garden here as well. I gathered some other plants from around the yard like this flapjack succulent. She weathered very well this winter in the garage and is ready to be thinned out so I will try her in the ground this season.

I added a few plant in pots to fill up the space like a strawberry pot filled with seedum and some succulents. I will fill in the spaces with more succulents. And there are some irises in in front of the mantle to be thinned and moved against the fence. I started by placing a basket of petunia like flowers (I’ll have to look up the name) on the shelf. I will eventually add some smaller pots but will need to replace that shelf first.

I placed my selection of plants in front of the mantle and started to put them into the ground.

The space filled up quickly. Mr. Blu took one look at the small section of fence and decided to pressure wash the entire fence. He was out there long after these plants went into the ground. And the entire fence is now clean!

Now to fill in the large fence back drop. I may install the mirror behind the shelf. Still deciding on that. And I’m thinking a unique trellis where the firebox would sit. There is already vinca planted to that should fill in nicely. But in the meantime, I popped my dragonflies here (fresh from their second makeover) and they are perfect!

I returned the garden sign to the area.

And added Lady.

And I think I will call it a day. I will let this little garden settle for a few weeks. Next, I will add some filler, like succulents. It needs some height behind the plants, too. And some character to the visible fence…maybe a lime wash on the mantle? I’m open for ideas here, friends! Because Mr. Blu will want those dragonflies back on his deck!

And here are all of the post from my other team members. Be sure to leave them each a comment!

Funky Junk Interiors  Upcycled Ceiling Fan Blade Flower Yard Art

Shop At Blu Antique Mantle in the Garden – Why Not??

My Repurposed Life Unique Upcycle for a $1 Thrift Store Frame

Our Southern Home Easy European Wall Art with Thrift Store Frames

Sadie Seasongoods Upcycling a Wooden Cafeteria Tray (Without Paint!)

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia Rag Flag From Thrifted Clothes

Exquisitely Unremarkable Romantic Textured Vase Makeover

Our Crafty Mom Antique Steam Trunk Makeover

Redhead Can Decorate  How I Created a Beach House Guest Room Using Heirloom Furniture 

The post Antique Mantle in the Garden appeared first on Shop at Blu.

There are two that are similar.

I had sprayed them pink and yellow and white. I had daisies on my mind. And this one is a little simpler

As you can see, they have begun to rust and have seen much better days.

Alabama sun and weather are absolutely brutal on your garden decor. Inevitably, everything fades and rusts. This being the second time to refresh these flowers, they have just about run their course. That said, I’m not buying new fence decor at the beginning of the season. So, I grabbed the spray paint and gave these sad flowers a much needed refresh.

Welcome! I’m sharing this post today with some friend in the Creative Craft Hop. This fabulous group of creator’s share monthly posts to help feed your love of all things crafty. If you are joining from Modern on Monticello…I know you enjoyed Donna’s patriotic florals. You will find all of the other posts for this month at the end of this post. Be sure to check out all of the great projects!

Let’s Upcycle Some Metal Garden Decor

First step is to prep your piece by removing any debris like leaves and vines that tend to grow on our fence where these flowers hang. After removing the debris, I gave each flower a good wipe down. It is also a good idea to give the item a scrub with a wire brush. This will remove and surface rust. And for more advanced rust, use some sandpaper and give the piece a good spot sanding. Then I grabbed the spray paint.

My go to spray paint is Rustoleum 2X with primer. It constantly does the job quickly and effectively with great coverage. I have a collection of vibrant colors from previous projects so I grabbed those.

The backs of the flowers were rusty so I started there with a heavy coat to mitigate the rusting process. I suppose the last time I concentrated on the fronts of the flowers and may have failed to spray multiple coats on the backs. Not this time. I layered quite a bit so they should be good for a while.

I am going with a multicolor look on these flowers so I sprayed the first flower and allowed it to dry. Then I laid the second on top and sprayed that. I repeated this process with the third flower. I gave each a nice thick first coat.

When the first coat had dried, I started over again with a second color. I concentrated on any areas I had missed with the first coat. I simply sprayed a spot here and a spot there and created random color. I used the layering method again until all 3 flowers had a second coat. I used 2 primary colors (pink and yellow) during this process.

Time for the 3rd coat where I used two other colors (purple and teal) as a highlighting or tertiary color.

This was a super quick project. I recommend this quick refresh for any outdoor metal decor that is still quite sturdy and exhibits minimal rust. Rustoleum colors are fabulous and the 2X coverage is incredible.

I placed the flowers back on their screws on the fence.

And I added some flowers in colorful pots to the galvanized shelf that I made a few years ago. I need to touch it up again since the Alabama heat has cause some more surface rust.

Did you know that in Alabama, portaluca will often return the following spring/summer like perennials? They don’t return after an abnormally cold winter but most winters are not brutal so we can get several years out of our portaluca. And being in the succulent family, they thrive in the Alabama summer. I have several posts about succulent and fun containers I’ve used over the years.

Updating the colors on your metal garden decor is helpful in several ways:

• Provide a new look to your preferred decor by simply changing the colors.
• Protect and extend the life of your favorite metal garden decor with Rustoleum.
• Upcycle gently used and inexpensive finds at yard sales or thrift stores.
• Make your decor items into a lovely vignette of complimentary colors.
• It’s hard to not justify thrifty upcycles!

So grab your spray cans and get to work!

Here are the rest of this month’s projects! Head over to Cecilia at My Thrift Store Addiction for some fabulous homegrown gift ideas!

Patriotic Flower And Decor Arrangement For Wired Basket Table

Crochet Necklace

Terrain Style Taper Candle Cuffs

Rooted with Love – Crafted Homegrown Gifts

How to Refresh Metal Garden Decor – That’s ME! You are here!

The post Refresh Metal Garden Art – Part Two appeared first on Shop at Blu.

Mr. Blu likes a nice variety of whiskey. I’m not a big fan of the smokey Old standard unless it is sweetened and flavored and disguised like Apple Crown. And I’ve developed a liking to flavored brandy. There’s nothing quite so shocking as sitting down to sip some Apple Crown, taking that first relaxing sip, and grimacing because you’ve got your palette full of Woodford Reserve. So, I decided to avert future disasters by making liquor bottle labels or tags for our decanters.

We had developed a bit of a whiskey and bar selection during Covid. As a blogger who is constantly trying to improve the aesthetic in my home, those bottle lined up in the kitchen became an eyesore. Does your liquor shelf look like this?

So last year, I dug out the glass and crystal decanters that were stored in the buffet, boxes, and closets around the house. I had collected these when I had my antiques and consignment store, The Blue Building. The decanters were some of the items I decided not to part with so they were in boxes in the garage.

I decided to store the more commonly enjoyed liquors in the decanters. Specialty selections would stay in their original bottles on the shelf. As you can see, my first attempt at creating labels didn’t go so well.

I used adhesive backed labels that I had picked up some time ago. They were probably too old as they curled up a bit.

I even tried to label directly on the glass with a paint marker. Ugly!

The stickers didn’t work so well on the glass and some even fell off.

And the white marker that I used didn’t create crisp letters. What a mess! I needed something that would stay put and look like it was not created in a kindergarten class.

Liquor Bottle Label Examples

I checked out the price of actual tags on Amazon and found the average price to be around $20 for 6 tags. They had liquor tags made of metal, in silver, and gold, liquor sticker labels, a nice little variety. That could get pricey with the small but varied selection on our bar top. Isn’t that why we DIY? So, I will make some DIY liquor bottle tags.

I am sharing this little project as part of the monthly Creative Craft Hop. Thank you to Donna at Modern on Monticello for hosting this month. Give her some extra love by lingering on her pages for more fabulous inspiration. If you are visiting from Sarah’s over at Birds of a Feather, welcome! I know you enjoyed Sarah’s project. Who doesn’t love a little crochet activity? Let’s get on with creating some liquor bottle labels.

Creating a Liquor Bottle Label Design

I used the graphics option in Pic Monkey to select a few designs. I decided to start simple with just a basic design of simple fonts on white background with black lettering. I can always up my game later. In my DIY world, I always start simple, learn the process, and then elevate.

I started with the whiskey since there was a great variety and then I added the flavored vodkas.

I ordered these chains from Amazon. They are 4″ long and easily snap together to increase the chain length. I used 2 for each tab.

They had many option for color. I chose this brown because I thought it resembled copper. Turns out they really look like brown but I do like the unexpected color.

I printed the graphic design and cut out the tags.

I made a few blanks.

I bought this little laminator back when I had my store. I think I have used it once. It has a variety of laminating sheets to choose from…normal page size, 5X7 for photos, and a wallet size too.

After figuring out how the heck it operated, I was able to laminate my tags.

I poked two holes in each tag and threaded the chain through each tag. I didn’t want to spend $ on a new hole punch for a tiny hole so I just used some small pointy embroidery scissors.

The chains are the right size and slip over the decanter necks very easily.

I made tags for the brands that we normally enjoy but made a few blanks that I can write on with a Sharpie.

I used a decanter that belonged to my Mom. I remember this being in our dining room but always empty. I think it is from the 1970’s.

And now I see them all of the time. I had this one in storage from my shop.

This vintage duo came from my store.

As did this one.

And this was an anniversary gift to Mom and Dad on their 25th Wedding Anniversary. Don’t mind the wonky Peach brandy label. I tried to use the label from the original bottle but the pieces wanted to move position when the ran through the laminator. I will make another label to replace this one.

I even made a few label for the guys on the bench. It’s important to be ready when you are called up!

And I still have a decanter or two to fill but I need to make a stopper for this one.

And here is the gang all ready for the party.

Below are the 5 moreprojects for this month’s Creative Craft Hop. Next, on the tour is this month’s lovely host, Donna. Be sure to leave some comments and show the creators some love! Thanks for stopping by.

How to Make Liquor Bottle Tags

Painting Mini Chairs For Shelf Decor

How to Cover an Acrylic File Organizer with Decorative Paper

Crochet Leaf Earrings

Upcycle Picture Frames to Trays

How to Crochet a Cozy Tablet Case

The post How to Make Liquor Bottle Tags appeared first on Shop at Blu.

Once you find a great piece of curbside gold, your eye will forever scour the curb on trash day. This beauty was just sitting atop a pile of branches. I heard a very faint “SAVE ME” as I passed. So, I hit the brakes and loaded her into the van. A metal outdoor side table can last many many years. And when the base is constructed of wrought iron, she may just last a lifetime or two.

If I am upcycling, recycling, repurposing, or restyling dated decor, you know it it time for the Thrift Store Decor Team monthly posts. Join us here every second Wednesday of the month to see what we have restored/repurposed this month! You will find direct links to all TEN projects at the end of this post.

Each spring I upcycle some planters or table on our deck. I remain pretty consistent with the colors. Of course, my base color is almost always blue, usually a teal. And I will add a variety of accent colors depending on what flowers I have found so far at local nurseries.

I really wanted some fabulous color in this table so I decided to try the paint pour technique. This is my first time trying paint pour. I was quite surprised to discover that there are many different techniques, products, and styles. I started, appropriately, with simple. My plan was to add the paint, tilt the table and see what this created. Just the basics.

Prep Your Piece

As always, I started by cleaning my table. I gave the wrought iron base a good wiping to remove any dust and surface dirt. I just wiped with a work glove. It worked pretty well.

The base was in great shape with minimal surface rust so Rustoleum was a good choice.

The base has really great features.

Then I sprayed the base with my go to spray paint, Rustoleum. Their hammered metal comes in a nice variety of colors. I chose brown to blend with our deck furniture. I have a little wire shelf that I use for all of my spray paint projects. I just set the project piece on top and apply a coat of spray paint. I let it dry, rotate the piece, and repeat until the entire surface is painted.

I allowed this to dry overnight. I wanted to make sure that the paint had cured because I would be taping off the base to ensure that the table top paint would not pour onto the newly painted base.

Rustoleum does not disappoint.

The next day I used brown craft paper and frogtape to mask off the entire base and the rim of the table top.

I made certain that the FrogTape was secure and left no spaces through which paint could seep.

It was not pretty but it was efficient.

Next, I prepped the wooden surface of the table top with a base coat. I used Black Dog Salvage Furniture Paint in Clean Canvas.

After this dried, it was time to pour on the white acrylic.

Commence the Paint Pour

I ordered the acrylic paint from Amazon. I decided on a background coat of white and found this larger 32 oz. volume white for the background color.

I grabbed this variety pack of 18 great colors. Bonus as it was from one of my favorite suppliers, DecoArt. If you need paint for any craft project…DecoArt is your source.

Aren’t these bold colors fabulous?

It was so difficult to narrow down the colors but I decided on:

• Ultra Blue Deep
• Ocean Blue
• Bahama Blue
• Purple Pizzazz
• Royal Fuschia
• Coral Blush
• Cadmium Yellow

I watched a few tutorials but tried to stay with the basic beginner projects. Some of the instructions recommended using Floetrol to keep the paint fluid and extend the drying time to manipulate the color across the surface. While I did have Floetrol on hand, I really wanted to start with the basics and try a simple approach on this first project. Yes, I was fairly certain going in that this would be the first of many paint pour projects.

So I did not use the Floetrol and I did not have a problem in applying the white.

Once I had all of the white added, I lifted the edge of the table closest to me and tilted it at a steep angle. The paint immediately began to run toward the opposite edge.

Once the paint ran over the edge, I set my side of the table down and grabbed the adjacent edge. I followed the same process until the top was covered with paint.

I did add a bit more white at one point to cover one of the edges. But the process was easy.

The paint did seem to be drying quickly so I was a little worried about adding the bright colors.

What I did not do, was photograph the process of adding the colors. I was a bit nervous that the paint would dry and I would be stuck with a bunch of wonky circles. It was also difficult to stop the process to grab the phone for phots since it was a quite messy. Next time I will try to set up video because even using the remote shutter gadget would entail messy fingers on my equipment and I was not going there.

My design was basically as follows:

• I put a large circle of blue in the center.
• Added smaller light blue around the large blue circle.
• Added more teal circles.
• Made a few squiggly lines randomly in
• Added some random small dots of purple, pink and yellow.

I used a skewer and pulled it through the circles to add dimension and disperse the colors across the table top. Then I started the tilt process.

I repeated the table tilt process until the color had dispersed to my liking.

I was careful to make sure the sides were covered completely as the paint ran over the edge of the table top.

There were six sides on this table so I checked them all.

I turned on the ceiling fan and left her in the room to dry overnight.

The Frogtape came off easily and there was minimal paint seepage.

And she looks great on the deck.

Another Mia approved project.

This technique has peaked my interest:

• I am interested to learn how to make different designs.
• One tutorial said to add rubbing alcohol to some of the colors to create a more dramatic effect (the paint would separate creating a different visual).
• Small projects would be really fun.
• I can see a resin finish for indoor projects.
• So many possibilities.

Cheers!

Shop at Blu Metal Outdoor Side Table Upcycle

Exquisitely Unremarkable DIY Decal Pitcher Makeover

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia Easy Decorative Moss Balls for Spring

Redhead Can Decorate How I Transformed Our Foyer with a Thrift Store Room Divider

Sadie Seasongoods Geometric Abstract Art from a Collage Frame

Our Southern Home Piano Bench Makeover with New Color and Fabric

My Repurposed Life Can This Become a Lamp?

Funky Junk Interiors Rustic TV Stand Dresser Makeover with Easy Wood Strip Drawers

Our Crafty Mom DIY Rope Vase Pottery Barn Dupe

Songbird Vintage Tool Decor Idea

The post Metal Outdoor Side Table Upcycle appeared first on Shop at Blu.

I did an organizing challenge a few years back and it was quite successful. The list was extensive. What’s nice is that you can simply select an item or two off of the list. Every little task helps. It’s great if you can follow the entire list but who can do that? Not me!

I tackled three major cluttered areas in my home. Here are the original posts.

Kitchen Pantry and Silverware Drawer

Kitchen Drawers and Cupboards

Linen Closet and Bathroom

Since those posts, I have further embraced my local dollar store as well as Amazon for some reasonable priced accessories that help keep my areas organized.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Appliance Sliders

I keep your coffee maker on the kitchen counter under the cabinets. Every morning, we have to pull it forward about 10 inches to fille the water reservoir because there is not proper clearance to lift the lid under the cabinets. This little slider makes that process easier.

I even found it in white!

Appliance Casters

The sliding board may seem a little clunky so I found these small sliders. You can attach them to the bottom of your coffee maker. These work great on my air fryer which is the size of a toaster oven.

Airtight Storage Containers

I ordered these airtight containers from Amazon or Walmart. I’ve accumulated quite a nice selection of sugars and flours for baking. I uses these for almond flour, coconut flour, swerve, brown swerve, protein powders (vanilla, chocolate and strawberry), self rising flour, all purpose flower, regular sugar, etc.

I grabbed some of these as well. They really have a phenomenal airtight seal!

Label maker

I stumbled across this special price on a Brother P-Touch label maker. Who doesn’t need one of these? I use this to label all of the flours and sugars and baking supplies in my kitchen cupboard. And another favorite use is label shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and moisturizers when traveling. These labels perfectly eliminate confusion!

These plastic bins are great in the cupboard for protein shakes, breakfast bars, small snacks, baking supplies, etc. I need to get some smaller ones to sort out our medicine cabinet. I’ve also started using them in the refrigerator to keep salad supplies and vegetables together. They are also great for staging meal supplies. Put everything in one bin and you grab it all in one swoop.

You’ve probably heard of many of these items but I thought I would share my favorites because you never know! I hope this little read gave you some ideas. We need all of the help we can get in trying to keep all of the balls in the air.

Happy Organizing!

And Happy Spring!

The post Revisiting Kitchen, Pantry, and Closet Organization appeared first on Shop at Blu.

I’ve been saving wine bottles for quite some time. You know the sentiment…”That’s a great bottle! I should use that for something.” And the stash pile grows. Well, we had a taste of deck season this past week so today is the day to use those wine bottles. Let’ make a wine bottle centerpiece!

Originally, I wanted to use these bottles in our fireplace. We have a gas fireplace but have never used it. 24 years in this house and we’ve never used the fireplace. I guess these mild Alabama winters just don’t call for a good roaring fire…says the Pennsylvania born girl.

When I got down into the fireplace, it was not so pretty. The walls, as many fireplace are, is soot stained. I considered painting it for this project but I’d rather do it right than do it quickly. When I rush a project, I usually end up redoing it. Do it right, not fast, correct? The fireplace restore will fall in line for proper attention. DIY is ugly sometimes, like this firebox.

So, my wine bottles will be used a a table centerpiece instead.

Prep Your Project Piece

With any project, prep is key. So, I washed the bottles and removed the labels. Here is a link to a previous post on How to Remove Labels from Glass Bottles. You will find some great tips on how to CLEAN old bottles as well.

Once the bottles were clean and dry, I lined them up to be cut. My plan was to cut them at different heights to lend dimension and interest to the centerpiece.

TOOLS

I did some research and ordered a bottle cutting kit from Amazon.

It came with everything needed to cut your bottles, including safety gloves!!

Proper safety gear is so important! Wear the gear!

I assembled my new tool and started scoring the bottles. The instructions said to score once and not score over the original mark. This is to ensure a clean cut. Jagged glass edges are scary.

The bottle cutter is adjustable so I made those adjustments for the larger and smaller bottles. The green bottles are wine bottles and the brown bottles are beer bottles.

Once my bottles were scored, I took my show outside to the deck. I had boiled water in a teapot.

And I filled a tall vessel (a wine chilling bucket) with ice water.

I held the bottle over a bowl and poured the boiling hot water over the score mark rotating the bottle so that the water was flowing over the entire score mark.

I poured over the score mark for 20 seconds and then immediately submerged the bottle into the ice water.

After a few seconds, I could feel the bottle jump as the score gave way and the bottle split in two.

The first bottle snapped cleanly. The second didn’t snap right away so I wiggled it and tapped the chilling bucket with the bottle. It did snap but the snap was not clean.

The next time a bottle didn’t snap immediately, I moved it back to the boiling water pour and repeated the process. This time, it did snap when submerged into the ice water. Don’t rush the process, just repeat. Good life advice: don’t wiggle and trust the process.

Finishing the Bottles

Once my wine bottles were all cut, I sanded the edges with fine grit sandpaper to remove the sharp edges.

Be sure to wear the gloves as the glass is quite sharp.

Even with the gloves, be gentle and careful in sanding.

Once all of my bottles were cut, I dried them all.

I grabbed some votive candles.

I arranged the bottles on a riser at the center of the table.

I dropped a lit votive candle into each bottle and arranged them on the table. Voila…a centerpiece!

Of course I had to see how this would look on our dining table.

I like it!

And, lastly…the soot covered firebox…

Not too bad! But definitely on the project list!

Mia approves!

And here are this month’s projects from the TEAM!

Thrift Store Cat Boxes-Decoupage Makeover

Style a Classic Coffee Table with Thrifted Items

How To Age Terracotta Pots

Wine Bottle Centerpiece

How to Apply Gold Leaf to Canvas

Vintage Suitcase Storage Cabinet

DIY Outlet Cover Picture Frame

Free Home Decorating Ideas Using Colored Glass Vases

The post Wine Bottle Centerpiece appeared first on Shop at Blu.

It’s March! This Irish Catholic gal feels compelled to fashion a craft in honor of my Irish Heritage. So I popped into the local Dollar Tree in search of some fabulously inexpensive supplies with which to create a new wreath for St. Patrick’s Day. I should have visited last month as there really wasn’t much fab left in the realm of wreath supplies. They had the normal green leis and flowers and little black pots. Even the ribbon was not so special. Then I saw them. These little bags of colored stones.

Sure, most folks use them as vase fillers. I admit that I’ve always turned my nose up at them. But, today, I’m envisioning stained glass shimmering in the sun. I’ve got my inspiration so let’s get that St. Patrick’s Day Wreath going.

I grabbed a few other supplies including these gaudy gold picks. I’m not sure if I will use them but let’s see where the project takes us!

This project is part of the Creative Craft Hop brought to you on the second Tuesday of every month by a fabulous group of talented crafters. Each month, we share our projects and provide a sweet little collection for you to browse through!

Welcome to this month’s the Creative Craft Hop! Are you ready for some new projects? Thanks to Sara at Birdz of a Feather for hosting this month. If you are following along and just arrived from visiting Gail at Purple Hues and Me, I know you just loved the beautiful colors in Gail’s project. All of the other projects are listed for you at the end of my project. So, let’s get creating!

The Plan

If you’re familiar with my style, you know I love love love colored glass and stained glass. My goal is to affix these stones to a wreath that I can hang in the sunlight where the colors will dance. I’m not so sure how practical this is but let’s give it a try. I have a sunny kitchen with a glass door just waiting for some Irish green.

Supplies

• wire wreath
• 4 bags of floral stones
• hot glue gun and glue sticks
• safety finger tips
• ribbon
• medium sized beads
• floral tape

I know that these stones will probably make my wreath rather heavy.

So, I will have to make sure that they are really secured onto the wire frame.

I used some floral tape and wrapped the wire frame to provide a flat surface for the stones.

Ready to start attaching the gems.

I grabbed my Ryobi cordless glue gun.

And these silicone finger tip protectors.

Glue guns are HOT and will burn your skin!!! Take precaution and use these protectors. I promise, you (and your finger tips) will thank me!

Then I just started to glue the stones to the frame.

I’d dab 3-5 stones with hot glue and then plop them onto the frame. I started with one layer and then glued more stones in a second layer to fill the spaces.

NOTE: I did not heed my own advise (see photo above) and I DID BURN MY FINGERS!

Eventually, I made my way around the wreath.

It takes some time but just continue around the wreath filling the holes with gems.

I had bought those gaudy gold floral picks but decided to go with a simple ribbon that reminded me of Irish lace.

And here she is…

I’m not sure if I like the longer bow or the shorter bow.

As promised, here are the other projects.  Cecilia from My Thrift Store Addiction is next with a some fabulous chalkboard tips.

Thanks for stopping by and remember to come back next month for more inspiration.

Handpainted Printed Crocus Design Vase

Leather Earrings with Soda Can Beads

Dollar Store St. Patrick’s Day Wreath – That’s me.  YOU ARE HERE!

The Easy Way to Create Decorative Chalkboards

DIY Boho Wall Decor with Floral Stems

The post Dollar Store St. Patrick’s Day Wreath appeared first on Shop at Blu.

I have seen the most lovely vintage Christmas glitter ornaments. You know the ones with the little retro elf on a round paper ornament outlined by silver tinsel? Or the cute little festive pixie in the Santa skirt? I missed the window for Christmas. Let’s make some for Valentine’s Day!

This month, I am joining a new group of blogger friends on their monthly post of craft projects. I am thrilled to be joining the Creative Craft Hop.

This craft team posts on the second Tuesday of every month so be sure to check back here EVERY month for all of the fabulous new projects.

If you are joining me from BIRDZ OF A FEATHER, welcome! And if you are a returning friend, welcome back!! You will find all of this months newly created craft projects at the end of this post. We created these just for you!

A Proper Introduction!

HELLO!

Hello! I’m Suzanne. I owned an antique store, The Blue Building Antiques and Consignment, for 10 years, here in Alabama near Birmingham. We closed it in 2019. I have loved creating for as long as I can remember. I’m an only child and my oldest memories are of puttering beside my dad in his workshop in our Philadelphia home. I’m back to work full time now for a regional bank but I still dabble with this blog every chance I get. My passion is for furniture but really any kind of painting gets me going. I love a good challenge and transforming old items into beautiful focal points is one of my favorite things to do. Enough about me, let’s get on with today’s crat project – creating some fabulous Valentine ornaments.

Gather Some Valentines or Graphics

I started by gathering all of my favorite vintage love graphics. I suppose 50 ornaments will do but of course I will over plan.

I found some great graphics from the following sources:

The Graphics Fairy

And, honestly, I grabbed a bunch from Google. I carefully printed them to the size I needed on cardstock. This worked rather well

Since I planned on creating 50+ ornaments, I decided it was wise to purchase a circular paper cutter so I grabbed one from Amazon. It’s always nice for the menial tasks to move a little more quickly.

Supply List for Printable Valentine Ornaments:

• white cardstock paper
• home printer
• circle cutter
• thin craft brush
• medium stiff craft brush
• gold leaf/multi color foil
• gold leaf glue
• glue gun
• Christmas hooks
• glue sticks

Glitter can be kind of messy so I decided not to use the actual glitter. I decided to give gold leaf a try instead. So I ordered some gold leaf and glue. I grabbed a foil packet with multiple colors. My plan was to use the red, pink, silver and gold.

I saved a bunch of graphics from the internet and printed them on cardstock. Then I used my new circle cutter to cut them out.

I found so many great graphics!

This project would be fabulous using actual vintage greeting cards! I will have to try this with some of my parents’ old cards. Mom didn’t throw a card away!

There was a wonderful selection in colors for the gold leaf. Each piece of gold leaf was sandwiched between two pieces of wax paper. The leaf is very delicate. If you touch it with your fingers, it actually seems to almost disintegrate. So, I did practice a bit to gain confidence with the process. I followed the directions for apply the gold leaf (and the pink leaf, the red leaf, and the silver leaf).

I used a paint brush to paint the “gold leaf glue” along the edges of each circular ornament.

Then I laid the gold leaf onto the glue and patted it down with a firm bristled brush (actually a stencil brush).

After application, I used the brush to smooth out the leaf and distribute any excess leaf.

It went rather quickly once I got the hang of the process. I liked the way the gold leaf randomly stuck to the glue in some spots but not in others. If you’ve been around here for a while, you know I like randomness and distressing. So this was right up my alley.

I varied the colors of the metallic leaf trim. I used mostly red and pink and gold. But I did use some purple and some silver just to add some variety.

It really was fun combining the colors with the various prints.

So many variations!

After the ornaments dried for about an hour, I hot glued a Christmas hook to the back of each one.

I also used some of the pipe cleaners to edge a few ornaments.

But the metallic leaf was my favorite.

When I had a good number of ornaments, I added them to the tree.

I had created a good variety!

Puppies and kittens and angels.

How cute would green glitter St. Patrick’s Day ornaments be on a tree? Or patriotic Red, White, and Blue! I had better get busy.

Now I just need to get the mantle finished before the 14th!!

As promised, here are the team’s craft projects! If you are following in order, head over to visit Carol next at BLUE SKY AT HOME. Carol has a great little decoupage project for you!

Be sure to visit everyone over the next week! We certainly appreciate your support. And be sure to leave some comments as we would LOVE to know what you want to see next!

Crochet a Mini Hanging Planter (with Dollar Store Supplies!

Adorable Decorative Pillows

Decorative Cord and Mesh Placemat

Eyeglass Holder

Valentine’s Glitter Ornaments

How To Decoupage A Wood Box For Home Decor

Here are a few past Valentine’s projects:

The post Valentine’s Glitter Ornaments appeared first on Shop at Blu.

This time of year is always too busy! We are finally getting our Christmas decorations up and holiday shopping is in full swing. Our little group of fabulous creators always takes a small break from creating in December. So, our Thrift Store Decor Team monthly posts will be a round up of our favorite posts from this year.

You are in for a treat as we have some new team members this year! We’ve compiled our favorite thrift store finds just for you.

I thought I would lead off by sharing my bedroom in her full Christmas attire. While it’s not technically an upcycle project, all of the ornaments and accessories were found at thrift stores, consignment shops, and yard sales. I guess you would call this an accumulation of fabulous vintage and antique Christmas decor!

Here is the mantle that I restored a few years ago. I stripped several layers of paint off of this glorious 1800’s mantle to create a headboard. You can read about the restoration here.

I added some vintage Christmas ornaments and my MIL’s wooden thread spools. I might keep this up year round because…why not??? Oh, and velvet ribbon is a must!

Isn’t she just lovely??

And here is my King of Christmas Noble Fir. I had admired these stunning yet simple trees for quite some time. The tree is beautiful undecorated.

But she just sparkles with these Shiny Brights and vintage ornaments.

It will take me a few more years to collect even more ornaments to really fill up those branches. But I am certainly up for the challenge.

Our Thrift Store Decor Team tour today is a sharing of our favorite posts from our team members from throughout the year. You will find posts from some of our newest team members. When I say you will be thrilled to get to know them, believe me. They are amazing. We do have some team members who are skipping this month because…well, life this time of year is quite hectic and sometimes, you just have to slow down and enjoy the season. Be sure to check back for January’s team posts and we are all exited for the new year and new projects.

Meet the Team!

GAIL

First up is Gail from My Repurposed Life. Gail is a wiz with power tools. If you need it built, Gail is your gal. This year, Gail bought some property with some friends and has been creating her country hideaway. I’m so excited for her to be realizing a dream. And she did not miss a step in continuing to share her amazing projects. If you are looking for ways to upcycle items on a budget to fill a living space, you have found the source.

While any of Gail’s makeover projects are incredible, I select this drop leaf table. She always finds practical items that anyone would find valuable.

In most of her projects, Gail teaches you how to repair furniture, prep and paint, and basically how to breathe life into a seemingly way-too-worn furniture item. From replacing screws, to repairing legs to building something fabulous, Gail is full of knowledge to share. You are even guaranteed an introduction to various DIY products in a single post. So check out this project and scroll through the blog, you will be fascinated by Gail’s skills.

KRISTIN

Next up is Kristin from My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia. Kristin is one of our resident decor experts. Give her a toothpick, some felt, and a bag of anything and Kristin will literally MacGuyver you a spectacular item for your home. She has a knack with colors and can walk you through any project. Curious about cutting glass? Check out Kristin’s blog. Want to make a spoon ring? Yep, Kristin lays it out.

This was a beat up, paint peeling mess. Kristin turned it into a keeper. An added bonus with this project is you get some tips on using resin.

And just because why not…she did another.

Lookout Stanley, Kristin is sharing the secrets to a thrifty substitute. You will definitely find a project that will excite you on Kristin’s page. Get over there, pronto!

KIM

Kim at Exquisitely Unremarkable is anything BUT unremarkable. You’ve all seen your share of the repurposed and upcycle thrift store lamp. But this one is fabulous with the colors that Kim selected and the eye she has for staging.

Perhaps the most difficult part of upcycling is merging your fabulous creation into your living space. Kim does this with ease and just watching her technique is simply inspiring.

Check out how Kim takes simple thrift store finds and transforms them into what appear to be timeless treasures! I love the cottage feel in her pages. And I can’t wait to see more projects in 2026.

CHRISTY

While we are on the subject of thrift store lamps, Christy from Our Southern Home is another of our decor experts. Have you been wanting to try that bleach technique on your wooden furniture? Wonder how Rub ‘n Buff works? Did you find a fabulous lamp at the thrift store that needs to be rewired? Christy will show you.

You don’t have to completely revamp an old lamp. Just change what you don’t like. But if you do need to rewire, Christy will tell you how. Polish, shine, paint, etc. Keep the integrity of the piece but adapt it for your home. This is where Christy shines. How about that lampshade??!!

Want to sharpen your decorating skills? You will find those tips on Christy’s page. Take this gallery wall for instance…a must read! Get scrolling to see all of the skills you need to learn!

The feature of these thrift store finds really highlights the talents on this team. Grab an everyday thrift store find and the team will offer you several ways to transform it for practical use in your home. Each team member has a different style, but the skills and creativity are strong and always inspiring. Learn some new skills! Check out some new tools! Enjoy an introduction to new products! And enjoy the inspiration!

Here are our favorite posts from the team from 2025.

Be sure to leave some comments and let us who what you like and what you want to see. We love your comments and value your suggestions!

The post Favorite Thrift Store Finds, Upcycles, and Makeovers appeared first on Shop at Blu.