Bottle Tree Dreams in Abundance

When I last shared a few pics of my bottle tree, it was looking pretty puny.   (If you're wondering what in tarnation a bottle tree is, click HERE. )   I've been waiting for Hobby Lobby to have another "glass" sale.  In the meantime, I've collected 3-4 more, via consumption.  Plus, my BFF, Jan, dropped a couple by recently, too.  I think she took pity on me after I posted about her amazing bottle tree HERE. ;)

Guess what!   Hobby Lobby has all their glassware on sale right now...50% off.  If ya got a bottle tree, now's the time to head to HL.  I think the sale ends tomorrow.  If you miss it, it will be back in a few weeks...they run their glassware on sale pretty often.

So here's how the bottle tree is looking now!  Much improved! :)

See the yellow square/rectangle bottle there on the right...that's from Hobby Lobby.  At 50% off, I believe it was around $4.

Here's a close up of it.  The tall pink one is a bottle in the shape of kitty cat...a gift from Jan.

The tall ones, like this purple one, are some of my faves.  Again, this one came from Hobby Lobby and was just $4 on sale.

I bought the tall yellow one during a previous HL sale. It also comes in lots of colors.  So far, I have it in yellow, purple and hot pink.

The square bottle comes in lots of colors, too...including hot pink.

They even have this pretty blue color.  Imagine a whole tree done in those and maybe one other color.  The possibilities are endless.

I just bought the small blue one today.  The small ones are great for filling in between the larger bottles.

The triangular shaped opaque ones are really inexpensive...only $2.50 on sale.  I bought two of those, today.  They are really pretty when the light passes through them.  I held them up in the store...just to check. :)

I'll have to catch some pics when the sunlight is shining through this tree.  My yard is kind of shady so there aren't too many opportunities for that.  Hey!  I just had a thought!  Winter is coming and the leaves will soon fall from the trees.  That may be the best season for the bottle tree.  Something to look forward to...

The kitty cat bottle again...

The red bottle is a "Luna di Luna" Merlot wine bottle.  After searching and searching for red bottles, I'm now thinking of removing all the red ones.  I'm finding the colors I like on my bottle tree are the colors I also like in a garden: purple, lavender, pink, yellow, green, blue.  I'm not a big orange or red fan when it comes to the garden...although, I do like red geraniums on the porch.  Ummm...

Whimsy...I crave it like air.

Send me pics of your bottle tree (betweennapsontheporchatgmaildotcom) and I'll post them here at BNOTP sometime.

For more bottle tree fun, click HERE, HERE and HERE.

Pssst:  In case you missed it this morning, you'll find the Butterfly Napkin Fold HERE.

Jan's Beautiful Bottle Tree

A while back I shared some images of a bottle tree I had purchased at the Ballard Designs store in Atlanta.  It was on sale, marked down from $349 to $60.

I've gradually been adding a few bottles to it, including the glass float ball you see on the top. It's still a bit naked...a work in progress. :)

While in Savannah on vacation a couple of months back, I told my friend, Jan, all about my recent foray into the bottle tree world. That somehow sounds a little weird doesn't it...maybe I should rephrase that. lol

Jan is an avid gardener and has a gorgeous garden.  She decided right on the spot to add a bottle tree to her landscape, too.  We called Ballard Designs while sitting inside The Breakfast Club on Tybee Island and Jan bought her bottle tree right over the phone.

Upon returning home Jan got right to work.  In no time she had turned her bottle tree into a beautiful piece of garden art.  This is what my tree will look like when it grows up. ;)

Isn't it wonderful?!!!

You can read more about bottle trees and see the tree that started my bottle tree fever in this post HERE.

The photos of Jan's tree were taken by our friend, Maryellen.   If you're planning a trip to Sicily anytime soon, Maryellen has a wonderful blog, Sicilian Odyssey, detailing her 5 year adventure there and all the must see spots.

Missing Mouse Goes Bottle Tree Shopping

Has anyone seen my computer mouse? I was planning on posting again today, but I can't seem to find the mouse. ;)

Bottle Tree Shopping:
Not to beat the bottle tree "horse" to death, but I do want to share a resource I found recently in case you have a bottle tree and are looking for hard-to-find colors and unusual shaped bottles.

Turns out Hobby Lobby carries bottles of all sizes and in every color under the rainbow. Last week I just happened to stop by and they were all 50% off! Yay, love that! That even beats one of their 40% off coupons. I am finding it almost impossible to find bottles in a sunny yellow color, but they had them. I bought one large bottle and two small ones. The small ones turned out to be too small, but the big yellow one looked great and it was only $4 after the sale.

This bottle tree is sort of my inspiration tree (pic) and one of the things I really like about it are the different sizes and shapes of the bottles.

I went back yesterday to exchange the two small yellow bottles for another large one, perhaps in purple or another impossible-to-find color, but they wouldn't do it since the sale had ended. Rats! Most stores will let you exchange if you purchased during the sale period, but not HL. They told me they have a 50% off "glass sale" pretty frequently. Just passing this along in case you have a bottle tree and need some large bottles in unusual shapes. They really had some pretty ones, even bigger and more unusual than the one I bought. I don't plan on buying too many...really the tree only needs 3-5 of the really large bottles to add some interest.

You can read more about the history of bottle trees HERE.

Tablescape Thursday:
I'm soo excited about Tablescape Thursday. The party will go up by 9:00 PM Wednesday evening. I don't know what it is about the 4th of July, but I always have the most fun tablescaping for this holiday. Maybe it's the bright, festive colors that go along with the holiday.

Here's a little preview of one of the 4th of July table settings I've been working on. :)

That's all I can share of the tablescape for now. I'll see you tomorrow...if I can find that mouse. ;)

Pssst: I'm posting twice a day now on some days. Scroll on down for a fun 4th of July craft idea from earlier today.

Bottle Tree Dreams and Yard Art Fantasies

Help! I'm becoming one of those people! You know the one...the crazy neighbor down the street who has so much yard art, the addition of just one more tchotchke will take his yard from tasteful to tacky, from whimsical to wacky. Okay, I'm not that bad. Yet. But I'm working on it. ;)

If you've been reading BNOTP for a while, you may remember I started saving bottles about a year ago for a future bottle tree. (You can read more about the history of bottle trees and view additional pics in THIS post.) A voice was whispering in my ear, "If you collect bottles, it will come. If you collect bottles, it will come."

I must have been channeling the movie, Field of Dreams because my bottle tree materialized on a visit to the Ballard Design's Outlet in Atlanta recently.

It wasn't exactly the style tree I had planned when I was having bottle tree fantasies. I had pictured a free flowing, tree-like form, but whenever I came across those, they were ridiculously expensive.

The one that found me was originally priced at $349 (who the heck would ever pay that?) and was marked down to $60. It did look very much like another bottle tree I had seen and loved in the book, Southern Style by Mark Mayfield. So, I went for it. But she was sooo big, she wouldn't fit in my SUV. (I've decided my bottle tree must be a "she." Next I'll be naming her and then you guys really will know I'm off my rocker. ;) I had to enlist the help of a friend with a van to get her home and onto the deck.

I had planned on holding off sharing my tree until I had her all decked out. But since that may take a while, I'm gonna let the ole bottle tree cat out of the bag. Then you can watch her get prettier and more colorful over the coming summer months. :)

Actually, you got a little view of her in my Tablescape Thursday post. Yep, you did. Only one person noticed her, though, and that would be Jo. Jo, you're scary good. I'm impressed! :) I didn't expect anyone to spot her. I thought my bottle tree secret was safe. ;)

So here she is, still mostly "neked." I'm trying to NOT buy bottles. Instead, I'm trying to be patient and let her evolve with time as I collect a few here and there. This represents a year's worth of collecting, so that could take a while. ;) Well, actually I've had one of those blue bottles for years and I opened the red bottle and poured the Luna di Luna Merlot wine into another container just so I could see it on the tree. :) Inpatient = my middle name.

This is what she aspires to be when she grows up one day. ;)


(Image from Southern Style by Mark Mayfield)

On a recent trip to a fun antique shop called Fleu de Coop in Kennesaw, Georgia, I found a large, glass, float-ball in a pretty green color for just $20. That was the best price I'd ever seen for one of those. I'm sure it's not an antique. It turned out to be a great topper for my tree. I placed the tree here on the deck where I can see it and enjoy it. If I had placed it down in the yard, I would rarely see it.

This tree is approximately 6 feet tall and 38 inches across. It seems smaller in these pics but it actually feels pretty big in person. Wouldn't it be pretty encircled with flowers in clay pots around the bottom? It's so excruciatingly hot here in Georgia now, I'm having trouble keeping my potted plants watered, so I think I'll wait on buying additional flowers.




I'll be reading back to all the comments left on THIS post when you generously shared suggestions for drinks that come in pretty bottles. If you see a drink in a pretty, sunny-golden bottle, let me know. She needs some sunshine-yellow bottles for her bottle dress.

While at Fleu de Coop, I snapped a few pics of some of their fun, garden art. The friends who were with me that day each bought something silly and whimsical for their yard. They tell me I've corrupted them...my work is done. ;)

I am so wanting a flying pig. Every yard needs a flying pig, don't cha think? They were $25 for the smaller ones. All the garden art appeared to have been made from scrap metal and car parts. What a fun way to recycle.

Hilarious! Life is too short to not surround yourself with unexpected bits of whimsy and foolishness. That's my motto; maybe I should stick it on my header. lol

You can't ride this bike, but wouldn't it be a delightful surprise to find on a stroll down a garden path? I can just see it tucked in among the flowers and filled with more flowers.

These roosters don't eat much, they won't wake you up at the crack of dawn and they promise to never, ever peck at you.

So funny! This big guy was $189. The white one above was $49.

Got a horsey lover in your family?

I loved these darling bird houses. I was a tad worried if I bought one and placed it in my yard, a bird might actually nest inside. They are metal and were extremely hot...would be unbearable for the birdies.

So, I resisted, but aren't they beyond cute? Maybe they would be great on a screened-in porch where the birdies couldn't get inside. They were $79.

Totally love this guy...and he was huge. Aren't praying mantises supposed to bring good luck to the garden? This guy was only $29...very reasonable for a piece this big.

So, what's your take on garden art? Do you love it or hate it? Do you like it in back yards, but not so much in front yards? Be gentle, don't break my yard-art loving heart. ;)

Pssst: To view the tablescapes linked for Tablescape Thursday, click HERE or just click on "96 Beautiful Tablescapes" shown under "Miss a Post This Week" at the top of the blog.

Bottle Tree Dreams

Hi Everyone!

Bottle Trees...Give me some bottle suggestions! :-)
A couple of weeks ago I shared these fab pics and the history behind bottle trees,
HERE.


(Image from Southern Style by Mark Mayfield)


Several folks left comments naming some of the drinks you can purchase that just happen to come in nice, big, colorful bottles, perfect for creating your own bottle tree. The suggestions were Harveys Bristol Creme Sherry which apparently comes in a pretty blue bottle. Also, suggested were Riesling wines from Trader Joes. And, apparently, some of the fancy waters you can purchase from the more expensive grocery stores come in colorful bottles.


(Image from Southern Living magazine)

Since I'd love to make a bottle tree this summer, I would love to hear your suggestions. Does anyone know of a wine or beverage that comes in a large, bright red, green, blue or yellow bottle? I'm going to be looking for big bottles since I think I want most of the bottles to be on the larger size.