Turning Izze Soda Bottles Into Vases: a house log

Even though it was originally my idea/Christmas-present-to-Sherry to buy fresh flowers once a month, I have been fairly absent from these budget bloom posts since their inception – mostly because talkin’ flowers is not truly at the center of my comfort zone. But this month’s florals are less about the blooms and more about bottles which (as an off-and-on soda fan) are right up my alley. So here is August’s $2.47 arrangement adding some punch to our kitchen window sill:

This in fact began with a blueberry Izze soda (technically it is “sparkling juice”) that we purchased at Whole Foods a few weeks ago. Sherry and I have both been fond of the graphic flower on their bottles for a while, so the empty Izze bottle managed to save itself from the recycling bin day after day while we enjoyed its quirky beauty on the counter. Then we realized that paired with a few other colorful Izze bottles it could easily become a sweet repurposed vase. So on a recent trip near Starbucks, I dropped in and picked up two more Izze bottles (each with a distinct colored flower simply for lively) and then we grabbed three spider mums from a local florist to the tune of $2.47. So I guess if you want to get technical, although the flowers were under $3, this arrangement was around $9 if you include the Izze. But we did get to enjoy a bunch of fizzy drinks for that price too.

We liked the all-white flowers paired with the trio of hues on the Izze labels. Plus we realized there is something pleasant about the blooms blending in with the dominant crisp white color of our kitchen, making their containers stand out that much more.

We have consistently been fans of adapting cups, votive holders, and of course bottles into makeshift vases – this is simply our first time using Izzes. They’d also look strong in a monochromatic grouping (all clementime flavored bottles with orange or yellow gerbera daisies, for instance) or you can come up with your own mix-and-match color scheme (there are 8 flavors in total). Oh and some classic Coke bottles could add a cute retro feel while some worn green glass bottles at a thrift store or flea market would bring a pleasant cottage vibe to any arrangement.

So there you have our monthly blossoms. They’ve in fact been lasting quite a while, thanks to the fact that they hail form a local florist (which truly does seem to make a difference). We also change the water and re-cut their stems every 5 days or so- simply to give them the best chance at long term survival (so far we are over two weeks into things and they are still going strong).

But sufficient about our mums, do you folks have any other bottle or vase stand-ins that you’ve particularly enjoyed using instead of the more tried and true meant-for-flower vessels? Are there any other flowers that you’ve been enjoying lately? Oh yeah, and we have more plans for those Izze bottles too (you know we enjoy squeezing as many projects out of our low-cost little purchases as we can) so do not be shocked if you see ’em again soon. Stay tuned…

Wanna see our first grocery store bouquet from last January? Itching to check out February, March, April, May, June, July, August, and September too? How about this year’s January, February, March, April, May, June, and July bouquets? Simply follow the links for some fairly sweet low-cost-o (and even free) bouquets.