And Another Apothecary Jar...

After the recent flurry of activity here on the blog (a post a day for a week...), I had to temporarily step back to attend to my exams. One out of the way, one more to come, but after two days of silence, I really felt I had to write something today.

Not only do I want to show off something I did, but I also wanted to point you into the direction of Remodelaholic again. You know - one of my favourite crafts blogs. Today Cassity posted two really long and comprehensive posts about her bedroom remodel. But yesterday *tada*, she actually highlighted my designer lampshade. Check her post here - and my original post here.

Right, I had a little bit of time to spend in town today, and I used it to check out a cheap homewares shop in the city centre. While in Germany before Christmas, I had seen some fabulous, large apothecary jars which were really, really cheap. However, I could not buy them because I knew I was not allowed to bring glass in my handluggage on the plane - and they would not have survived the journey in the hold. With many apothecary jar tutorials on the web (e.g. Shanty2Chic's) I knew I could make one myself. So I set out today to hunt for a candle holder and a glass jar with lid. I was in luck - I found both in the shop and paid € 2 for the candle holder and € 4.50 for the jar. The jar is not too bad on its own, but the candleholder... *yuk*:

In a matter of seconds (!), yes, literally seconds, I hotglued the bottom of the jar to the upside down candleholder. Now, I have been to impatient to wait for proper light in the morning, therefore my picture is not great. The ambient light was too dark for the photo - but anyway, here is the finished product. (I'll post a better pic in the morning!)

For a first try it's not too bad, I think. I would prefer a less frilly base for the jar, and I will continue to look out for suitable candleholders and lidded jars that can be appropriated for this. Ultimately I would love to have two large apothecary jars to grace my mantlepiece. Yesssss, I am a sucker for spartan symmetry... Boring to some, full of grace and calm for me!

Here is the mantlepiece photographed with flash:

The mantlepiece is in my kitchen - which is actually predominantly white and red. However, after Christmas I am hungry for fresh green - spring is what I want - and therefore the mantle is now white and green. I wonder whether my family will spot the difference when they come down for breakfast tomorrow morning...

Cheerio,

15 January 2010: Just in time to link to Beth's