Wrappin' It Up!

Hey everyone, I know it's been a while since I posted but I have been sooo busy with my two part time jobs and making items on the side. I have had a small stream of Bloomin' Bow orders coming in, nothing crazy but just a few here or there. But most of my free time (when I'm not working at the gym, the restaurant, cooking & cleaning for my family, taking care of my children, and trying to sleep) has been making some really fun & trendy items for a a local store.

Beautiful Hutch featuring china & burlap creations.
Everything in the picture is for sale.

Arlene's booth with so many beautiful up-cycled, refurbished &
hand-made items ready to go home with you now!

I have to tell you about this great little place here in the town I live in, Powder Springs. It's called Treasure Hunt. It's an antique mall, you know the kind, local dealers can rent out booth spaces to sell their wares of antique, hand made & well, just about anything really. I LOVE those kinds of places.  It's kind of like yard / tag sales but all inside, climate controlled and well, a bit nicer. Not don't think you are going to go and get stuff dirt cheap. (well sometimes you can) but lots of items are unique, vintage, nostalgic and a little pricey.  But mixed right in are great little finds of one offs, fixer-uppers & well....Treasures!  I have partnered up with a VERY talented woman, her name is Arlene F., she is an interior designer and works with fabric (inc. burlap) to recreate some of the most beautiful items I have ever seen. Her booth (seen above) is one of the first you will see when you walk in and she has generously allowed me to place some of my handy work in her booth as we seem to compliment each other's style so well!

So between work, home life & my side crafts, to say I am busy is an understatement. There are so many things I have made for the booth recently that I get started and FORGET to photograph the steps to share with you.  However, I put one together yesterday, it took me about 45 min from beginning to end and I and I want to share it with you.

I LOVE Burlap & Jute twin, I love the natural feel it gives to so many things and if I am not careful I will end up wrapping the kids in it soon!  LOL (just kidding folks) But seriously, for just a little bit of money you can wrap something up in this amazing thread and it breaths a whole new life into it and gives it a look that makes heads turn. I know my head has been yanked a time or two and I hope you like what I have put together for you this time.

Jute Wrapped Glass Bottle

Now you can wrap just about any glass bottle you like as long as it has a smooth surface. If it has too many raised areas or a think texture it won't have this smooth look but hey, you might like that so give it a try! One of my part time jobs is in a restaurant that has a bar and the bartender has been so nice to save some of my favorite looking liquor bottles for me when they go empty. This is exciting for me because well, I love a nice glass of wine now and then but I have never been a hard liquor person, so if I waited until I finished one, I would not have anything to wrap. However I have a few wine bottles that are next so I will update later when they are done.

This particular bottle is a Patron Citronge bottle. I liked it for it's shape and the bottle is already frosted, so one I remove the label I don't need to paint or anything  However this one I totally wrapped so it didn't matter, I have another that I plan to do differently, can't wait to see!

So here is all you need to get started:

1. Jute twine (I recommend 3 or 4 ply, at least, any smaller you will be wrapping for days)
2. Glass bottle of your choice
3. Glue gun & sticks

That's it!  Now let's get started:

Something I have learned the hard way, you always want to wrap from the smaller part of the bottle to the larger, the twine has a tendency to 'roll' toward the small section and if you don't you will be forever pushing it (which is not a bad idea to do occasionally unless you want little gaps & spaces between the twine) 

On this bottle I started at the mouth, but regardless of where you start, cut the twine at a slight angle so it lies smoothly against itself as it comes around, that will give you a clean start & end so your items have that "Hand Made" and not 'home-made' look. 

Starting out will be the slowest part as you want to make sure it is nice & round and glued securely to set the pace for the rest of the bottle.  This particular bottle had a unique shaped mouth so I took my time to carefully cover it so there were no gaps.

Once you get it started you and pic up the pace (if you feel confident) and start wrapping & wrapping. This part can seem a little boring but I think its fun to see it take on it's personality.

Tip: glue each row is not ALWAYS necessary as you are wrapping toward the larger section. Because the twine will sort of slide or roll back you can glue maybe every other 2-3 rows. However if you are wrapping toward a smaller section (or as you will see next my bottle starts getting narrower) you will want to make sure you glue as you go to keep it in place and the rows next to each other.

Isn't it already looking so pretty!

Lastly, you can chose to wrap to just the bottom edge of the bottle or all the way under to cover the bottom, the choice is yours. If you are going to place on a glass shelf, maybe you will want twine on the bottom. Mine for now will sit on my mantel so it didn't matter and I saved the time & twine. However, if you choose to cover the bottom, you will need to glue every section so it will stick to the bottom.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

I added some small threads from some cream color burlap I had removed from an earlier project to accent the bottle, but all by it self it is just stunning. I can't wait to finish the others to make my own Jute collection. I would love to see your finished bottles, so please come back and comment with your pictures to share your talent as well!  I started listing some of my burlap & jute creations for sale, so stop by my Craft Cafe shop sometime and make it a favorite! 

Until next time.................

And the twine rolls on.........................................