Make It For Mom: Faux Antique Perfume Bottles

I adore displays of antique cut-crystal perfume bottles.  My mom has had some on her dresser since before I popped out of the womb, and they are still there, beguiling me whenever I go home for a visit.  (Ahem.  If they were antiques back then, they are now positively Jurassic.)

Today I whipped up some faux antique perfume bottles.

Made from...did you guess?

Mismatched salt-n-pepper shakers, found at thrift stores and yard sales.

You could make a mini-collection for your mom, using just a few beads and an easy jewelry technique.  Wanna DIY?  Let's begin!


To make the stopper, choose two pretty beads, one of which is wider than the neck of your bottle.  You also need a piece of craft wire and a few small transparent beads.

Make a little loop on one end of the wire.  Then thread on the beads, like so:

Trim the wire end and bend it over sideways.  Finish with another little loop, and that's the stopper!

Those clear beads fit inside the bottle, to balance the weight of the decorative beads above.

To embellish with a loop of complementary beads or crystals: just thread some more beads on wire, twist the ends together and trim off the extra bits.

Sweetness!

Caveat: these are meant to be ornamental; I'm not sure I would actually fill them with perfume, since the stoppers are not secure.

 Here are a couple of fun variations:

The shaker on the left (which has a wide mouth) is topped with another salt shaker, flipped upside-down.   For the one on the right, did you spot what I used as the large stopper bead?

A vintage glass drawer knob.  That's double the vintage, baby!



Of course, I realize this is a gift for a certain kind of mom: girly, tschochke-loving, a little old fashioned.  I have four beautiful ladies on my Mother's Day gift list, and this idea is perfect for one (maybe two) of them.

And by the way - since you'll now be on the lookout for these little shakers anyway, here are two more amazingly simple,  fun upcycling ideas for how to use them:

Make A Shabby Chic Salt Shaker Necklace

Make Crystal Ornaments From Vintage Salt Shakers

Happy hunting and have fun!