Friday, March 23, 2012

A Rustic Vignette

Well yesterday found me trekking through the woods at my parent's property in search of vintage bottles. A large tree had fallen late last year during a winter storm, uncovering a hidden trove of buried bottles in the wake of its rooted mass. I came home with over a dozen of various sized and shaped medicine and/or liquor bottles. Most still had rusty caps intact with scary substances lingering within.

Some of the reclaimed bottles, cleaned and basking in the drying sunlight.

I brought my "prized finds" home and commenced on removing cabs, dumping contents and cleaning bottles. Wow, what a chore that was. The caps so rusty, they were easily removed by pushing a nail through the center and prying off broken pieces, but getting some of the bottles cleaned-up proved problematic. Quite an ensemble of experimental cleaning products lined the garage for usage. If one failed, the next was tried. Vinegar and baking soda, rock salt, bleach with dish detergent in warm water, some super de-greaser by Prestone (automotive), Goo Gone. Eventually, all the "ickiness" was removed. A narrow paint brush and toothbrush alike helped a bit with the interiors too. Wish they were a bit more bendy at times however. They all received a second cleaning once back inside my home.

While the bottle were drying, I decided to make another rustic, decorative box from weathered pallet wood I had found. This time, a flat piece of rusty, galvanized steel was used to "badge" the front of the box. Another piece of salvaged metal formed a clamp to hold it in place. I was going to add some text to the badge but decided to leave it simple since the box could have so many varied uses. I initially thought it would be cool for displaying hand-made soaps and saying "SOAP" across the metal. Now that it's complete, I'm actually glad I chose to go "nondescript".



I decided to create a small vignette with my new box and one of my newly found and cleansed bottles. Since this bottle had a threaded top, I decided to mask them with a burlap wrap clamped in place with more scrap metal.



To finish off the look I added one of my steam-punk inspired metal orbs made from numerous broken pieces of rusty, metal springs.




I love a grouping of three and this simple ensemble just worked together so nicely. 


A trio of elements.

The completed ensemble.

Now I'm in the mood to do a few more, perhaps with a variance of included items. I'm definitely enjoying creating these rustic pallet boxes and since it's such a nice, sunny day, I can see myself outside doing a few more. Until next time . . . ENJOY!



Sharing this at:

Happy Hour Projects - Freestyle Friday
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating - Flaunt It Friday
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia - Tuesdays Treasures
Coastal Charm - Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
At Home With K - Terrific Under Ten Tuesday
Kammy's Korner - Trash 2 Treasure Tuesday
Debbie Does Creations - Toot Your Horn Tuesday
Home Stories A2Z - Tutorials & Tips Party
Cherished Handmade Treasures - Creative Corner Hop
The Shabby Creek Cottage - Transformation Thursday
The Brambleberry Cottage - Time Travel Thursday

7 comments:

  1. Well Frugal, you've accomplished yet another delightful repurposed box. The metal sphere + the vintage glass finds make a nice compliment to the view..very nice!

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  2. Awesome! Would love to have you come and link-up to the Creative Corner Hop. It opens on Monday to new links and stays open all week long.

    Sandy
    Cherished Handmade Treasures

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    1. Hi Sandy. Thanks so much for the invite. I will definitely check it out! Glad you stopped by!

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  3. Very nice. I love simple rustic boxes made from weathered wood scraps.

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  4. My mother happens to be visiting and we are both "ooooing" and "ahhhhing". Nicely done!!

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  5. Love it! Another person I get to meet from PA...YAY! Im originally from the Erie area. Thanks for your sweet comment on the blog redesign. I've always got my wheels spinning on that. Thanks again for sharing at Toot Your Horn Tuesday :)

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  6. Love this! Stopping by from The Creative Corner Hop. Your newest GFC follower.

    Holly
    http://hollysstampingaddiction.blogspot.com/

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