Decoration Ideas for Glass Vases

Glass vases come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and styles, providing you  with numerous creative decorating ideas for every room and occasion. Find these  vases inexpensively in dollar stores and convenience stores or check out garage  sales for unusual-looking glass vases. Clear glass vases allow you to see the  contents. Think about what would look good inside and how it can enhance  different areas of your home.

Bathroom Displays

• Fill a clear, glass vase with cotton balls and display it on your bathroom  shelf. This results in an elegant, clean decorative look as well as a functional  one. Select any type of glass vase you desire–for cotton balls, you may want a  large vase. Fill smaller clear glass vases with cotton swabs standing  vertically. Display them alongside the cotton ball vases for visual  interest.

Stones and Potpourri

• Glass vases with decorator stones add beauty wherever you place them.  Decorator stones can add color or you may select stones in all black or brown as  neutral accents, depending on your decor. Fill the vase 1/4 to 1/3 full of  stones, add water and place a silk or a real plant inside.

  Fill a glass vase with potpourri, another inexpensive item you can find at  dollar stores, for a decorative accent piece. Tie a ribbon around the of the  vase, to create more of a country look. It also makes a nice-looking  gift.

Entertaining

• Consider using glass vases to hold candles. Place pillar candles inside vases  in similar shapes and light them to create a simple but elegant look. For  example, a 12-inch glass vase can contain a smaller size pillar candle,  surrounded inside by rose petals. You can also fill a glass vase 3/4 with water  and place floating candles on top and light them to create a special ambiance,  suitable for wedding receptions or romantic occasions.

  An interesting party favor idea involves adding water and live goldfish or  any type of color-coordinated fish to glass vases. Guests can take them  home.

  For holiday centerpieces, fill glass vases with water, then add floating  candles and cranberries. Think about what else you can add to float along with  the candles, depending on the holiday.

Outdoor Finds

• Fall provides ideas for interesting and colorful decorating, most coming  directly from nature. Fill glass vases with pine cones or colorful, autumn  leaves. Gather nuts like acorns to fill another vase. Purchase or gather gourds  and small pumpkins for vases and place them where you want these accents of  color, such as on your fireplace mantel. These vases also add beauty as   centerpieces for your dining room table or your kitchen  counter.

Colored Water

• To add a splash of color to a particular area of your home, consider coloring  the water in your clear glass vases. Adding food coloring to the water will give  you color separation, even after mixing well. The solution involves making  colored water by adding 1 cup white vinegar to your water, along with 1/2 cup  baking soda. After mixing well, add about 1 tsp. cornstarch and 1 tsp. edible  vegetable glycerin, found in health food stores or regular glycerin found in  drugstores. Mix well again, wait about five minutes and add your food coloring.  The color will stay put and look professional.