These old insulators are pretty cool honestly so I don’t blame my grandparents one bit for keeping them years ago. I found them in a big box out in the barn when I took over the farm here back in 2015. All in there were at least 30 of them – some clear and some blue glass. Initially I did look into their worth and I could sell them for maybe $10 a piece. (More rare types of insulators go for thousands!) At that price though it felt like more bother trying to sell them than they were worth and, besides, I didn’t want to sell them!
Upcycling these little guys has proven to be quite the challenge for me unfortunately. They’re cool and yet they’re also small and… well, what could they possibly do but just sit somewhere?
(To be fair there are many just “sitting” throughout our house as decoration lol.)
I have seen folks online make these little guys into light shades by drilling out a hole in the bottom of them… But, yet again, they’re really small!
Post caps is a neat idea I’ve also seen as simple outdoor decorations.
Another idea was drilling out a board so they could sit upside down so they could hold candles or tea lights.
I think my favorite use of them that I’ve seen is probably just sticking them on the wall and using them as hangers for towels or coats etc. I may actually need to do that somewhere around here considering we have so many of them and that would fit perfectly in this house.
Meanwhile I needed something to help bumble bees and little critters from drowning in our bird bath so that’s been my one and only way I’ve been utilizing them.
Turns out I’m not the only person to of thought of that either and they’re pretty too!
Since doing a redesign of our master bedroom windows I’ve had these boxes sitting around waiting for me to come up with another use for them. I built them years ago to use as window planters using some really amazing old wood off of the crate of a very very old sink I found out in a shed.
The sink was still in perfect working condition so, of course, its installed in one of our bathrooms.
It dawned on me that the combination of the two might make us a pretty table centerpiece for little to no extra expense!
I picked some flowers from our perennial gardens and found we had a vase that fit perfectly in the center of the box. I also had a string of twinkle lights I used last Xmas as well as some leftover burlap ribbon. The insulators tucked so pretty down in with the lights and burlap!
Niki from Life as a LEO Wife – Farmhouse Fall Pumpkin Sign Keyholder
Niky from The House on Silverado – DIY College Side Table
Lydia from Life Beyond the Kitchen – Upcycled Canisters for Craft Storage
Tarah, I love this so much! I always see these insulators at flea markets and antique shops and never know what I might do with them. YOu’ve got me thinking now!
Thanks for sharing,
Niky
Thanks Niky, its great hopping with you!
Very pretty! I remember playing with those when I was a kid. We had lots of them laying around our old farm too. Not something my parents thought to bring along on their move to AZ tho. They weren’t really worth anything back then. I’d be curious to know what they’re worth now.🤔
Hi Stephany a quick google search says that there are some super rare insulations worth $1,000s! Of course, none of ours are worth more than $10 a piece lol thanks for coming by!
Very nice! I like the way the lights glow through the insulators.
Thank you Lydia!