The other day, I was sharing some craft ideas at a women’s event, and while I was setting up for the event, I figured out how I could make a dollar store version of the large apothecary jars that are so popular in the big decorator catalogs. Previously, I’ve shared how to make apothecary jars out of small lidded jars from the dollar store, but how can you make a large version if no larger lidded jars are sold at the dollar store? Simple, make your own lid!
I found a large apothecary jar at Ross Dress for Less for $13, which is a smokin’ deal. But I made these large apothecary jars for a little less than $6 (not counting the E-6000 glue, which I had on hand). This apothecary jar is roughly the same size as Pottery Barn’s medium Apothecary Jar which retails for $49.
You can use apothecary jars to hold just about anything! Place them in your bathroom to hold useful items like cotton swabs, extra soap, or washcloths. Use them around your home to hold decorative items (as shown here, Christmas ornaments and vase filler). Check this post at Living With Lindsay for more great ideas: Ten Fantastic Fillers for Apothecary Jars.
Project Estimate:
- Large vase, $1
- Large glass candlestick, $1
- Small glass bowl, 3 for $1
- Small cut glass drawer pulls, 2 for $6.77 (at W-M)
- E-6000 glue, on hand
Total: $5.71
The secret to this project was a 3-pack of small glass bowls I found in the kitchen section at the dollar store. These glass bowls fit perfectly as lids on the top of the large glass vase from the dollar store. I just added a glass knob, and the apothecary jar lid was complete! I got the glass drawer pulls from the big blue store for about $6.77, or about $3.39 each. With some shopping around (at thrift or building thrift stores, garage sales, antique shops, etc.) , you might find a better deal on these knobs. I just wanted to get my project done as quick as I could so I could share it!
To Make:
1. Remove all price tags (I use Goo-Gone. Drip a bit of it on the tag, let it sit for a few minutes, and peel right off with no work). Clean all components with a damp paper towel and a bit of water, if needed. Let dry.
2. Glue large candlestick to vase with E-6000 glue.
3. Glue glass knob to bottom of small glass bowl with E-6000 glue.
4. Let everything dry and cure for 24 hours.
Depending on the fit of your lid on your vase, you might want to make another modification to the bowl. If the lid doesn’t fit perfectly on your vase, put a small line of hot glue around the rim of the lid and let it dry. The dry glue will help correct the fit of the lid on the vase.
Linking:
34 Comments
Bromeliad
Very clever. I would never have thought of using bowls.
Kellie
How AWESOME is that!!! GREAT idea!! :)
Care
GENIUS. They are gorgeous!!
kelly lawson
boo my dollar store didn’t have those big vases, on the hunt now
heather
@kelly I got the vase at Dollar Tree – sometimes you have to check multiple stores for them!
Lisa
LOVE these jars! I would have never thought of making my own lids! TOO COOL!
Infarrantly Creative
That is just fabulous Heather. I love the larger ones. I will have to look for the large vase the next time I am at DT. I stumbled this.
Amy
I love this! I have been wanting some of the large apothecary vases but was too cheap to hand over my hard earned money! Thanks for sharing this!!
Michelle Balletti
Thank you so much for this post. I totally did the smaller jars and now the darn Dollar Store isn’t carrying them (at least right now)….Cannot wait to make some…I think I might do a couple as some prizes for a baby shower….thank you so much again!
Rhonda
Love this, can’t wait to try it!
Amanda
Brillant! Thanks for sharing!
http://www.theivycottageblog.blogspot.com
-Amanda
jami
awesome idea! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the jars!!!!!
Zakkalife
What a clever idea. I’m a big fan of apothecary jars. I like to fill them up according to the season. For fall-leaves, for Christmas-ornaments, for Summer-sand & shells, and in between seasons-wine corks.
Ann
Hi Heather this is a fabulous Idea . Just this weekend I went to my favorite store called antiquity Joy she had an Christmas open house. Its a small shop filled with all kinds of beautiful thing, The big displays of Christmas balls in Jars
were every where. $5 sound so much better than $3o which was the price of the one I like minus the purple & silver balls, It would have looked great on my mantel.
Well now it can with your help I knew there was a reason I picked up those door knobs at BFM not just because they were pretty as I told DH.
Great Job Heather & thank you I have been in Craft overload since I started reading your blog a couple of weeks ago, Depression can kill that ability that makes you happy so thank you <3
Angie Stueve
My local Dollar Tree had the vases but no glass candlesticks. I did however find an alternative to the glass bowl/knob lid. Over in the plates/dishes area they had glass lidded bowls (looked like sugar bowls). I test fitted the lid to the sugar bowl in the tall glass vase and it was a PERFECT fit. It’s cut to look like crystal, so it automatically makes it decorative. For a total of 3 dollars you can have an apothecary style jar and a extra bowl to give away with candy in it to a neighbor or friend! Can’t beat that!
Now I just need to mosey on over to another Dollar Tree or thrift/goodwill store and find glass candlesticks!
Thanks for the great idea!
Sarah
LOL! I totally was wishing I had a lid! Now I will. I have those same jars. Thanks a Bunch!!!!!
kimberly
I found a candy dish with a top (in the dollar tree) to fit the top of the large jar. So all I had to do was glue on the candle stick!;)
Rachael
We made some of these too and had a blast! They were so easy and fun, but I never thought of using the drawer pulls to make lids. Fun idea! We have also made lots more than just jars—ring/jewelry holders, soap dishes, cake and cupcakes stands too…endless!! LOVE IT!
Shelley
Okay so… I LOVED THIS! I made some with live poinsettia’s I bought at the 99 cents store. They are beautiful and everybody loves them… I have a picture of them on my blog: http://thiswomanstreasure.blogspot.com/
they were awesome! thanks so much
Ally Simons
Hi Heather! Just wanted you to know that we linked to you guys today- we used this idea to make some cute terrariums for our spring decorating update!
Thanks so much for the amazing and thrifty inspiration!!
Mike and Ally at Tiny Wallet Style!
Kellie
Did you know that that lids to the candy dishes being sold at the Dollar Tree fit perfectly on these large vases? For that price, I used the dish part for a fancy new dry food bowl for my cats. LOL!
heather
@Kellie, Great tip!!
Dani
I just found out you can go to dollar tree.com & order items that are out of stock in your local store! They will ship them to your local store where you pick them up & no shipping!!! I’m ordering a dozen candlesticks tomorrow!
Katrina@juggling5monkeys
Such a great idea! I did something very similar before finding your post. I have been looking and loving the apothecary jars as well. This is perfect! LOVE it.
Cathy
What is the black dish underneath one of them?
rhonda
Hi Cathy, The black thing is a pedestal for a pillar candle – it came from the candle section at Dollar Tree.
Debra
Love your ideas! Where can I find the E-6000 glue? Thanks!
Kris
If you have a Hobby Lobby close by you can get knobs on sale for about 2 to 5 dollars each. And also they have so many colors and shapes you could seriously dress up your jar. You could also use large glass marbles , just sand down a tiny bit to give the glue something to grab on.
Molly Markiewicz
Where can we find those large vases now? They are no longer at the dollar store!
heather
@Molly, You’ll have to keep your eye out. The selection at Dollar Tree is ever-changing. Maybe you can find a suitable vase at the thrift store instead!