How To

Salt and Pepper Vases

If you are looking for an inexpensive (and quick!) project for displaying or giving flowers, these repurposed salt and pepper shakers are a good fit. They can be made for wedding favors and table decor, to be given as hostess gifts or for someone’s special day, or simply for your own home use. Fill the vases […]

A small glass vase decorated with white lace and pink-red pom-poms, holding pink and purple flowers against a plain white background.

Vases made from salt and pepper shakers

Photo Credit: Bonnie Thomas
If you are looking for an inexpensive (and quick!) project for displaying or giving flowers, these repurposed salt and pepper shakers are a good fit. They can be made for wedding favors and table decor, to be given as hostess gifts or for someone’s special day, or simply for your own home use. Fill the vases with small flowers and line them up on a sunny windowsill! They will add a colorful, whimsical look to any room. You can create any style, from boho chic to elegant, depending on the style of ribbon you choose.
Vases made from salt and pepper shakers
Vases made from salt and pepper shakers
Photo Credit: Bonnie Thomas
I found these salt and pepper shakers at the dollar store – each pack comes with two shakers. This averages out to fifty cents per shaker. The only other materials you need are a hot glue gun and ribbon scraps! Here is a vase with a more boho chic look:
Vases made from salt and pepper shakers
Vases made from salt and pepper shakers
Photo Credit: Bonnie Thomas

These vases have a more elegant look:
Vases made from salt and pepper shakers
Vases made from salt and pepper shakers
Photo Credit: Bonnie Thomas
Play around with various ribbon and flowers to find combinations that you like.
Vases made from salt and pepper shakers
Vases made from salt and pepper shakers
Photo Credit: Bonnie Thomas

Materials needed to make Salt and Pepper Vases:

  • Clear plastic or glass salt and pepper shakers
  • Hot glue gun and glue sticks
  • Ribbon
  • Scissors
Vases made from salt and pepper shakers
Vases made from salt and pepper shakers
Photo Credit: Bonnie Thomas

Directions for making Salt and Pepper Vases:

  1. Remove the lids of the salt and pepper shakers.
  2. Wrap ribbon around the shakers and trim them to size. You want the ends of the ribbon to overlap slightly.
  3. Add a drop of hot glue to one end of the ribbon and press it against your shaker. Wrap the ribbon around the shaker and then apply a drop of glue to the other end of the ribbon. Press this end into place, where the ends of the ribbon slightly overlap.
  4. Add flowers to your vases.
You can keep the shaker lids on the vases if you are using delicate flowers and need to hold the flower stems in place. Most of my flowers had stalks just thick enough that they wouldn’t fit through the shaker holes, so I set the shaker tops aside for another project.  

Bonnie Thomas

Bonnie Thomas works as a child and family therapist in southern Maine and is also an established artist and author. She has published several books with Jessica Kingsley Publishers, including Creative Coping Skills for Children: Emotional Support Through Arts and How to Get Kids Offline, Outdoors, and Connecting With Nature.

More by Bonnie Thomas

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