It's doable...cheap makeup-brush holder
Sunday, March 4, 2012 at 10:51AM We are now a few weeks out from Valentine's Day and all of you lucky girls who received flowers out there... now have empty vases... never fear, I have a solution for you!
What you'll need:
- A vase (mine was from flowers, a cute square one... but the possibilities are really endless here)
- Cheap coffee BEANS (make sure the bag doesn't say ground!)- 13 oz bag: $4 from Kroger
My two-cents:
I originally thought that coffee beans would be too expensive, too fragrant and too plain so I tried that whole spray painted beans thing. Oh my gosh, utter disaster! I never got all the beans covered on all sides and when I finally decided they were 'good enough' I realized that the paint chipped right off! But hey, that's what I am here for... to make the mistakes and show you the things that actually work. So take a lesson from me, go buy some $3.90 coffee beans, dump them in a vase you have laying around and move on to your next craft :)
Worried about the smell: Honestly, I am pretty out of it in the morning and the first day after making this I got into the shower and could faintly smell the beans. I thought, "Sweet, the hubs made coffee". Later while getting ready I realized this and had to laugh to myself. Needless to say, it's not overpowering by any means.
My husband's one concern is that at some point in time they might need to be replaced... so if your beans start looking a little funky (I have no idea what the bathroom/shower moisture will do) make sure you replace them!
Reader Comments (4)
Very interesting and funny post.. I enjoyed reading in it and learned also some tips.
Thanks for sharing and keep up the good work.
A webmaster of makeup
Great idea! As a barista, though, I'm wondering if the coffee beans would leave any oily residue on your brush handles? I'm just thinking of having to wash out our grinders every week because of the oil they left behind! If so... try decaf beans; because of the way they're teated, they're a lot less oily and will leave your brush handles a lot cleaner.
Thanks for the great tip, Kris! I haven't seen any residue but next refill I'll switch to decaf! As a FYI, I haven't replaced the beans yet and it's been 4 months and they aren't gross yet! Keep the advice coming everyone!
This is how I store my makeup brushes, too... I use an old votive holder I had already cleaned the wax out of because I liked it so much, but instead of coffee beans, I use rice. Any rice will do, and the advantage it has is that rice will absorb moisture! (You know the trick where you put in your water-logged cell phone in a baggie of rice to save it?) Which would be extra nice if you keep your makeup brushes in your bathroom, and it should prevent mold/mildew, I would think, since the rice absorbs any moisture. Hope this is helpful :)