la bouteille.

When I have the time, I like to do some handmade crafts for my friends and family. I got into it when my mother forced my brother and I to make gifts for our teachers during Christmas and at the end of the year. I was actually pretty good at it. I like to think that the crafted objects are still on a bookshelf somewhere.

This holiday season, I wanted to do the same thing as I couldn't bring a ton of stuff over from France, and the thought of buying American goods seemed lackluster. So I decided to do something à la française for mes amis. I'll take you through the project and hopefully you'll be able to find some inspiration for your next gift idea.

I began searching around a West Elm home goods store, figuring that all of my friends could use something for their apartments. I had no luck finding anything specific, so I bought four glass bottles. Two of them were made using recycled glass! Even better.

Intent on decorating these bottles, I decided on the use of stained glass painting materials to decorate. Armed with my bottles and paint, I set to work making the bottles.