Upcycled glasses (a use for bud light platinum)

As many of you know we are firm believers in reusing everything possible.  About a year ago I got the idea of turning old bottles into drinking glasses.  It turns out I was not alone in this endeavor.   After watching a few you tube videos and some other google searching, I found several different methods for turning bottles into glasses.  Some methods were more practical than others.  My materials are simple and as follows:

A bottle
Butane micro torch
glass cutter (for scoring the glass)
my kids' cheapo potters wheel ( or another spinny thing - like a lazy susan spice rack)
My dremel for sanding down any sharp edges.

Step 1:  Determine where you want to cut on the bottle.   This will determine how tall your glass will be.  For smaller bottles  (12 oz) I usually aim for the upper most part of the bottle before it narrows for the neck.  For wine bottles I go for a comfortable size / grip.  For liquor bottles I go for style / looks.  How much of the Grey Goose design do I want left after I cut the top.

Step 2:  Mark the glass.  I normally use a sharpie.  While the bottle is spinning, I hold the sharpie in place to draw an even circle around the bottle.

Step 3:  Score the glass along the line you just drew with your glass cutter.  A light scratch will do just fine.  You only need to weaken the glass slightly.

Step 4:  While the glass is spinning, hold your (lit) butane micro-torch along the scored line.  The tip of the blue flame is the hottest and is fairly easy to hold in place.   After a couple of minutes you will hear and see the glass crack along the same plane as you were holding the flame.  It is truly amazing how even the break usually is.

Step 5:  Remove the top and use your dremel to sand of the inside and outside edge of the break.  I've used a stone attachment and a sand paper wheel attachment with fairly equal results.    When done the new surface will looked like frosted or brushed glass.  This is the lip of the new drinking glass, so make sure there are no rough or sharp edges.

Step 5 (alternate):   I have heard (and have seen on youtube) that you can also melt the top of the new surface with a propane torch.  I saw this on a video, but when I tried, I didn't get the same results.  My guess is that my propane torch did not heat the glass enough to smooth the edges.   However,  the result of this method, when successfully done, should produce a nice clean polished edge rather than the frosted look you get with the dremel.  I'm going to experiment with this more in the future.

 My kids love these glasses and try to snag one of these for themselves when they set the table.   Corona bottles as well as the IBC root beer or Sioux City Sarsaparilla bottles all look great when complete.  Bud Light Platinum may taste horrible, but the light blue bottles make a really cool tumbler glass.  My mother in-law has been using a Jameson converted glass for her.......medicine....since last Christmas.

We are opening up some of our glasses for sale on Etsy, and when they are posted I'll attach a link:
In the meantime take a look at some of the pictures of the bottles we have turned into part of our dinner setting.

These will be for sale on Etsy.  Click here for a link to Etsy.

That Grey Goose, Will get you loose.

What was a green wine bottle next to an IBC root beer bottle are now used at the table regularly.

   I want to give a huge shout out to all the folks in the office who have brought me their bottles over the past year.   Thanks to Gary, Michelle, John, and everyone else.

Cub Scout Awards

For those who didn't know, I accepted the position of cubmaster for a local cub scout troop last fall.   I would like to believe that I have made a significant positive contribution.  In reality, I know I have .  It is an extremely busy volunteer position, and one of the things I have attempted to do is give the scouts a little more recognition for their accomplishments.   I recently made these very basic plaques for three of our outstanding scouts.   These three went above and beyond during our annual fundraiser and left the other 40 or so scouts in the dust.  I am proud to say that my son was one of the three (actually he was #1).  Our pack does things a little differently than many packs do.  Instead of popcorn sales our scouts sell pot pies and frozen dinners made by a local outlet.   The scouts were tasked with selling a minimum of 20 pot pies / meals.  The three scouts I made the plaques for sold near or well over 100 pies (Mackenson sold 183).  I believe that recognition is one of the biggest motivators there is for people and especially for these young people.   I'm giving these out at our annual Blue and Gold Banquet later in February.  Needless to say I'm proud of my scouts.

We are on Etsy

As is evident by our lifestyle we make A LOT of different crafty type items.  Mackenson with his paracord bracelets, Sara with soap and beauty supplies, Joe with woodwork stuff, homemade paper, glasses from bottles and a multitude of other stuff.   All of our homemade items will eventually have posts for them, but today is Marie's turn to be in the spotlight.

Marie has taken up knitting as one of her hobbies, and one that we feel she could make a little side cash on.  Let's face it as the older the kids get, the more they want to spend money.  So far she has made 2 scarfs that are sale worthy and a few other projects that are still great for use around the house or by herself.

Since we are beginning to accumulate our home made crafts, and we have been advised by our friends on several occasions, we started our etsy account.  Stay tuned for more items, but our 1st two are now listed thanks to Marie.

See the pictures here,  and our shameless promotion of her wares in the links below.

Arm knitted infinity scarf

Nice lavender colored scarf 38" X 7"

Here are the etsy links.
Infinity scarf
Knitted Scarf


As always wishing all of our friends well in cyberland.