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.