True confessions: I have loved cloches for years, however, I never knew what to put in them. So many bloggers seemed to work with them so beautifully, and my ended up well.. empty. I felt a bit inadequate in the cloche department. But then a very respected magazine came to my home to shoot a story. Well you won’t believe this, they shot one of my rooms with empty cloches. That’s right, they were empty.
Then I thought, well OKAY then! Maybe I don’t have to know what to put in them. Since then, I have fallen rather hard for cloches, bell jars, or glass domes, whatever you call them. So I thought I would talk about what you can put in them. I came up with 10 things, although, really there are so many other things you can use. This is just a list to get you started if you have an empty cloche right now.
Ready? Here we go.
1. A mini spiral staircase. So what if you want one, but don’t have one? I’ve got you covered. They’re in my shop.
2. A pretty little creamer. Putting it in the cloche and on a pedestal makes it appear even more special.
3. Sacred hearts on stands. I really love these hearts, and I stock them in my shop, but always keep several in my house too.
4. Dried rose petals. I used a book underneath the rose petals so that if I moved the cloche the roses wouldn’t all fall out.
5. Pitcher with flowers. This time I used a litle basket underneath the cloche.
6. Rolled up vintage sheet music. No books were harmed in the project. I simply rolled up papers that had been copied years ago and were yellowed. I tied them with twine.
7. The Eiffel Tower. Well? Of course I have one!
8. Book bundles tied with twine. I don’t suggest you destroy perfectly good books to make these. But if you have some that are already falling apart that you don’t want, this might be a nice way to re-purpose them.
9. A chalkboard sheep. I adore these and I have them in the shop.
And lastly
10. Nothing
Below I used the cloche on top of a cheese server (available in my shop.)
So where do you find a cloche? Well they can be found in my shop. CLOCHE
But you can also make a faux cloche, DIRECTIONS HERE.
How about you? What do you put in a cloche?
I had a cloche (.. just one 🙁 sad face*), but it broke. Then, about two weeks ago I saw a very cute cloche on a glass stand. It is the perfect size to display a cupcake! Guess where I found it? I saw it in the grocery store floral department! Surprise. I’ve been wondering what to put in it, since I rarely have cupcakes around for long. Thanks for the great tips and inspiration.
Best,
Michelle from simplysantabarbara.blogspot.com
P.S. I will use it for family birthdays, too. The special person’s cupcake will be displayed with a candle at the table when we sing, “Happy Birthday”.
I love those little cloches!!
Cute ideas!
Well, now I need to get a cloche…or two! Pretty ideas, Anita!
love and blessings~
Lynda @ Gates of Crystal
Hello,
Where did you get the pedestal? Do you sell them in your shop?
Cheers,
Vickey
Yes Vickey. http://shop.cedarhillfarmhouse.com/products/distressed-pedestal
I saw a cloche at St Vincent de Paul Society. I had no idea what it was or what to do with it . Second hand stores are more likely to have them than anywhere. I bought fairy lights on Amazon and since they are cold because they’re LED, they don’t build up heat they look really nice under a cloche
I find that the collections under glass I really like are layered just like a miniature vignette. You can see some of my favorites on my Pinterest Page, A Clocher Look. Love your Eiffel Tower.
Delightful…at Christmas time I put a wee red pick up truck with a wee Christmas tree in the back…it makes me happy to look at…and I smile ………………………thank you for sharing your ideas !
My dad’s gold watch with gold coin on a chain on a tiny stand. A fabulous hand felted hat. A pile of quirky napkin rings. My Shirley Temple Doll (9 inch size) in a hand sewn Norwegian traditional costume. Handmade bird house. Bird’s nest complete with (fake) eggs.
Basically anything small, wonderful and worthy of a showcase … or needs dust protection.
I have several cloche. One has an Eiffel Tower a old french book a Paris map and old skeleton keys all purchased last year in Paris. Love these items. Adele
I love the simplicity of your ideas. So clean and pretty. I especially love the flower petals. I dry roses all the time and am so disappointed by how quickly they seem to collect dust. This would be a pretty alternative!
Thanks for sharing. Inspiring as always!
Thank you Bridget.
Lately I’ve found several tall and skinny cloches at garage sales. I think these were at one time the domes that went over old fancy clocks, like my parents had. So your idea come at a good time for me! And thanks for featuring the ideas for turning glass vases upside down!
Such fabulous ideas! I love putting holiday ornaments in my cloches.
-Brenda
I recently purchased a cloche from a consignment store on the cheap! I had always wanted one to showcase. I got it home and sat it over a little birds nest w a resin bird, on the piano. The birds nest was a past purchase, not from nature.
I found a beautiful one on a round wooden base at a yard sale for .50!! I got it a few months ago and haven’t been able to come up with anything to put in it, thank you for all the great ideas! I especially love the pages of music wrapped in twine. I also bought a small cloth doilie I thought I could use in it~any ideas on that?
Thank you again!
I love your ideas. I have one coloche. I have yet to fill it, but I do have definite plan for it. I think I paid, maybe, $2 for it at a flea market. It is actually an antique / vintage German clock dome, and it’s really pretty. The base is brass that is enameled or porcelained in a beautiful yellow with roses. I originally planned to fix the clock for mantle decor, but after watching “beauty and the beast” for the millionth, yes millionth, time with Serlena, my 2 1/2 year old daughter, I found a purpose for this lovely delicate beauty. It’s newly decided purpose is to hold three beautiful, delicate, priceless, yellow with pink tip roses that I have air dried from my grandmother’s funeral over a year ago. Right now dome is still empty, because I have one tiny problem. My problem is that I can’t decide exactly, how I want to approach this feat, in order to preserve the roses, without ruining there form or color. At the same time, I want a lacquer, clear, or medium that will accomplish the afore mentioned feat, without breaking the dome from over expansion and set/dry clear enough to look like air. Any ideas or tips would be greatly appreciated.
I found my old baby shoes, (bronzed), and put them under a lovely etched cloche. It sits in my dining room on a hutch. So sweet. You could also place vintage baby silverware, rattle or a treasured child’s toy under a cloche for a sweet little display.