Handmade glasses from beer bottles...........yes, I did say beer bottles!

I have found this fantastic project to make handmade glasses from empty beer bottles, courtesy of iowagirleats.com. I can’t believe how simple it is………..and the worst of it is that I shared this idea with my Dad today and he already knew how to do it.  Can’t believe he has never shared this with me!  Happy reading!

 

You can cut glass bottles at home using materials you probably already have on hand.

Materials:

glass bottles
yarn
nail polish remover
lighter
sink full of ice water
sandpaper

Directions:

1. Wrap the cotton yarn around your bottle 5-6 times, tie and cut ends. You can also braid three pieces together and tie that around the bottle. I actually had better results using the braided yarn. 

 

2. Slide yarn off of the bottle.

3. Dip yarn in nail polish remover. I filled a bowl with nail polish remover and let the yarn sit in it for a few seconds to make sure it was fully saturated.

 

4. Slide the wet yarn back onto the bottle. NOTE: The bottle will be cut wherever you place the yarn, so make sure it is as straight as possible.

 

5. Holding the bottle sideways from the mouth, light the yarn on fire. ****Please please be careful!**** Only the wet yarn will be lit on fire and the flame is very well controlled.

 

6. Rotate the bottle in circles as the yarn is on fire for 20-30 seconds so that all parts of the bottle warm evenly.

 

7. Holding each end of the bottle, submerge in cold water and watch the bottle parts separate.

 

8. Use sand paper to smooth rough edges.



The hardest part about this project is getting the cut in the right spot. You need to make sure that the logos on the bottle are left intact. The glass on the neck of the bottle is thicker and harder to cut using this method, but it is still possible and if you put the bottle tops back on (securely) and turn the neck up the other way, they make great shot glasses!

You can make more than just drinking glasses. Think vases and candle holders too! This method is supposed to work on wine bottles too, though I haven’t tried those yet!