Ahhhhh I do have a fascination with sparkly things lol… I often find salt cellars in yard sales and thrift stores and they fascinate me. They are so pretty! But honestly in today’s age not very useful so I decided to do some upcycling! I also pick up broaches I find pretty at yard sales and thrift stores. I’ve never been lucky enough to find a true valuable antique one (which I would never upcycle with!) but lots of pretty ones that are no longer in style… left over from the 80’s fashionistas! So for 25 cents sure I’ll get them to craft with!
Combine the two (with a little craftiness) and you get these adorable jewelry holders or pill boxes!
By using a piece of paper and a pencil and tracing an outline of the inner diameter of the salt cellar as a pattern we then cut out from a very thick piece of wool felt (left over scraps from another project) what we will use as the inner “lip” for the broach lid. This keeps the broach from sliding off the top of the salt cellar by providing a lip that sits down inside the cellar slightly. Then just apply the felt to the pin (a few deft cuts and strategic maneuvering required with the stick pin part) and place the broach on top of the salt cellar to create the lid! Done! I don’t use any glue because… hey I may want to wear the broach someday! Just pin the broach to the felt like you would a piece of clothing cutting a notch in the felt for where the pins latch is located! So….totally still usable! If I find out later it was a valuable antique broach… well no harm done! In the meantime I have a pretty up-cycled spot to store my earrings!
Occasionally I even run into some rather unique looking salt cellars and they get dressed up and put into the dining room china cabinet with the broach on top for decoration lol they also make nice small gifts!
One helpful hint about the broaches… when you pick them out at the thrift store make sure you get ones with the stick pin portion centered in the middle of the broach rather than offset at the side or top… otherwise it won’t fit on top of the salt cellar properly without removing (aka damaging!) the pin from the back of the broach! Save those off set pin, pretty broaches, for other crafts!
If you have heirloom broaches and salt cellars from great granny… what better way to display and utilize both (without damaging either) in a new and unique way! But if you live near me I hope you don’t read that part (shhhhhhh!) because… yeah I want to buy them in your next yard sale! lol hubby on the other hand will say “we have enough already! Spread the word liberally to the neighbors!” Lol
Conestoga Chuck 