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DIY Floral Vase

As I have been cleaning out my secret storage areas, I have been working on creating new piles.  But we are talking about the good kind of piles.  Piles to keep, piles to donate and piles to Craigslist.  One of the rules I am making for the keep pile, is to do something with the item now {or super soon}, or else it can't stay.  I have found that many of the items I was saving, were items that I eventually intended on doing something with, and then never did.

And can we talk about taking on these organizing projects of epic scale?  Sometimes, a happy little craft project in the middle of a giant and stressful purge project, is just what the Doctor orders.  

While looking at my piles, I noticed quite a few home accessories.  Many of them, just old, generic vases from gifted flowers.

So I grabbed one of those boring vases, and gave it a little attention.


This was a super simple, 15 minute project, that left me grinning cheek to cheek.  Gotta love those the most right?

So I started with the glass vase, and first, wanted to glam it up a bit with a gold rim.  So, I taped it off with painters tape.  To avoid having to tape the entire inside, I just stuffed a plastic bag inside below the first row of tape.



And I was left with a vase that already looked much more expensive than it did before I started.


I wanted to add a little bit of a graphic pattern up the front {not on the back, as I didn't want it to compete with the front through the clear vase}.  I have been really crushing on giant floral patterns lately, especially in fabrics and clothing.  So I went straight to my paper stash, and snagged a piece that had a pattern I loved.


I found this paper from Archivers within the past few weeks, for those who may love it as much as I do.

I could have used either a craft knife or small scissors.  The pattern was large enough in scale, that I opted for the easier route... Scissors.

Once the pattern was cut out, I grabbed some Mod Podge.  Because I would be placing the floral pattern on a glass vase, I selected the glossy finish.


I started by brushing the back side of the cut-out, with the Mod Podge, and then positioned it onto the vase.  I then brushed another thin coat over the top of the graphic.


I had tested the finish in a small area on the bottom of the vase, prior to adhering the graphic, and there was a slightly noticeable difference from the Mod Podge to the glass.  Therefore, I tried to keep it as contained to the graphic as possible when applying the top coat.  I then used a rag to clean up around the edges of the graphic and remove any excess adhesive.

Pretty darling little project right?


The gold rim really was the perfect touch to give it a nice, chic effect.


I had all of the items I needed on hand, so this project came in at a whopping FREE price tag {with the exception of the pretty Trader Joe's flowers}.  What I really love is that it can easily be replicated with cutout fabric or gift wrap as well.  The sky is the limit!

  
It also got one more thing out of the storage room, and onto our shelves!  That in itself is a win in my book!

Update!  You will want to add a few coats of protective clear spray finish {similar to this} to the vase, to ensure your hard work doesn't go down the drain the first time you carefully wash it by hand.

Anyone else playing the "Use it or lose it" game?  What other creative ways do you use your stock of simple glass vases?