You can surely tell that it is spring! Things are crazy busy all the time. The yard work and flowerbed preparation has begun. Together with appointments and just my all around struggle with fibromyalgia, I feel like I am either spinning out of control or stuck in bed. It greats frustrating at times and I just don't feel that my long list of projects will ever reach its end.
I have, however, been able to fit a few small ones in here and there. The lastest is an upcycle rope vase which was inspired by something that I seen on Pinterest, of course. I have a box full of old glass vases from old flower arrangements or dollar/thrift store finds. I have never been able to just get rid of them. I have no idea why.
My solution to this problem is taking a few of them and wrapping them in jute rope. That way they can match on the exterior, but it doesn't matter what size or color they are on the inside. It's all the rage to have mismatched shapes and sizes. So, I began.
On a recent trip to the local one dollar shop, I was able to find skeins of rope. It is not as thick or dark in color as some of the more expensive choices. But, it was only ONE DOLLAR for each skein.
A little Mod Podge and the vase, and I am ready to begin.
I started by placing a piece of waxed paper on my work surface. I could see this was going to get real messy, real quick. I then began putting a little Mod Podge (glue) not only on the bottom of the vase, but on the rope as well. I held the end to the vase with my finger and began slowing wrapping and stacking the rope. Remember I told you it would get mess, well it did.
Make sure that you keep glue on the vase and rope throughout the process. It makes the rope stay in place a little better because it keeps it tacky. Also, keep an eye on your project so that you are making sure to push the rope together (downward). You don't want too much space showing through.
All was going just as planned until I got to this point. The extreme curve in the vase turned out to be a bit tricky. I solved the problem by adding some rope up the curve and keeping it as uniform as possible. It proved difficult to keep the rope pushed down so that space wouldn't show, so I gave up on that through this point.
Once I had it applied the best I could. I stopped and let that much dry overnight. Don't cut the rope, just make sure it isn't touching the rest of the project.
The next day, I began applying the glue and rope the rest of the way up the vase. At the top, I overlapped the rope a few times to give it a wider looking opening. A trick of the eye. Cut the rope and glue it down as good as possible. Don't worry if it comes up a bit, you can cut it off closer after it dries.
I didn't forget about the mess around that curve. Now you can go back to them. Apply a good coat of glue over the rope that was applied before. Fill in the spaces with more rope. Stack it up as high as you want for design purposes, or just wrap it to fill in. Use the same procedure for cutting the end as you did on the top.
After you have let it set overnight, go back with some scissors and cut off the excess rope and any annoying frays. The dollar store rope will have a lot more of those than the more expensive rope. I used just over half of one skein of jute rope for this project. So I spent less than one dollar for this vase.
WHAT I LEARNED FROM THIS PROJECT:
- Patience...alot of patience.
- Don't use a vase with an extreme curve in it if you didn't learn the first point (patience).
- Don't be afraid to stack the rope up for a more 3 dimensional design.
- Be prepared to scrub and peel Mod Podge off your hands and nails for a while...especially if you have long fingernails.
Go out there and create your world! It doesn't take alot of money, nor does it take alot of artistic ability. If it looks good to you, then you are successful!
I will be making more of these and maybe use them as gifts. I am always looking for a last minute gift for someone for a housewarming, birthday, etc.
Please leave me a comment and let me know how your project turned out. Share what you learned from the process.
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