Saturday 18 March 2017

Upcycled Spring Vase & Pen Pot

Spring has definitely sprung in our part of the world so here's a simple upcycling idea for bringing a little spring prettiness into your home.
Upcycled Spring vase and pen pot
If you are in the southern hemisphere and heading into Autumn, maybe just pin for now and come back to this in 6 months! 


In order to bring you this craft project I was provided with some products by Hobbycraft.

Perfect for an Easter Table centerpiece or just as a fun way to brighten your indoor space, this vase started it's life as a jam jar. I don't know why we call them all jam jar's here in the UK when this jar didn't contain jam at all! It actually contained mincemeat that we used for mincepies last Christmas, it's a good size jar, 13cm/5" tall - perfect for a vase. 

To make this vase or the pen pot you will need:
  • Faux grass - mine was this one from Hobbycraft
  • Artificial daisy heads - I used these also from Hobbycraft
  • A clean old jam jar for the vase
  • A clean old food tub of some sort for the pen pot
  • Scissors
  • A hot glue gun - mine is one of these
This is a super quick project, it took longer to clean up afterwards that it did to make the vase and pen pot! 

Simple cut the faux grass to fit in a band around your jam jar. I made my band about 7cm/3" wide as I wanted a little glass and therefore stems showing top and bottom, yours can be as wide or narrow as you wish.
It's really easy to cut with regular scissors, but it is a little messy as you can see. Just rub your hands over the grass after you've cut it to remove all the loose bits and to fluff it up a bit. 
Now hot glue it to the jam jar. No photos of this bit I'm afraid as I can't hot glue and take photos simultaneously but I'm sure you can work it out! 
Just be careful of your fingers with that hot glue. Once it's attached, just press firmly to the glass for a few seconds until the glue cools down and hardens.

Next take the artificial daisy heads and glue them to the grass. I did a fairly regular pattern but you could dot them randomly all over or place them in a line, whatever takes your fancy.
That's it! Simple as that. Fill your jar with water and pop in some spring flowers. I went for daffodils as they scream Spring and Easter to me.
Upcycled Spring vase and pen pot
This would make a great Mother's Day gift too, maybe not for small children to do with the hot glue but anyone else could rustle this up easily. 
Jam Jar upcycled to a Spring vase
You could even just add a grass wrap around an existing vase and just tie it on firmly with twine if you wanted a large bunch of flowers for an Easter celebration, that way once you were finished with it you could easily remove it and stash it away for next year. Some sort of rustic twine could look great with the grass and daisies, tied in a bow, maybe with an Easter tag. 

Making the pen pot uses exactly the same method. 
Upcycled Spring diasy pen pot
This time I covered a coffee tin but covered it completely in the faux grass. It was just a case of cutting the faux grass to size, hot gluing it on and then adding the daisies. This time I just used white daisies - just mixing things up a bit!
The tin gets surprisingly warm inside as the glue is cooling, I guess the metal holds the heat but it was never dangerously hot.  
Once it had cooled I popped my prettiest pens in and added it to the desk. 
Coffee tub upcycled into a daisy pen pot
This tin could be a planter too of course, as long as your recycled container is water tight you could add a potted plant in there instead - now that really would be ideal for Mother's day. 
Just bear in mind that metal tins used as planters will rust at the bottom eventually. You can read my cautionary tale about that here.

I've got a few more Easter and Spring crafting ideas in the pipeline made from the products Hobbycraft provided, plus they have loads more ideas here if you are in an Easter decorating mood now!
You might also be interested in:
Carrot Treat Bag
Carrot Treat bag
Tassel Button key Ring
Tassel Button Key Ring
Washi Tape Berry Boxes
Washi Tape Berry Boxes
Wedding Day Emergency Kit
Wedding Day Emergency Kit
I'll be linking up this project at some of these lovely link parties
Sum of their Stories
Sum of their Stories

Hello, I'm Julie. I love making things and this is where I share my enthusiasm.

30 comments:

  1. Super cute idea Julie! The pen holder is really sweet. Visiting from Happiness Is Homemade party.

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  2. I love this! How clever. The faux grass is perfect for this. Thanks for sharing at Snickerdoodle. Pinned.

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    1. It was fun to use for crafting, a little messy but fun!

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  3. Such a fun little tutorial. It is definitely a perfect way to celebrate the oncoming of Spring!

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    1. Yes, spring had definitely sprung round here last week, although I think it took a little pause today. Hopefully it will be back soon, in the meantime I have my cheerful vase, daffs and pen pot to look at!

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  4. I love this, so cute! They're always jam jars in our house too, even if they had pesto in them :)

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    1. Thanks Anna. Yes, the contents really doesn't matter, pasta sauce = jam jar, peanut butter = jam jar, the only exception I can think of is marmite and that is always a marmite jar!

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  5. A fun pen pot - I love how it will be bright and cheerful all year round:)

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    1. Thanks Vicky, cheerful on even the greyest of days (just as well!)

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  6. What a cute and fun idea! The pot with the daffodils looks so Spring-like.

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    1. Nothing like a bunch of daffs to herald the Spring eh?

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  7. This jar makeover is fun as can be. I think its cute you call everything a Jam jar. Whatever you called it to start with its a wonderful pen holder now. Cute project and would be good to do with a young teen I think. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Thanks Leanna, I agree, this would be loads of fun for young teens to have a go at.

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  8. This is lovely Julia, perfect for Spring :)

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    1. Thanks Claire, I love Spring, all that new life and potential.

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  9. Stunning idea Julia, I love the way they both turned out and even though we're moving into Autumn here in South Africa, these will make me feel like I've captured a little bit Spring to see me through the cold months

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    1. Awh, it's easy to forget 1/2 the world is the other way round. Still, autumn is a lovely time of year too, leaves & mellow fruitfulness etc!

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  10. So cute! I've painted plenty of mason jars, but your project is so much cuter! Looks like I'll be heading to the craft store! LOL Thanks for sharing

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    1. I love how you all call them mason jars, I try to but the name jam jar still slips out now and again!

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  11. Absolutely adorable. Thank you for sharing.

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  12. I am so glad you posted a tutorial on here because I am in love with that daisy pen pot. (The vase is awesome too!) Who knew you could by fake grass like that? I must have missed that aisle at the craft store, but I will definitely be on the hunt for it now!
    Thanks for sharing at My Busy Beehive's #beeparty last week! Hope to see you again!

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    1. It's easy to cut which makes it very versatile. I love fancying up old tubs to make pots for my pens, it's a quick, easy, cheap way to have some fun with a craft project.

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    2. Just wanted to let you know that you were featured today at My Busy Beehives #beeparty! Thanks for sharing! http://www.mybusybeehives.com/2017/03/spring-at-bee-party-6.html

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  13. I love this spring time craft so original Julie!

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  14. So cute! Great project to do with children. Thanks for sharing with our Pretty Pintastic Party.

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  15. What a fun and easy craft idea. Thanks for sharing at the Inspiration Spotlight party. shared

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