If you have a penchant for wine or jam, and you want to reduce your waste at home or in your business, then why not recycle and upcycle your leftover glass bottles? There are a variety of ways that you can turn these overlooked glass pieces into stunning additions for your home. Below, we take a closer look at some of these ideas, ideal for a crafty Sunday or an evening spent in front of the television.
Turn uniquely shaped bottles into vases
Even if you don’t know your provençal rosé from your pinot grigio blush, there are a myriad of ways you can utilise and transform the shell of a wine bottle into a beautiful vase. The thin neck of wine bottles make it perfect for a romantic look of single-stemmed roses or peonies, however, if you are familiar with glass cutting then you can create a wider vase for more flowers with ease.
There are many ways you can customise these vases. Our tip is when first buying the wine, think about the shape of the bottle. You may end up paying a few pounds more for a prettily shaped bottle, but you do get a stunning vase at the end! Unleash your inner DIY by painting them, covering them in glitter, adding glass gems and or just washing them and removing the label for a classic look.
Enhance a room’s ambience with fairy lights
Wine bottles and jam jars don’t need to be just vessels for storing wine and flowers, in fact, you can turn them into a great decor piece by stuffing them with remote-controlled fairy lights. When lit up, they will certainly add ambience to any room, emitting their soft light and also being a pretty feature for living rooms, kitchens and bedrooms.
From shelving to coffee tables, furniture created from old wine bottles is a great way to add a unique spin to your home. For this, you will need more ambitious pieces of equipment like a glass cutter; Simply use the bottles as a vertical frame for shelving units and bookshelves, or placed under a piece of wood for a cool coffee table that will certainly be a talking point for guests.
Flatten wine bottles for cheese and antipasti boards
Have you always wanted a stunning serving plate but you can’t ever seem to find one? Simply using an old wine bottle could save you money and also could create a beautiful statement. However, you will need an electric kiln to melt the glass bottle, as glass takes extremely high temperatures to reach a melting point. Electric kilns are commonplace for every crafty person and also are integral to creating beautiful pottery. If you don’t have one simply ask around your friends, and maybe offer to make them a wine bottle antipasti board for them too!
All you need to do is wash the wine bottle and place it in a cool kiln. Then, turn the kiln on set the temperature for 1,450 degrees Fahrenheit. Leave the wine bottle in there for an hour to melt, then turn the kiln off, and leave the bottle for a further 24 hours to cool in the kiln as opening the kiln will make the glass cool too quickly and crack.
Here at Devon Contract Waste, we can help you dispose of any excess glass bottles that you may have, perfect for restaurants and hoteliers. To find out more, simply contact us today.