Guest Blogger: One Project Closer's-The Better half

Thanks so much for having me here at Glitter, Glue, and Paint, Denyse! I'm Jocie (pronounced Jah-see) from One Project Closer's The Better Half. Here's my fam - me, Lucy, Izzie, and Ethan (the hubs).

 If you haven't heard of us, One Project Closer is geared towards the hard-core home improvement folks. Ethan shadows professional contractors on actual job sites to give our readers the best and most detailed project guides available. OPC is chock full of articles like laying your own hard wood floors, building a deck, and repairing cracked concrete. The Better Half is just like it sounds - better! Just kidding...but not really. lol! While I do love the big home projects, most of my stuff uses glitter, glue, and paint (heehee). I seriously love crafts, and some of my favorites include pallet art and etching wine glasses. Kim, the other Better Half, works 24/7 to provide up-date home improvement coupons like these from AJ Madison!

DIY Rope Vase

Unlike most of the female crafting crowd, I had never done a seasonal mantel before. So last fall, I tried to expand my horizons and start decorating. I quickly realized that it could become a costly venture, so I tried to think outside the box. I decided to make a rope vase (all the craze, I know), but a GIANT one to sit on the floor next to our fireplace.

Again, the problem with big decor is that it can cost a lot of money. After a short brainstorm with my hubby, the home improvement expert, I headed to Home Depot for supplies.

I bought a cardboard concrete form and a 50 feet of 3/8″ Sisal Rope. A what, you say?! Apparently, when pouring concrete footers, a mold is used. They are cheap and BIG! The concrete mold cost $6.94 for 8″x 48″ tube – enough for at least two vases. If anyone knows a cheaper option, hook a sister up.

Once supplies were bought, I asked my hubby to cut the concrete tube twice, creating two tubes 19' tall, leaving a little tube left over. I could have also used a reciprocating saw or even a hand saw, but the miter saw was SUPER quick!

For the bottom to the vase, I traced the bottom of the tube onto an old Luv's diaper box and then cut just outside the line. My diaper boxes are also often used for painting. :)

With my hot glue gun, I glued the cardboard circle to the bottom of the tube, with the purple side facing down.

This part is so easy (hooray for easy projects)! I pulled out the hot glue gun (I know it's in bad shape, and I have since got a new hot glue gun holder) and put a generous bead of glue around the bottom circle of the base. This was why I cut the diaper box slightly bigger than the actual tube.

Then, I wound the rope around the base and held it into place until the glue was cool. I worked in quarter sections around the base so the glue wouldn't dry before I got to it.

I kept on winding and winding that rope until I reached the top, periodically adding a bead of glue to hold the rope in place. I wish this were a more complicated tutorial or share some secret to success, but it really was so easy! On the very last row at the top, I glued all the way around to make sure it stayed in place.

Once I reached the top, I wound the rope once more around, on top on the tube edge in order to hide it.

Then I cut off the end of the rope and glued the end to the inside.

I bundled together some sticks I found in the back yard and added some brown packaging paper out of our recycling to hold it in place and VOILA!

And then it went to sit in front of my fireplace, for my first ever seasonal mantel! woot woot!

At Thanksgiving, I used it for my thankful tree, too! This spring, I plan to bring it back out and add some fun, bright colors.

For more fun projects and crafts, visit Jocie at The Better Half! You can also connect with her on Facebook and Pinterest. Hope to see you soon!

~Design your life with a little SPARKLE~