It’s a Vaahse!

Which means it’s a really nice vase, according to a certain commercial. In case you’re wondering where I found it, I got it as a freebie at work. Originally, it was a plain, glass cylinder vase.

Using my trusty aquarium sealer and gobs of flat glass decorator marbles it became a vaahse with a diagonal stripe pattern. I used clear, blue, light purple, pink and green marbles to make the pattern. Most of the stripes are 2 marbles wide. The last stripe is dark purple and 4 marbles wide. To establish the pattern, 2 marbles were set next to each other at the bottom of the vase. Continuing in the same color, the next row was offset by 1 to the left. Each row was offset by 1 to the left until they reached the top of the vase. The remaining stripes were set the same way until the outside surface was covered.

I wanted to fill in the gaps around the marbles but decided I didn’t want to try forcing mosaic grout between many round surfaces. I also wanted a less expensive and more interesting option. I used white tacky glue (which dries clear) that had a bottle tip which allowed me to squeeze the glue around the marbles. While the glue was wet, clear micro beads were sprinkled into it. (They can be found with glitter and other supplies for scrapbooking and card making.) I “grouted” a few rows between the marbles at a time, working the long way. The vase was laid on its side in a large storage container so I could keep the excess beads contained as much as possible. Once the glue was dry, gloss Mod Podge was applied to make the beads more secure. After it dried I did a few more rows until I worked my way around the vase.

Applying the marbles took a few days. I have to confess that filling in around them took longer and got a bit tedious. I like the finished result, however. Filling in the space around the marbles gave my vaahse a frosty look, and it just wouldn’t have seemed finished without the microbeads.

The Project Queen

 When I placed the arrangement in this vase, twigs with LED lights were included.

Then wouldn't you know it? I couldn't find the detachable plug.

For a few months I could only imagine what my idea looked like.

Well, this was my week for finding things when I wasn't searching for them.