A Bevy of Bottles by Shirley Raye Redmond

Vintage Bottles

Do you collect bottles? More than a million Americans do, making bottle
buffs the third largest hobby group in the states, right behind
stamp and coin collectors. Bottles and jars are attractive and generally
inexpensive. As each American uses approximately 400 a year, they are
plentiful too. The variety of shapes and colors make bottles ideal
decorations. Here are a few ideas for using them.

•       Clear bottles or jars filled with colorful jellybeans or gumballs make
whimsical bookends.
•       Set off a collection of amber colored bottles with a handful of seashells.
•       Fill canning jars with dried flowers and place them where lamplight will
reflect both the beauty of the flowers and the containers.
•       Display a collection of inkbottles with yards of colorful ribbon snaked
around the base of the bottles.
•       Place a cluster of old-fashioned vinegar cruets in the center of a
vintage dresser scarf on a sideboard.
•       Place soda bottles and decorative decanters against a window allowing
sunlight to shine through them, displaying their colors.

What ideas do you have for decorating with bottles and jars?