I’m not sure what it is about fall and winter weather that makes me want to grab my hot glue gun and yarn, but for some reason, I seem to be extra crafty for these holiday seasons. It’s not that July 4th and Easter don’t deserve crafts…and in fact, they certainly do…I’m just less likely to do them then for some reason.

So, today I’m sharing the first of our my seasonal crafts with you all: DIY Yarn bottles!

I was inspired by all those beautiful, soft and sweet yarn-wrapped vases on Pinterest last fall but never got around to trying this project. I especially love the idea in this blog post. So on a night when Wyatt was gone for work last week, I set up a little craft station at a friend’s house and we chatted and worked on various projects for the night.

We also had this cutie with a red mustache to keep us company.

I followed the same basic technique I used to make my yarn eggs in the spring. (See, I’m not totally unable to craft in the warmer months…although it was still snowing in May of this year, so I’m not sure it counts…) You can read that post here.

I even used the same yarn. It was left over since each egg didn’t take much.

Of course, you will also need to wash your wine bottles out VERY WELL! Nothing will ruin this more than pulling out a smelly, moldy, beautiful-yarn-wrapped bottle out of storage in the fall of the year. Ick.

I usually let mine soak in the sink with warm, soapy water for several hours to remove the labels, so that gets them plenty clean on the inside after completely rinsing them out. But, you don’t have to remove the labels for this project.

(Don’t judge our wine choice…I’m a light drinker and I like sweet, cheap wine, okay? Although I actually don’t remember thinking this was all that great on its own…mixed with frozen fruit though, and you have a little party!)

Then, you just get your glue gun on. Each bottle will take several minutes, about 15 I’d guess, depending on the size and how fast you move.

I always try to go very slow and smooth so I make sure to do a really good job of covering the glass. I don’t like to see little holes in between each row of yarn. But of course, they aren’t perfect. You can also see a bit of hot glue that squished out between the rows of yarn.

 

I started at the top, as high up as I could, tucking the raw end under another layer.

 

I did the same thing on the bottom, wrapping it as far as I could and then tucking it under the bottle.

Then I brought them home and added them to the mantle decor, which is getting a bit crowded…

I’m not really sure where these guys will live yet. I might even taken them into the bedroom since we don’t have much in the way of decor going on in there. Plus, these would go with that soft, casual yet elegant vibe I eventually want to put together in there.

But for now, they’re hanging out in the living room next to the other wine-themed decoration we have in our house. (We really don’t drink that much, but each bottle comes with several possibilities to reuse after it’s empty so we save them!)

Here’s a look from a bit farther back to show you this isn’t really the best place for these since they don’t really shine against the bricks.

 

Still, I like them.

What fall or winter crafts do you have planned? Are you like me in that you tend to do you best crafting with Christmas music on and hot cocoa nearby?  Of course, it’s still 80 degrees here so we have a ways to go before it’s time for that!