Upcycled Mosaic Candle Shelters are Perfect for Earth Day

Celebrate Earth Day with beautiful upcycled mosaic candle shelters. Don’t throw those bottles in the trash, make something meaningful with them instead! Turn your trash into treasure and light up the room while you are at it.

Make this awesome upcycled project using the g2 Bottle Cutter, some old wine bottles, glass tiles or nipped glass bottle pieces and terra cotta pot bases!

 Download instructions for this great upcycling project here. Check out our Creative Corner for more fun upcycling projects and to find the G2 Bottle Cutter in store near you, visit our dealer locator.

P.S. Don’t forget to enter by April 21st  to win your very own G2 Bottle Cutter here. 

7 Simple Tips to Help Your Bottles Separate

In honor of Earth Day, coming up this Monday, we are bringing you our best advice for using one of the most popular upcycling tools out there, the Generation Green (g2) Bottle Cutter!

There’s not a parent or a pet owner out there that does not understand the term “separation anxiety!”  Well, in my Upcycling quest, I have come across a group of people who have put new meaning to this term – those afraid to score and separate bottles.

Well, fret no more Dr. Lauren (I’m not really a doctor, I just play one in this blog) is in the house. To get over your “bottle separation anxiety” here’s what you must do:

1. Practice good bottle hygiene. Make sure that you remove the entire label from the bottle you want to cut. Even the smallest amount of sticky residue will interfere with the scoring process. We recommend using rubbing alcohol to get most labels off, but if you have a really stubborn label try nail polish remover with acetone.
2. Always keep your cutting wheel oiled – this is a big one. The better you oil the wheel, the smoother your cut will be – a lot of the separation issues I hear about are quickly resolved when the wheel is oiled – bonus - the more you oil the wheel the longer the blade will last!
3. Remove stress. Remember a good cut doesn’t require a lot of pressure. Most people think that the bottle will separate much better with a deep cut, but that is the opposite of what will happen. When you score deeply, the glass will splinter and run up and down the line you actually want. A light score is best when trying to separate a bottle – bonus – the less force you exert on the cutter the longer the tool will last – a lot of crafters break their tools because they are simply using too much force.
4. Not all bottles are created equally! Keep this in mind when you are cutting. Some bottles, especially recycled ones, have an uneven wall thickness which can really ruin the separation process.
5. Textured bottles are really cool, but you just have to avoid them. They are really impossible to score and the uneven surface makes for a difficult separation.
6. When you are first starting out, practice on beer bottles. They are easy to cut and easier to come by.
7. I use and recommend the hot and cold water shock method to separate our bottles for a good reason- it’s the safest and most efficient way to separate the bottles. Please use this method before any other to get the best separation.

I prescribe a healthy dose of practice, practice, practice as often as you can. This should alleviate any further “bottle separation anxiety” symptoms!

P.S. I don’t make house calls!

Are you in need of a g2 Bottle Cutter, find one at any of these fabulous retailers or win one along with our four fabulous Bottle Art Kits by entering our Earth Day Contest, check out this post for all of the details!

Win 1 of 3 G2 Bottle Cutters at Craftbits!

Who doesn’t love winning? Crazy question right…

This month you can win and help save the Earth! In addition to the contest we are running here on our blog, Diamond Tech has partnered with Craftbits to give away 3 Generation Green (g2) Bottle Cutters! The Craftbits contest runs from today, April 15^th until May 15^th.

With the G2 Bottle Cutter you can create awesome upcycled home décor like vases, sculptures, terrariums and fun and functional glassware too! The g2 bottle cutter is made from recycled aluminum, so you are keeping more than just glass bottles out of the landfill!

What are you waiting for… enter the Craftbits competition here and don’t forget about our contest ending April 21, enter here!

Create Glass Cloches with Wine Bottles!

April is the perfect month for green crafting! Earth Day is near, so we decided to share a project that makes use of three bottles that would otherwise be headed to the landfill!

Glass cloches are perfect for parties; display your hors d’oeuvres without letting the bugs get to them before your guests have a chance to snack.

Make this pretty green project using the g2 Bottle Cutter, some old wine bottles, etching cream, twine and buttons! Download instructions for this great upcycling project here. Check out our Creative Corner for more fun upcycling projects and to find the G2 Bottle Cutter in store near you, visit our dealer locator.

P.S. Don’t forget to enter by April 21st  to win your very own G2 Bottle Cutter here. 

How to Use Upcycled Glass Bottles in Glass Art

Earth Day is near and what better way to celebrate than to incorporate upcycling into you next glass craft or art project!  There are plenty of ways to be green when it comes to creating fabulous mosaics, stained glass panels, fused projects and more.

One of our favorite ways to upcycle is by using the G2 Bottle Cutter to create functional home décor like vases, candle shelters, and drinking glasses as well as fun and funky art! Did you know that the G2 Bottle Cutter is made from recycled aluminum, so when you use one to make fantastic bottle art you are being twice as green! Not only are you

keeping bottles out of the landfill, you are keeping aluminum out too!

Not satisfied with making vases, candle holders and drinking glasses? Well the fun doesn’t stop there; glass bottles make a great medium to add to fused glass, mosaic and stained glass projects!  How so you ask?

Rings cut from bottles can be fused to make bracelets, pendants, and napkin rings. Or use a wheeled glass nipper to cut rings into  squares to make glass tiles. Cut the top and bottom off a bottle to make a large glass tile! Just keep in mind, the COE or Coefficient of Expansion is unknown on bottles so to be safe, only fuse pieces of the same bottle together.

Cut squares from rings to make mosaic tiles, the slight curve from the bottle adds great dimension to a flat mosaic surface, better yet, mosaic a rounded surface like an old vase or candle holder with multiple bottle colors! If you don’t want a rounded texture, you can always
Bottles make great additions to stained glass pieces too, create hinged trinket boxes or stack multicolored rings to make a fun lightshade. Incorporate rings and bases into panels to make a fun and modern panel!slump nipped squares to flatten them.

We can’t forget about mixed media projects either! Upcycled bottles can be used with upcycled wood to make fun coat racks or jewelry hangers. The possibilities are endless!

Are you in need of a g2 Bottle Cutter, find one at any of these fabulous retailers or win one along with our four fabulous Bottle Art Kits by entering our Earth Day Contest, check out this post for all of the details!

Weekender Project: Upcycles Seaside Votive Holder

Summer is the perfect time of year to spend a day at the beach basking in the glow of the sun and sipping delicious drinks (you know, the tropical ones with the tiny umbrellas) in the sand! That is, unless the beach is overcrowded  or you live in a faraway beachless town or you don’t know when you will ever see your vacation.   

Oh, beach smeach  – who needs one to relax, create your own beach atmosphere and save all the hassle of getting there! This seaside votive holder will have you relaxing out back sipping mai tais and pina coloadas in no time.

 Create this seaside votive holder using a large and small wine bottle and a beer bottle, throw in some sand, beachy trinkets and a calming candle and your beachy paradise will  literally be right around the corner! Find the complete instructions for this upcycled candle holder here and find more fantastic summer projects in our Creative Corner.

Weekender Project: Tuscany Wine Bottle Vases

I hear Tuscany is beautiful this time of year, but if you can’t be there to see it for your self you might as well bring a little Tuscan charm to your living room with some sweet upcycled vases! Spring is in full swing, so show off those beautiful new buds with some upcycled flair!

Sure Earth Day has passed, but that doesn’t mean all of your glass bottles have  to literally go to waste. Did you know that every month, we throw out enough bottles and jars to fill up a skyscraper! Put that trash to good use and make something special today!

Find the instructions for these sweet upcycled vases here and while you’re at it, check out our Luminary Bottle Art Kit, it would make the perfect complement to these Tuscan Vases!

Visit our Creative Corner for more fun green projects and join us on Facebook for great crafting tips, projects and news. Looking for the G2 Bottle Cutter and Bottle Art Kits in your area? Check out our store finder to purchase one near you.

Repurpose, Reuse and Upcycle Glass Bottle and Jars

Earth Day is this Sunday, but why not make Earth Day every day? When it comes to glass,

Developing our new Bottle Art Kits has made me start rethinking a lot of the materials I consume on a daily basis. A while back I wrote about the G2 Bottle Cutter helping me make decisions about beverage consumption (read about that here) and last week, I wrote about how creating these kits inspired me to start repurposing waste materials into new crafts (if you missed it, read it here).

We created these kits so that with the help of a G2 Bottle Cutter and little more than some empty glass bottles or jars you can create a 3 in 1 Plant Keeper, Wind Chimes, Luminary and Keepsake Bottle, but little did I know they would help me start creating other crafts and household items from the trash I used to just throw away!

I love using my glass bottles and jars to create décor and gifts, but when I am not using them for projects, sometimes I score and break a slew of bottles for future projects and others I collect and save for later. I have found quite a few other uses for all of that glass!

My favorite use for glass jars is in the kitchen, I store beans, rice, pasta and other dried goods in them to keep them fresh and I have even started using glass jars as containers for leftovers! It was one of those “why haven’t I thought of this before” things, I was reaching for a plastic container and found that it stunk so bad from the previous meal that I couldn’t bear using it again, I saw the recently cleaned sauce jar from my dinner and put the leftovers in. A large 1.5 liter wine bottle works perfectly as a tool holder in the kitchen, and if you are anything like me, you need two or three! I love the fact that I can reuse and reduce when I can’t upcycle or recycle!

What are some ways you like to repurpose or upcycle? Leave us a comment below and check out our Creative Corner to find more fresh and fun Earth friendly projects.

7 Ways to Spruce Up an Upcycled Glass Bottle

There is no hiding it, upcyling is all around us and there are so many wonderful projects that you can make with glass bottles and some spare supplies. But how can you decorate a glass bottle? We got 9 ways to inspire you to put your creative touch on your old glass bottles and start reusing them today!

• KraftyBlok Image Art – use KraftyBlok Image Art to create a custom wine label, add your own photos or use your original artwork to give your upcycled glass bottle a new look
• Copper foil – wrap copper foil on the edges of your glass bottle to give it a pretty finish or cut shapes out of copper foil shapes to add a design to you bottles.
• Mosaic – use bits of other cut glass bottles or stained glass chips, ceramic tiles or any other tesserae to mosaic the whole bottle or just a portion of it.
• Decoupage - decoupage your favorite scrapbook paper, photos or original art to the bottle
• Etching – use etching cream to add a motif or pattern on your bottle
• Yarn, Hemp or Jute – use a natural fiber cord to wrap around the top or the base of the bottle to give it a nautical feel
• Solder and beads – use a decorative solder technique to add detail to the top of the cut bottle, solder wire to the rim and add a few glitzy beads too!

Find tutotials for most of these projects in our Creative Corner. If you need help cutting your glass bottles, check out this blog post on cutting glass bottles. Find the G2 Bottle Cutter in a store near you.

5 Creative Uses for Glass Bottle Scraps

I am hooked on upcycling all of my glass bottles with the G2 Bottle Cutter, so hooked that I have started to develop a slightly guilty feeling every time I don’t use a whole bottle in one project or in a few projects. I have amassed a nice collection of bases and tops and rings; I would call them leftovers. I consider myself a pretty waste less person now that I am an upcycling crafter so I decided to do some hard thinking and come up with a few uses for those daunting leftovers and by golly, I think I’ve got a few.

 

1. Use a wheeled tile nipper to cut down your scrap rings and use them in a mosaic or use them to decorate and add texture your glass bottles.
2. Use the bottom of your bottle as a drink coaster or a candle saucer or in the kitchen as a spoon rest.
3. If you have a standard kiln or Fuseworks Microwave kiln, use the bottle glass to make fused glass pendants – but make sure you only use glass from the same bottles with each piece as the COE varies between glass manufacturers and mixing COEs doesn’t work, take a look at this tutorial for a good firing log for the Fuseworks Kiln.
4. If you have a large base remaining, sand the edge and use it as a pen holder at your desk or a utensil holder in the kitchen  – I like to use mine to sort my glass rods for lampworking!
5. Use your bottle top as a funnel!

I hope these tips inspire you to get the most out of your upcycled glass bottles. For project inspiration, check out the Diamond tech Creative Corner and to find the G2 Bottle Cutter in a store near you, be sure to stop by our store locator.