Suncatcher Vase - Earth Day Challenge

In case you missed earlier Earth Day Challenge posts, you can see them here - DIY Desk Organizer, Cell Phone Holder for Charging, DIY Mesh Pot Scrubber, and Bird Cabin aka Bird House!

This morning, I got up feeling anxious about today's project. I have  family coming in from out-of-state, and I wanted to be finished so we could have time to visit. The biggest hurdle was coming up with an idea and then figuring out how to get it finished...quickly. I looked at several options: cardboard jewelry, a rooster stand. But, when I saw the empty orange juice bottle, the words 'vase' and 'suncatcher' popped into my mind so quickly, it made me smile and I ran with it!

Here is where I took a BIG shortcut...I used hot glue. As any crafter will know, this project is not going to last very long. I will need to go back and reattach the glass beads with E-6000 at some point in the near future, otherwise the glass beads are all going to pop off and I'll have a naked orange juice bottle again.

I did two sides of the bottle in white beads and the other two in various colors. I also had different shapes and sizes of beads and decided to incorporate them all. What fun! I could hardly wait to see the effect once it was placed in a window.

Once the vase was finished, I needed to find my flowers. I have beautiful azaleas blooming now both in white and pink but I didn't want the color of the flowers to compete with the beads so I used the white blooms today. 

All-in-all this has been a fun week for me. It had been some time since I had taken time to flex my creative, crafty side, so this week has been exactly what I needed!  I love cooking and trying new recipes and blogging about it but I also have a passion for crafting and art. Most blog advice says, "Pick your niche and go with it." My heart says, " I love both cooking and crafting AND art...and I think I can do it all."

I must also tell you this; it has been a difficult week, too. I thought of the Earth Day Challenge at the 11th hour, and had done no pre-project work besides my usual collecting of bottles, cans, etc. Each day I got up and had to decide what am I going to do today? Some days came easier than others. Today was not one of those easy days. Thankfully however, I really like how today's project turned out. I think it's really pretty. I believe it would make a great Mother's Day gift, too!

I hope you've enjoyed the Challenge, either by participating or checking out the projects. Thanks for being here and making this such a successful event...it could not have been done without you!

I'm sharing this project at these great parties...join me! -
Homemaker On A Dime, Nifty Thrifty, Flamingo Toes
Keeping It Simple,  Flour Me With Love, My 1929 Charmer The DIY Dreamer, Heatherly Loves,  Serendipity & Spice,
Someday Crafts, Savvy Southern Style,  Serenity You,   
Ginger Snap Crafts, The Well Crafted Home, Fireflies & Jellybeans,