A Recycled Wine Bottle Craft – a beautiful home or garden project

It is no secret nor surprise to most, I am a recycling fanatic especially when something beautiful and useful can be created from what might otherwise have been simply viewed as rubbish. Recycling bottles and glass jars is fast becoming a firm favourite for me and although I found the possibilities endless even before my new toy was added to my arsenal, I am on a creative roll these days for sure.  In today’s post I am showing off the bottom half of the tonic water bottles left over from last week’s story and an amazing use for a recycled wine bottle or two which may have otherwise been destined for the bottle bank. This empty wine bottle craft is so simple and beautiful it possibly shouldn’t be a free craft at all. Come and join me when you’re ready and read too, how another thoughtful glass bottle gift I received recently has been put to extremely good use…

As Little Miss and The Boyfriend set about testing our general knowledge skills recently in a family Zoom quiz night, The Boyfriend proudly produced a bottle of Hendrick’s gin asking me “Would you like this bottle? It’ll cost you one of your delicious roast dinners next time we meet mind you” he finished with a cheeky grin. “Wow that’s very generous of you,” I smiled “thank you, I’m sure I shall enjoy it as much as you will the roast.” When Little Miss joined me for a socially distant visit in the garden recently, she plonked the empty bottle on the table. “There you go Mum” she said “it’ll look beautiful when you’ve styled it with your flowers.” It really is the thought that counts.

In her bag, Little Miss also produced a couple of these, one of which thoughtfully needed emptying.

Since creating this garden space, I’d had in mind a project using these little sparkles and I wasn’t wholly convinced a green recycled wine bottle was quite right for the job. The Gin Pallet is predominantly blue and I had thought green might be quite jarring. With these sumptuous beauties however I believed my new recycle project to be quite possible. The delightful diamond patterned glass though had Mr M shaking his head. “I’m not sure the new kit will work on thick glass like this” he said as he set about finishing the contents of the once full bottle.

Where there’s a will there’s a way though and on closer inspection we decided to give cutting these treasures a try, right at the very bottom of the bottle where we saw a tiny area of smooth glass. Last week’s post will guide you through how to cut a glass wine bottle with this kit…

Initially I left the original pretty pink labels intact and excitedly fed my fairy lights through from the hole at the bottom of the bottle. I was jolly pleased with my new recycled wine bottle lamp…

Then, I remembered a favourite piece of summertime card I had in my stash and trimmed to fit. Combining the quilt-like glass and old-fashioned hollyhock flowers, afforded me the vintage feel I like so much these days.

Allow me to present, our beautiful DIY glass table lamps for The Gin Pallet to light up many a warm summer evening we hope will follow. I could not be happier with this recycled lighting though I suspect Little Miss might have other ideas for whose home or garden they may finally settle in.

And remember, you don’t need to own a glass bottle cutting kit for this craft, since there are a great many tutorials out there showing how to utilise what you already have. I’ve saved several to this Pinterest board if you are interested.

And what of the bottom half of last week’s bottle craft? It is surely easier to determine what you wouldn’t use these for. Fill with paper clips, rubber bands and all manner of essentials for a home office or study. Pens and pencils can be homed in much the same way. Bright and colourful old treasures can tumble together waiting patiently in the craft room for your next project.

I raided my vintage fabrics and ribbons and happily typed a selection of favourite notes and quotes with my old typewriter. Armed with my glue stick, I spent a happy while decorating all three glass pots.

Each one is now filled with pretty flowers from The Cottage Garden to add a pop of colour to our new garden space along with our fabulous recycled wine bottle lamps.

And I understand if the bottle bottoms are highly polished and quite safe – do your research here – you might enjoy a sip of something cool and refreshing from new drinking glasses or perhaps you might gift together with a favourite tipple for a lucky recipient. I however am quite chuffed with new and summery garden vases.

At the risk of repeating myself, what an enjoyable craft that was. I am never really sure if the end result is the greatest pleasure or the fact that so little money has been spent and such a pretty make has been created. Surely any of these empty wine bottle crafts or indeed last week’s glass bottle candle centrepiece would be happily received by friends and family, when at last we make a summer visit to their gardens. And whilst we wait, you could enjoy any one of these makes in your own home or garden too. Until next time…x

Here is another effective and inexpensive recycled glass craft you might enjoy making for your home or garden and a different kind of recycled garden vase to try.