Champagne Cork Picture Holder

The idea for a Champagne cork picture holder came about when I made my Monogram Jute Initial, it just took me this long to get around to posting about it!
I like the look of the jute letter with the cork holder, it gives it a country-ish feel.

What you will need:
Champagne cork (or any cork really)
Nail with a flat head
Hot glue gun

The first thing you want to do is to start making the hole into the cork {remember to make a hole in the side that will NOT be facing outward.}  Make the hole by simply pushing the nail {pointy side} into the cork.  You may need a little help from mr. hammer for this part. 

Next, take the nail out of the cork.  Then, push the nail back into the cork flat side first.  Once the nail is 2/3 into the cork hot glue around the base of the cork to ensure that the nail won't come out.

Now just stick that baby into the wall and hang away!

Monogram Jute Initial

I always love the letters I see in home goods stores to display on a mantle or bookshelf, but they always are so expensive! And, when they do go on sale, all of the good letters are sold out. Instead of waiting around for one, I decided to make my own. It's really cheap and easy too.

What you will need:
Cardboard
Jute (mine only cost $1 for 3 rolls at the dollar store)
Hot glue gun

The first thing you need to do is figure out the size and font type you want your letter to be. I used Word and made my letter fill the whole page and printed it. Then you want to cut out 2 cardboard letters from the letter you printed (or more if you want your letter thicker.)

Lay the 2 cardboard letters on top of each other. To make sure the jute was secure when I started wrapping it around the letter, I wedged the tail of it between the 2 cardboard letters.

Start wrapping the jute around the cardboard. Make sure that it is tight around the cardboard, otherwise it will unravel.

You want the jute to pretty much wrap in the same direction, otherwise it will look messy. Depending on your letters, you may need to cut small strands and glue them down like I have done in order for it to look neat and pretty. This is up to you, wrap that letter however your heart desires!

I wrapped the leg of the L perpendicular to the base to make my life easier! Then cut strands for the top portion like I did for the base.

Before I was completely done with the top part, I cut 3 strands of jute the length that I wanted it to hang. I braided them together, inserted them between the 2 cardboards like I did in the first step, and secured them in with a dab of glue.

Upcycled Glass Bottle

My husband and I were shopping at my company’s store, and we spotted this Adult Chocolate Milk. I really wanted to get it, as I love chocolate milk {and already had an idea for the bottle to be re-purposed once we finished it!} Needless to say, it looked better than it tasted. I needed to add a ton more milk and chocolate syrup for it to taste right. It lasted longer than I expected, but we finally finished it all.

What you will need:

Any glass bottle with a lid

Start by removing both the front and back label of your glass bottle. The label on this one came off perfectly in one piece since the label was plastic not paper. But, if your glass has a paper label, just soak the label under running water and rub with your fingers.

Next, clean your bottle from whatever was in there before. You don’t want your lemonade smelling like booze! If the smell won’t come out after washing it, leave the glass overnight filled with diluted vinegar and water.

Now, fill the glass with lemonade or whatever drink you like!
Another great idea is to use it for your olive oil, so much better than the ugly store containers they come in, or even salad dressings…the ideas are endless!