Skip to main content

Storing All That Pocket Change ~ Creating A Faux Demijohn

http://thediyshowoff.blogspot.com/I am pretty certain that we are not the only ones that have a big jar or vessel we throw our pocket change in.  Am I right?  
Admittedly, I will try to get rid of every penny I can.  Even when I send one of the kids into the store to pick something up, I always add four pennies so they'll have enough to make change with!  "Use the pennies", I say.  Ridiculous I know, but I do it anyway. Sometimes I try to get rid of a dime's worth of pennies in one stop. "Embarrassing" is what Shawn and the kids say.  I think it's part of my OCD.  I feel I HAVE to use the pennies up! It drives Shawn crazy because he never uses pennies.  He just pulls out a bill to pay and I stop him by saying, "wait, I've got the pennies!".  He pretends not to hear me and so it is, we have lots of loose change...much more than even I can get rid of in one trip.  

Years ago the kids and I had filled a gallon sized jar with coins that they would deposit into their savings accounts.  I used to take Michael and Ethan to a bank at 21st and Utica  that had a train built under the floor which was covered by a shatter-proof glass top so you could watch it go around the track.  The boys loved it.  One such trip to the bank, I put the jar full of change into the back seat, laying it on its side.  Boy, was it heavy!  I made a stop before going to the bank and opened the back door to have the entire jar roll out and shatter all over the pavement.  There must have been thousands of coins in there.  Now, that was embarrassing, just not embarrassing enough for me to leave it there!  I picked up every single penny, nickel, dime and quarter plus the broken glass.  If I remember correctly it totaled over $200 in change!



Shawn sometimes uses this red wine to cook with.  It's available in a large, gallon sized jar.


He washed an empty bottle out and began accumulating change in it.  This was fine with me, except that I thought it was a little ugly having a big wine jar of loose change sitting in our kitchen.

 I decided to make a look alike demijohn.  No way I'm paying $150 for the real deal.  Then there would be no pocket change!

First I began by weaving some hemp around the spout of the bottle.

 I bought this dual handled, French-ey looking basket with a 'Fleurs' tag attached on clearance at Tuesday Morning for a few dollars.  I found a couple of baskets at thrift stores for a quarter that would work to but I liked the metal tag on this one best.  Some of you crafty people could easily make a similar tag and further cut the cost of this project.

I simply placed the bottle full of change inside the basket.
What a quick fix!

I wound up wrapping a little more of the hemp around the bottle and handle and topped it with my little climbing bunny.  The bunny is made to rest on the edge of a potted plant.  I've used these on lamps, vases, etc.  So cute!

This project cost about $6 and the majority of the expense was the basket, which I mentioned you could get one at a thrift shop for next to nothing.  Oh, guess I forgot the cost of the wine...but hey, that's consumable so it doesn't count!

If you've not entered my giveaway for the custom porcelain enamel house sign, you can do so HERE.


Comments

  1. wow, what a beautiful and great idea~!! thanks for sharing that. I'll be making one of those.
    I know where to get the wine so its just a case of finding the right basket.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This looks terrific, Nancy, and at such a savings. Funny, I just finished wrapping a Carlo and Rossi wine jug too, but haven't yet photographed it. It's in a basket, but I like your much better! Cute touch with the addition of the little rabbet on the spout!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your demijohn looks fabulous! What a great way to collect coins! I am like you, I use every last penny that I have in my purse, pennies are money!
    Cindy

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nancy, you are not alone. My husband hates to carry loose change, so I scoop up his coins that he throws into a dish and add them to my coin purse. I'm forever counting out change to pay so I don't end up with more coins. ;-)
    Great idea for your jug. ~ sarah

    ReplyDelete
  5. Marvelous take on a demijohn...and not a bad way to corral all those pennies! Cherry Kay

    ReplyDelete
  6. wow, fantastic idea!! very clever!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nancy -- how clever!!!! It looks like a demijohn and at such a reasonable price!!!!

    I may copy this!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Cute, cute, Nancy--I'd like one of these myself. I liked your comment about "no more pocket change" :).

    ReplyDelete
  9. I came running because I thought it WAS a french demijohn....I wondered how it was faux? Well it certainly did turn out great! And BTW I would've picked up every last penny too...Cuz that's also the way I roll! *winks* Vanna

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Vanna,

    I suppose that it is technically a demijohn, I just think of the antiques when I hear the word demijohn. Maybe I should have worded my title differently.

    Thanks for the kind words!

    Nancy

    ReplyDelete
  11. This was fun. I am amused that your penny habits cause you or your family embarassment. I constantly try to spend the pennies simply because they can accumulate so fast. And they do add up to something. I have my own jar...an old whiskey jar my daughter picked up at a yard sale. It is very heavy and makes a good doorstop!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I loved both your story and the project! We are empty-nesters here, but also have some wonderful stories about pennies and pocket change! Your solution for a pretty storage container is very creative... :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love it. Very frenchy, and soooo economical.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Great idea... it has a French Country Charm to it. The Man also has a huge bottle full of change... now I'll be seeking out a suitable Basket and tag to disguise it! *winks* Thanks for the inspiration to camoflauge perfectly!

    Dawn... The Bohemian

    ReplyDelete
  15. You can soak the bottle in warm soapy water for a while or put it through the dish washer on a heavy wash with the sanitize option, make sure to pull the label out of the bottom of your appliance when the load is done, and a small application of WD-40 to get off the goo and the glass will be clean. I save many of my jars and glasses and sanitize them for use in my home-made Christmas gifts.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I think I may just have to make one of these myself. We collect our change too and right now it's in a giant beer bottle bank in my son's room. This definitely would be an improvement!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Love this idea! Better than an old jar just holding change!~Hugs, Patti

    ReplyDelete
  18. Great idea! My husband saves all his change too....I have a big Tupperware container on the floor of his closet next to the hamper.....NOT attractive!

    ReplyDelete
  19. What a neat and thrifty idea...I just might be a kopy kat!!!!

    Blessings,
    Linda

    ReplyDelete
  20. What a great idea! I love it! It looks great and will be handy, too! ♥

    ReplyDelete
  21. I love this! Great idea and I'm one for grabbing all the change too. :-) I don't have a Mr here but I do collect. Thanks so much for sharing!

    xo
    Pat

    ReplyDelete
  22. Your demijohn creation turned out so cute, Nancy...Christine

    ReplyDelete
  23. Love it! So awesome that you were able to find a basket just the right size for the wine jug!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Nancy,
    Please feel free to come by and grab my featured button for your blog...yes...I have featured you at COASTAL CHARM!

    Blessings,
    Linda

    ReplyDelete
  25. What a great demi john look! My dad had a huge glass jug he would keep his change in too. When it would get full I would help count and roll the coins- so fun to try and figure out how much money might be in there!

    bee blessed
    mary

    ReplyDelete
  26. We used to collect coins in a big sort of clear vase. This is much better! Love the little bunny. Thank you for linking up to Open House Party!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Fantastic idea Nancy! I'm definitely going to be copying this one for sure. Thanks so much for sharing this at Inspiration Friday this week!
    Vanessa

    ReplyDelete
  28. LOVE this, Nancy! I've done half of a demi-john. lol! But if I ever find the perfect basket, I'll have one too! ;) Thanks so much for sharing!

    Roeshel

    ReplyDelete
  29. That is a brilliant idea. I love how it looks! It does make a great change jar too. we used to do the same thing. Thanks for linking it to Home Sweet Home!
    Sherry

    ReplyDelete
  30. Very cute--great makeover. I save all my change too in a thrift shop silver teapot. Thanks for linking up to Share the Love Wednesday... hope you'll be back this week.
    Mary

    ReplyDelete
  31. Nancy, looks better than my penny jar! Joni

    ReplyDelete
  32. I need to drink more wine! Love it, note to self!
    Debbie

    ReplyDelete
  33. Hi Debbie,

    Now that's my kind of comment! Haha!

    Nancy

    ReplyDelete
  34. What a great idea. My husband is a change saver. He puts his in a jar in my drawer and has for years. that's my mad money. LOVE the demi-john lookalike, the basket is wonderful! so glad you linked up to VIF, xo Debra

    ReplyDelete
  35. I hate to admit i have no idea what a demijohn is but it looks really neat! LOL. I love how this project turned out. I would love to have you share your talents at my VIP today =) http://designergarden.blogspot.com/2011/09/vip-party-26.html
    Have a wonderful holiday weekend!! XO

    ReplyDelete
  36. This is very cute....so much better than a giant change jar. Shows that with a little ingenuity...even the most practical thing can become decor.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Nancy -
    thanks for your kind words of late in my sad times. I featured your demijohn today on Mod Mix Monday.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Thank you Nita! So good to hear from you and see you posting again.

    Hugs,

    Nancy

    ReplyDelete
  39. What a cool sounding bank. Wish the one my husband works for had a floor like that with a surprise under it. Love the homemade demijohn.

    ReplyDelete
  40. We have 2 huge jugs upstairs. One is for pennies and one is for everything else. Neither one of us pay with change , only bills. In the beginning of Dec. , we then wrap all of the change we accumulated thru out the year and use it for Christmas gifts. We usually cash in between $300 - $400 in change!!

    Hugs,
    Debbie

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I love hearing from my readers. I appreciate the time you take to post a comment and I read them all.

Popular posts from this blog

English Cottage Living Room - Before, Partly After & Still a Work in Progress

I am sorry for not posting more pictures of the progress we've made settling into this new (to us) home.   It seems life rushes by so fast and that at times, doing little things, even those that I love and enjoy, often get pushed aside and onto the back shelf of my mind where I tell myself, "I'll get to this later".  Well, it is later and though I don't have as much to share with you as I'd like, I'm going to at least share my favorite spot in our living room.  I promise to show the rest of the room soon but for now the opposite half of the living room has been occupied by my daughters boyfriend who has been staying with us for the past 7 or so weeks until his apartment is ready for him to move into, and so the couch is usually made up for him to sleep on!   Here is a photo of the current living room just as we found it, a small room just off the entry of the house with a nice marble and wood fireplace surround, hard wood floors, beautiful crown mouldi

The History of Johnson Brothers and The Friendly Village Tablescape

Last week, Shawn and I popped into a couple of estate sales and I picked up over 100 pieces of Johnson Brother's The Friendly Village .  I think I may have to hang on to 12 of the dinner plates and use them this year at Thanksgiving but the rest of them, including this 48 piece service for 8, will be you know where. I don't know about you all, but I have had enough of Summer and I am down right ready for the cooler temperatures of Autumn.  I've been doing a lot of rearranging around the house….I'm in one of those zones where I've got a zillion projects going on, even if half of them are just in my mind that I'm contemplating!   We've also been moving kids out and around.  Three of them are out and the three still at home are moving or rearranging their rooms around.    Since I am yearning for Fall, haven't posted any tablescapes in a while and just got these Friendly Village pieces I decided to set the table with them.      Oh great, I

More Traditional Red White & Blue Rooms with Transferware

A couple of weeks ago I shared some pictures of beautiful rooms in red and blue color schemes decorated with transferware .    Here is another roundup of rooms that I adore, all with red and blue color schemes and all with transferware!  Enjoy!  (via Traditional Home) (via enchanted home) (my old living room) Joining some of the following parties: Between Naps on The Porch Transformation Thursday at  The Shabby Chic Cottage Feathered Nest Friday at  French Country Cottage Friday Inspiration  At The Picket Fence Cindy at  My Romantic Home Funky Junk Interiors Charm of Home No Minimalist Here WOW  Amaze Me Mondays  Making Monday Link Party  Motivational Mondays  What'd You Do This Weekend?   Inspire Me Monday   Make It Pretty Monday   Monday Link Party  Inspire Me Monday 

My English Country Mom Cave

Susan, at Between Naps on the Porch is hosting a Home Goods Mom Cave contest with four lucky winners.  Come on in to my little niche I've carved out of my house.  This is where I work, create, relax, read and chat with friends and family. This is one of my favorite spots in the house to read about one of my favorite subjects...English transferware or poetry, and drink tea.  I often start and end my day right here. Next to the chair is an antique dumbwaiter which holds some decorative items as well as lots of poetry books.  This is the view of the room from the wing back chair.  This cozy room serves as a small living room, although it's not uncommon to have 8 or 9 of the girls in here during family gatherings.  It's usually where we all wind up to have coffee and visit. . On either side of the sofa I display some of my vintage Canine figurines on Spode meat drainers. Above the sofa are some of my favorite paintings.  The one directly over the sofa my Mom pain

Decorating with Brown Transferware & $100 GIVEAWAY

Brown was introduced as a transferware color around 1829-30 and is the least expensive of colors to make. Therefore it is fairly common, so far as transferware goes, to find.  It is also one of the most collected colors and it is probably the most versatile of colors in my opinion.  Brown is neutral and looks good with any color scheme from pastels to rich jewel tones, but it is with the ushering in of Autumn that I see it popping up in home decor and vignettes the most.  Though, most of these rooms and vignettes are decorated with brown pieces year round, it just seems the perfect time to share them.  I may have to do another post because there are so, so many more equally beautiful spaces that have incorporated the use of displaying brown transferware  and I can't fit them all here. So, check these lovelies out and then stick around for the giveaway at the bottom of the post. This vignette just stole my heart the first time I saw it.  So many of us have vintage luggage

The Aesthetic Movement and Transferware

What is the Aesthetic Movement? The Aesthetic Movement refers to a period of time in the late 19 th century (1870-1900) which was a backlash to the formal Victorian years.  Artists and writers of the Aesthetic movement period maintained the belief that art should provide refined sensuous pleasure, rather than convey moral or sentimental messages.  They believed that art did not have any didactic purpose; it need only be beautiful.  Japanese art had a great influence on Aestheticism. Aesthetic interiors were often decorated with Japanese prints, screens, fans and other objects. An appreciation of the art of Japan is seen in the work of many Aesthetic artists and designers such as James McNeill Whistler and E.W. Godwin. photo credit Country Living The Aesthetes developed the cult of beauty, which they considered the basic factor in art. They ascertained that life should copy art and considered nature as crude and lacking in design

Decorating with Blue Transferware and a GIVEAWAY!

   If you haven't already been over to Enchanted Home , you'll want to go over after you finish this post because the wonderful Tina, who authors the incredibly gorgeous blog,  has a great post up about decorating with dishes plus she's hosting a giveaway to my online shop, English Transferware !  Details at the end of the post! I know Tina loves blue and white (just look at her header and you'll know!) and has a collection of her own. In honor of Tina, I've decided to share some of my favorite images of rooms decorated with and often around blue transferware collections.  You can see more rooms decorated with blue transferware on my Pinterest board . To me, Charles Faudree is just about as synonymous with English transferware as he his with French Country Decorating...he seemed to always find a use for it in his incredibly detailed decorating schemes.  Isn't this bedroom charming? I love this next image from Decor Magazine.  Look how the blu