So, this little half-litre wine bottle from the Merryvale vineyard has been with us ever since our honeymoon in the Californian wine country. We stayed at the Harvest Inn, In Napa Valley, and our honeymoon suite was fitted with a complementary gift basket which included some Merryvale wines.
WEDDING SOUVENIR
As an authentic ‘experience-based’ souvenir, I took the cute bottle home.
(As an aside: I also bought this cookbook in the Harvest Inn gift shop, "Seasons in the California Wine Country” from one of our favorite restaurants in Napa, Tra Vigne, owned by the famous chef Michael Chiarello.
As this cookbook actually taught me how to Cook (with a capital ‘C’), and everything in it is yummy (no fail), I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT, as I recommend pretty much anything that comes from the Merryvale winery.
Anyhow, this souvenir bottle (empty) became my flower bud vase. You’d find it everywhere; on my bedside table, on my desk, in the bookshelves in the living room, or on the kitchen sideboard.
Now, after nearly 10 years of use, it’s label is starting to look a tat weathered. In fact, I’m not showing the ‘before’ picture, only the ‘after’ picture.
So, I thought it was time to spruce it up. Actually, this ‘sprucing up’- transformation ‘just happened’, and here’s how:
ECO-SOCK DECISION
If you remember my let’s recycle socks-decision a year ago, I now simply keep old broken socks and do something with them: be that transformed into decorative piece of fruit, an iPod cosy, as the filling of a crochet Easter egg, or otherwise, I reuse them.
This time, I cut off the foot and draped the ankle section over the vase. 3 stitches at the bottom and done: bottle cover. (that’s all the ‘tutorial’ you get).
Then, a little while ago the bottle had inherited some raffia around the neck from another do-up phase. But with the sock on, the raffia looked odd, So: either cut it or do something with it.
TEA WITH WISDOM
As I love Yogi Tea
I’ve got a jar full of quotes by now, which was sitting on the table as I was transforming the bottle.
So, yes, you guess it right: I decided to hang a few from the raffia.
I used clear tape over them which will protect the tags from water spoilage, however it gives them a matte look and from the close-up picture, I should have removed those air bubbles.
However, you don’t notice these details when you look at the vase in its totality.
MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE
It turns out that the one I picked from my collection are just perfect advice for a marriage:
1. Be Proud of Who You Are
2. An Attitude of Gratitude Brings You Opportunities
3. Practice Kindness, Mercy and Forgiveness
4. Your Greatness is Not What You Have, it’s What You Give.
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