I don't know if you have seen these popping up as you shop, and search Pinterest, but I LOVE the rustic, shabby chic look of a rope vase filled with flowers!!


They are sold in high-end decorating stores for lots of money... but (ssshhhhh...) they are super simple to make!! I made one for about $3.00. Yep... three buckaroos! Fill it with some fresh flowers (or fake ones like me if you don't have the real deal on hand), use dried flowers, twigs, bamboos, or candy! These make super cute holiday centerpieces or is perfect all year decorating! You can even embellish the vase on top of the ropes with seashells, buttons, or other fun goodies!

Supplies:
• any size glass vase (I got mine {3 7/16" diameter x 7 5/16" tall} at the Dollar Tree)
• SISAL rope - choose the thickness you like - available at home improvement stores {$4 for the roll and I didn't even use half of it for my vase}
• glue gun and glue
• scissors

Step 1:
I used my glue gun to seal the cut end of my rope. Just a tiny drop of glue on the very end and using the end of my glue gun I spread the glue around to cover the end of the rope. You can also dip the end in a little bit of Elmer's glue (white glue) to seal it... but honestly... I didn't have the patience to wait for the glue to dry. ♥

Then place a small amount of glue on the base of your vase to attach the beginning of your rope. You want to be careful not to put a glob of glue because it will seep out the sides of your rope and you will see the dried glue.



Step 2:
Continue gluing the rope around the base of your vase. You will want to check as you go that the bottom edge of your rope if even with the bottom of your vase.

When you get back to your beginning, glue your rope as close to the beginning as you can, then start a second row on top of the first.



Step 3:
As you continue to glue your rope around your vase, place a small amount of glue every 1/2" to tack your rope down. You don't need to glue the entire thing. When I glue mine on, I like to kind of "smush" the glue so that a little ends up on the side of the rope to hold the two rows together as well as hold the rope to the vase.


Try and keep your rope rows tight so that you don't have gaps between your rows. It gives it a seamless look.


Step 4:
Continue to glue your rope to your vase until you have as much on there as you would like. In my case I chose to only cover about the bottom third of the vase. If you cover the entire vase you will (obviously) be using more of your rope, so make sure you plan ahead so that you don't run out of rope halfway through your project and have to go back to the hardware store.


When you are done wrapping your rope cut the end at a slight angle so that it will lie down fairly flat against your rows. You will end up stopping at about the same point that you start. {You can see the beginning of my rope on the right side of my vase.}



Glue down your rope end and "smush" it {technical term again} against the previous row so that it creates a mostly straight line against the rope next to it.


Step 5:
Admire an easy job well done... and don't forget to remind your husband about how much money you saved by doing it yourself!!





*You can use this same technique on any size vase or even a metal can -- even cheaper! It is a lot of fun and you might just find yourself getting addicted to using rope in all your projects... consider yourself warned! LOL!!! ♥