Monday, April 9, 2012

Upcycled Spice Rack into Vases

Happy Monday everyone!

Today I'm going to show you how I repurposed a thrifted spice rack into a cute set of vases.
This was a very simple little project, but I think it turned out really cute.

While I was at Goodwill the other day, I spotted this little spice rack for $1.99. 

This was a 'new' set...and by new I mean that each of the spice jars still had plastic around the cork stoppers, so it was used as a decorative piece by it's previous owner.
BUT....after getting it home and opening each jar...well when I went to dump out the spices, they were all stuck inside the jars, and I had to take a bamboo skewer and poke around inside of them to loosen everything enough for it to come out. The parsley had actually turned a bright yellow it was so old. Ew..haha!

Anyway, after I got all of the spices out, I soaked the bottles in hot soapy water. I used an old toothbrush to clean the insides. The labels and glue, after soaking, slide right off which was nice, so I didn't have to pick at everything to get it to come off.


The rack itself is metal, and is heavy and sturdy....but it was a sort of brownish/gray color that I didn't like, and had some sort of metallic paint on the leaves.
I took it into the garage and sprayed it with a coat of my matte black spray paint, which made it look cleaner and much better.


Now for the cork stoppers. Each stopper was different, depicting what was in each jar. I didn't want to refill it with the same kind of spices, and considered just painting all of the stoppers one color, but that wouldn't have looked right. Also, the one that was used for the garlic smelled SO strong I don't think I would have ever gotten the odor out. 



So I put the empty jars in the rack and left it out on my counter for a few days until I decided what I wanted to do with it.



Then I was reading some blogs that I follow one day, and I saw this awesome idea on My Simple Country Life's blog:
Upcycled Wood Frame Wall Flower Vase at My Simple Country Life

Then it hit me....I don't have to use my jars for spices...I can use them as vases! I've seen people use all shapes and sizes of bottles and jars as vases, and really love how they look.

I immediately thought that one single flower in each one would look great, but since our weather has not yet warmed up...there aren't any flowers in sight. So what I did was just clip little sprigs of some artificial things that I had in other vases and things. I do like the green, but these will be nice when I want to add a pop of color to my kitchen and can add some brightly colored flowers.

I also considered adding some decoupage labels on the bottles, possible some vintage French perfume labels or something, but I do like just them clear as well. 

So here is my finished project. Total cost - $1.99
And another accent piece to use once I finish my kitchen painting project.



I just love this!
Here is a before and after shot....what a difference a little paint and cleaning up can make!

Thank you all for stopping by to take a look at what I've been up to.
Please feel free to follow me so you can come back again to see what other junk I've been up to. ;)
Also, I love to hear from you, so please lave a comment and let me know what you think!

Have a wonderful day!  :)

This post was featured here:
Reduce, Reuse, UPcycle

My entry into Fridays Unfolded sponsored 
by Appliances Online and Bosch Washing Machines



Linking to these parties:
Monday
A Diamond in the Stuff ~ Between Naps on the Porch ~ Boogieboard Cottage ~ Brassy Apple ~ Cherished Handmade Treasures ~ C.R.A.F.T. ~ CraftOManiac ~ DIY Home Sweet Home ~ Home Savvy A to Z ~ Keeping It Simple ~ Lines Across My Face ~ Making The World Cuter ~ Our Delightful Home ~ Polly Want a Crafter Sarahndipities ~ Serendipity and Spice ~ Sew Can Do ~ Singing Three Little Birds ~ Skip To My Lou ~ Sumo's Sweet Stuff ~ The Girl Creative ~ The Southern Institute
Tuesday
A Bowl Full of Lemons ~ Adventures of a DIY Mom ~ At Home With K ~ Chef in Training ~ Cherished Bliss ~ Coastal Charm ~ Crafty Confessions ~ Debbie Does Creations ~ DIY By Design ~ Elizabeth & Co. ~ Funky Polkadot Giraffe ~ Home Stories A to Z ~ Homework ~ House of Grace ~ How To Nest For Less ~ Kammy's Korner ~ Mommy By Day Crafter By Night ~ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia ~ Not Just a Housewife ~ Nothing But Country ~ Sassy Sites! ~ Sugar Bee Crafts ~ Sweet Little Gals ~ The Blackberry Vine ~ The Lettered Cottage ~ The Project Queen ~ The REAL Housewives of Riverton ~ Tip Junkie ~ Today's Creative Blog ~ Vintage Wanna Bee
Wednesday
{Primp} ~ A Little Tipsy ~ Blue Cricket Design ~ Cheap Crafty Mama ~ Fabric Bows and More ~ Fireflies and Jellybeans ~ Gingersnap Crafts ~ Handy Man, Crafty Woman ~ Happy Hour Projects ~ Home Happy Home ~ I Gotta Create ~ Ivy and Elephants ~ Lil' Luna ~ My Girlish Whims ~ Night Owl Crafting ~ Oopsey Daisy ~ Polka Dots On Parade ~ Restore Interiors ~ Savvy Southern Style ~ seven thirty three ~ Sew Much Ado ~ Someday Crafts ~ Southern Lovely ~ Sugar and Dots ~ Tea Rose Room ~ The NY Melrose Family ~ The Sasse Life ~ The Trendy Treehouse ~ Vintage Gwen
Thursday
{aka} design ~ A Glimpse Inside ~ Bear Rabbit Bear ~ Brambleberry Cottage ~ Delightful Order ~ House of Hepworths ~ Just Winging It ~ live laugh rowe ~ Momnivore's Dilemma ~ My Repurposed Life ~ No Minimalist Here ~ RadCrafter ~ Saved by Suzy ~ School House Scraps ~ Somewhat Simple ~ The 36th Avenue ~ The CSI Project ~ Thrifty 101
Friday
2805 ~ 504 Main ~ Addicted 2 Decorating ~ At The Picket Fence ~ Blissful and Domestic ~ Chic On a Shoestring Decorating ~ Delicate Construction ~ Family Ever After ~ Finding My Way in Texas ~ Fingerprints On The Fridge ~ Five Days 5 Ways ~ French Country Cottage ~ Happy-Go-Lucky ~ Happy Hour Projects ~ Here Comes The Sun ~ Just A Girl ~ Kojo Designs ~ little becky homecky ~ love notes by lauryn ~ Momma's Kinds Crafty ~ Nap Time Crafters ~ One Artsy MamaRemodelaholic ~ Sassy Sites ~ See Vanessa Craft ~ Serenity Now ~ Stuff and Nonsense ~ The Charm of Home ~ The Creative Paige ~ The Grant Life ~ The Rooster and the Hen ~ The Shabby Nest ~ Thirty Handmade Days ~ Tidy Mom ~ Whipperberry
Saturday
Be Different Act Normal ~ Funky Junk Interiors ~ Lolly Jane Boutique ~ Lovely Crafty Home ~ Positively Splendid ~ Six Sisters' Stuff ~ Young and Crafty
Sunday
Ask Anna ~ DIY Showoff Flamingo Toes ~ Homemaker On A Dime ~ I Heart Nap Time ~ It's Overflowing ~ It's So Very Cheri ~ My 1929 Charmer ~ Nifty Thrifty Things ~ Petite Hermine ~ Randee's Organized Chaos ~ Sew Chatty ~ Sew Many Ways ~ Under The Table and Dreaming



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25 comments:

  1. This is such a great idea. Thanks for Linking up at Show Me What You Got Tuesday's @ ODH http://ourdelightfulhome.blogspot.com/2012/04/show-me-what-you-got-linky-party-9.html

    Mrs. Delightful
    www.ourdelightfulhome.blogspot.com

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  2. LOVE this! great upcycling....I'll have to see if I can find something like this at our Goodwill...my favorite place for a bargain! :)

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  3. Very clever. Looks so cute with all the items you placed with it. Thanks for sharing.

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  4. Love it, hmmm you know what they say about great minds, giggle. You may like my post today xo

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  5. Amazing what a can of spray paint can do for our attitudes in general, ain't it? :)

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  6. Very cute! I love the shape of the bottles/vases. I now have to add spice rack with bottles to my thrift store/yard sale list!

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  7. Great idea! I'd love to have you stop by and share at What's New Wednesday, going now through Saturday night!

    http://www.gratefulbelly.com/2012/04/whats-new-wednesday-four.html

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  8. I love this idea of framing them up in a rustic frame with chicken wire & used as a vase! I have those same spice jars, but I bought them new nearly 20 years ago.

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  9. So cute! Love the jars as vases. Thanks so much for sharing at Terrific Tuesdays.
    Rachel
    adventuresofadiymom.blogspot.com

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  10. Great upcycle! I have seen lots of glass jar/vase collections like this at HomeSense lately so you've made something dated very current, too! Spray paint is awesome :)

    Claire @ alittlesomethinginthemeantime.blogspot.com

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  11. How delightful! It looks so spring-inspired.

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  12. Awesome upcycle!! Thanks for linking to Things I've Done Thursday!

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  13. Definitely worth recycling / up cycling rather than throwing away! Thanks so much for sharing at The Mother Lode linky party over at I Gotta Create!
    <3 Christina
    http://igottacreate.blogspot.com

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  14. Painting the spice rack made a huge difference! How cut it is now!!!

    gail

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  15. Wow, what a beautiful use for a spice rack! This is incredible. Thanks for sharing at oopsey daisy!

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  16. Love it! Much better than the spices. Thanks for sharing at Toot Your Horn Tuesday :)

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  17. Very sweet idea! And I love the fresh bright greens - so happy!

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  18. It looks great! I love when you can tranform an everyday item into something that you love. Thanks so much for sharing at Whimsy Wednesdays!

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  19. I wish I could find something like this at my local thrift shop. Love the transformation! Thanks for sharing at Tout It Tuesday.

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  20. Your little spice rack was a steal, Jackie! And it makes the cutest flower holder.

    Thanks for linking to Time Travel Thursday.

    Blessings,
    Liz @ The Brambleberry Cottage

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  21. This is such a great idea, I would love to feature this on Reduce, Reuse, Upcycle. Feel free to stop by and grab a featured button. Thanks!

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  22. Hello! I’m stopping in to invite you to join us at the Clever Chicks Blog Hop
    this week!

    http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/11/clever-chicks-blog-hop-7-country-craft.html

    I hope to see you there!
    Cheers!
    Kathy
    The Chicken Chick

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