An easy way to upcycle Avon collectibles found at garage sales, thrift stores, or in your grandma’s attic!
Welcome to another month of thrift store upcycle projects! This month is a little different for me. My project today is much more “girly” than I usually get. But I found these little jars that are Avon collectibles and decided to update them to hold some of my essential oil recipes.
This post contains affiliate links. You won’t pay any more when you use these but I will earn a small commission on any purchases you make after clicking on them and I greatly appreciate it. Rust-Oleum and Homeright provided supplies but the ideas and opinions are my own. Thanks for helping support my little blog!!!
Supplies for Avon Jar Makeover
- old Avon creme perfume jars
- Rust-Oleum metallic spray paint, champagne mist
- Homeright small spray shelter
Avon Collectibles
Does anyone else remember these Avon jars? My grandmother loved Avon’s creme perfumes and she had lots of these little jars. I loved playing with them and smelling them when I was a little girl. These jars were empty when I bought them but they STILL smelled like my grandmother!
Here’s an old ad for the cream sachet fragrances, aka creme perfumes:
How to Update Avon Jar Lids
I started off by spray painting the lids. I sat up my spray shelter and used those little spikey things I also found at a thrift store. I did finally learn that they were “spiked furniture caster cups” but they worked great for this purpose, too!
Then I missed up some coconut oil and essential oils to make some of my own creme perfumes… lol… Actually one is supposed to remove age spots and the other is for muscle pain. I’ll let you know later if they work.
Then I got busy making all my garage sale finds look pretty together! Yes… EVERYTHING in this picture (except the flowers) came from a garage sale or thrift store! Please leave a comment if you know anything about that pink jar or the pink/gold container. The lady I bought them from was selling things out of her grandmother’s house. She had recently died and the granddaughter was pretty sad about getting rid of these. But she said she just couldn’t keep everything so we found them a good new home.
First I styled everything with pink, then I went blue. How do you like that little flower lid? I decided not to paint it.
Update on the Vintage Pieces Shown in this Article
I get a lot of questions about the items I show in my blog articles. “How do you make that?”, “What do you do with all that stuff?”, and “Are those for sale?” are just a few of the questions I heard. So, since this article was originally written in 2017 I thought I’d give you an update.
I enjoyed all of these items but as I mentioned, they’re a little more girly than my taste. So, after using them for a while I decided to sell them.
Most of the items have already sold. As of June 3, 2020, one of them is still in our eBay shop.
- Avon jars – sold at Paris Flea Market for $4-5 each
- mirrored tray – sold at Paris Flea Market for around $20
- pink Fenton perfume bottle – sold on eBay for $39.99
- pink and gold cigarette box (which is what I finally discovered that it was) – still listed on eBay for $24.99
- embroidered lace linen table runner – I still have that and use it for photo shoots.
More Upcycled Projects
Now check out what my other blogging buddies did for their thrift store makeover projects!
Thanks for Reading!
I hope you enjoyed seeing what I did with my Avon collectibles. Leave a comment and let me know if you’re a collector. Thanks for reading!!! (Originally published on May 25, 2017.)
‘Til the next project,
Ann @ Duct Tape and Denim
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Angela @ Simply Beautiful By Angela says
They look so pretty! That champagne color is absolutely stunning 🙂
Amanda @ The Kolb Corner says
What a find! My grandma still has some that she has held on to. Those pink accessories are so pretty with your upcycled jars. I’d love to know the story behind those!
Kathleen says
I recently picked up an Avon collectible perfume bottle at Goodwill (shaped like a poodle!). My kids look for them at flea markets. Yours look gorgeous with the lids painted, and great use of them for your toiletries! And I’m all for pink so I love those finds, too. xo Kathleen|Our Hopeful Home
Victoria @DazzleWhileFrazzled says
These are so pretty! I’m getting flashbacks to my grandma and remembering her various bottles of perfumes and creams. Visiting from Thrift Store Challenge.
crafty.grandma says
wow! it’s times like this when I see the true beauty in the Avon jars that they used to sell!! I remember the Avon lady coming to visit my mom regularly and she would always buy a cream or lipstick! In HS my bff sold Avon so I bought from her and later when I became a mother, I became the Avon lady selling door to door. I had a huge collection of these jars but had to get rid of them when we downsized just 7 years ago!! I still have the collection of thimbles from Avon and because I was a team leader, I kept my awards. The silver (so-called) platter I have sits in my craft room holding my glitters; and I still have several Easter bunnies and christmas ornaments. I don’t remember the pink perfume decanter and if it was from Avon maybe it was released after I stopped selling some 35 years ago! A beauty like that I would certainly remember! Lucky you – enjoy your treasures. Thanks for sharing and giving me a trip down memory lane!
Maureen says
Oh my goodness! I remember my mom having one of these little “pots” holding Avon Rose creme perfume! To this day rose is one of my favourite scents! Now you have me obsessing about finding some of these jars so I can use my rose essential oil to make my own creme perfume! Just love this upcycle project!! I can’t help you with identifying the other bottles, but they sure are pretty!
Fabiola Garcia says
Such a beautiful transformation those vintage container are so unique.
Jeannee Taylor says
I love those old Avon jars! You made them look so pretty. I am glad you left the flower lid blue! Thanks for sharing ! I hope I get lucky and find some someday!
Jeannee
Sharon Lenarcic says
I have a large collection of Avon bottles and jars if anyone is interested. We are moving to Florida and downsizing. I’ve tried selling them at our garage sales and online, but no one has showed any interest. You can contact me on Facebook under Sharon Sarber Lenarcic. Thanks!
ducttapeanddenim says
I’d be interested except that I’m not supposed to buy anything this month! We’re packing to move and trying to get rid of as much as possible! Are you in our Facebook group? I’ll let you post there and see if anyone’s interested — https://www.facebook.com/groups/ThriftStoreMakeovers
Ali B says
I remember sitting next to my grandma and watching her take out her cute little Avon jars. What a nice way to reuse them. I do love that blue flower just how it is!
Megan says
Love the idea of using these vintage pots for essential oil recipes! I think i need to make a run to the thrift store now!
Cat Stegeman says
As for the pink/gold box, I would have guessed it was a bobby pin/hairpin box for the dresser. Altho the design looks like stylized q-tips, so that may have been its intended use.
ducttapeanddenim says
I thought about bobby pins but not q-tips. That makes sense! It’s the perfect size.
Shirley Wood says
I remember those little Avon jars from years ago as well. It was always hard to party with them because they are so pretty. I like the pint accessories too. Nice find!
Michelle James says
These are so pretty! I love the paint you used.
Kim~madeinaday says
They are gorgeous little jars. Avon was allover our house too. I even sold it once. Great makeover!
Kim
Chelsea @ Making Manzanita says
What a great yard sale find!!! Love the detail on them.
Carol ("Mimi") says
This is a bit of nostalgia. I remember those Avon products from my childhood. It’s nice to see that they are being restored and used, again.
SuziesView says
Oh my that is so cool. My grandma used to love Avon. I loved seeing what you did with it. Its all so lovely. Love your blog glad to find it via Friendship Friday. Have an awesome weekend.
debbie says
The pink glass was made by a company called Fenton.
ducttapeanddenim says
Thanks so much!!! She told me she thought that’s what it was but I forgot the name. Thanks for reminding me! I’m gonna do some more research on it.
Sara says
What a cute idea! I love these old jars, they have so much charm! I’m so glad I found your blog; I absolutely love this kind of stuff. Found your link on the what to do weekends linky party. So glad I did. Thanks for sharing! I’ll be checking out the other links on here for sure.
ducttapeanddenim says
Thanks, Sara! Make sure you sign up for my Thrift Store Makeover list and I’ll send you all the projects when I post them: http://www.DuctTapeAndDenim.com/email
Cindy Hasko says
How pretty and creative!! Beautiful.
thrift shop in Panama City Beach, FL says
Usually, I never comment on blogs but your article is so convincing that I never stop myself to say something about it. You’re doing a great job, Keep it up.
ducttapeanddenim says
Thanks! I appreciate that!