Tag: upcycled

Recycled Bottle Kiln Play DIY

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Playtime!

It was time to do something with a small bucket of AirWick bottles I had saved. I was tempted to toss them, but couldn’t do it without at least experimenting with a few in the kiln. 

I’ve only had time to play with two, but I like what’s happening so far.  I thought it would be fun to share just in case it could spur imagination or interest with other warm glass or recycled glass friends out there somewhere. 

I like to do my experimenting in a small tabletop kiln with a window in the lid. It’s not digital.  It has a dial with high, medium, and low, so there is no firing schedule; I just go slow. I use the same type of kiln for all my Christmas ornaments too.

I didn’t expect anything earth shattering, but wanted to see how the bottle flattened before doing anything else. A high temp wire hanger was propped in the opening of the bottle before firing it to about 1600 degrees, just in case it would miraculously round up as a nice glob and the wording melted away. It didn’t, lol.  I flipped it over and fired it again the same way and the wording was still there. 

The wording finally disappeared after I flipped and fired it a third time.  Surprising, it ended up as an uneven clear glob that I plan to use in a rustic Christmas decoration later.

The second bottle was cut into slices with a glass saw to see what could be arranged with them.

Several pieces were laid out to resemble a flower. I thought the bottle opening slice was too tall for the flower center, so it was sliced again.

Wanting to maintain its shape and texture, I watched it closely and shut the kiln off at about 1650 – 1700 degrees. I did a quick flash to 1100 degrees, then let it cool completely.

So, what do you think? You can be honest, I have thick skin, lol.

It’s a bit unusual, thin, fragile, and almost weightless, but I like the results. I think it has great possibilities for mixed media or wall art projects. Add some wire, color with glass paints, or even use it as a base and layer over it. I better make a couple more just to be prepared if an idea strikes me. You never know.

I’ll keep experimenting though, there’s extra pieces and more bottles. Stay Well and Be Happy Friends!

Recycled Glass Stained Glass Heart

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I just love this little heart!

After noticing the beautiful texture in a chipped relish dish, I couldn’t resist doing something with it. And, since it’s February, a heart seemed like the perfect thing to do.

I cut a heart shape pattern before doing any glass cutting and held it on the underside of the dish to move around and choose what portion of the dish I wanted to use.

The handles of the dish broke off easily with a wheel cutter and I used my hand held glass cutter to score across the middle and break it in half. I marked an area beyond where my pattern would go and removed excess glass with the wheel cutter so the section I wanted to use would flatten nicely in the kiln.

The heart pattern was traced onto the smooth side of the glass and the tracing was then etched with a pencil scribe. The etched line was filled with black marker to dry. This is a step I like to do when I’m using a glass saw. When the marker is wiped off, it remains in the etched line so you can see it as you cut. In this case though, the black marker was still hard to see with the texture of the glass, so I went over it again with a red china marker and that did the trick. (This works great for dark glass too, just use a white marking pen). I removed all the glass I good around the tracing before using the saw.

After grinding the edges to smooth, the top edge of the heart piece was rounded slightly at the grinder to remove the high textured ridges before firing it again.

The glass was thick so a wide foil was needed. I used two widths of 1/2″ foil and overlapped them on the side of the heart. Then it was soldered up and finished. Completed, it measured 6″L x 4″ W. Surprisingly, it only weighed 4 oz.

I’ll be using this glass some more. I’m thinking a blue version would be nice for Mother’s Day.

I’ve enjoyed making hearts lately and hope to get more made for my Etsy shop and FB page as soon as time allows. 🙂

If you’re new to my blog, Thank You for stopping by. Please feel free to like, comment on , or share this post. Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone!

Inventory Sale Review Part 2

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I’m back with Part 2 of my sale review. It’s 98% images so it will be quick.

Again, I wanted to use as much of my collected treasures as I could before the sale, so everything pictured was made similarly to projects in previous posts. There’s never any set rules when using salvaged and found materials; you do what you like.

https://glassictouch.com/2016/07/11/crystal-garden-chandelier/  and https://glassictouch.com/2016/08/06/salt-shaker-decorative-plant-stake/

I would have to say that the chandeliers and garden stakes were my favorites. They were just so much fun to make. No two were alike and they always sold well at shows. I like to put one together the way I like it, then take it apart to clean and polish all the pieces; always laying it out in the order it went together. One thing I did change was the attachment of crystals. Instead of wiring them on, I made jump rings and soldered all the connections so they couldn’t come loose.

So here we go. There is layout pictures for the first three chandeliers, but not the two in the feature picture.

And now some garden stakes and a couple of the layouts.

And lastly, though the picture is a little fuzzy, a few ring/jewelry trays were put together with lamp parts.

That’s it, all caught up. My garage is so clean and empty now. I’ll miss playing with all those beautiful lamp pieces, but I’ll survive; time to move on. I would like to devote more time to my glass and garden hobby, and I have wall art and furniture pieces in my radar. But, that’s for future posts. 🙂

Have a great week all!

Inventory Sale Review Part 1

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I’m back with the long neglected review of the inventory sale I had last spring. It’s a little different from other posts I’ve written, but we’ll give it a go.

Ready, and wanting, to move on to new things, the main goal was to clear my garage of all the lamp pieces, salt/pepper shakers, and other bits and bobs I had collected over the years; offering some finished pieces and lots of parts for others to create their own.

Here’s a glimpse at a small portion of piles as we sorted.

There’s quite a few pictures so I thought it best to break this into a couple of posts with no detailed tutorials. Things are similar to past projects and created with the stacking method on a threaded rod as I always liked to do, as well as the same cleaning and finishing process, etc.

Last April, I was making what I called display trays. https://glassictouch.com/2022/04/18/tiered-tray-diy-repurposed-enamelware/  and  https://glassictouch.com/2022/04/27/vintage-style-display-tray-diy/ . They were a ton of fun to make so I made some more.  To keep things short and simple I’m going to post a picture of the completed item and the layout of the pieces (if I have it) in the order they were used so you can see how it went together.  My hope is just to inspire since the use of salvaged and found materials would make exact duplication impossible.

A salt shaker topper was a perfect fit for the first one.

A clear glass lamp piece was used to top off another one. Regretfully, I haven’t any pictures for this one and can’t remember what was used to fill the cavity of the pan underneath. I’m thinking maybe an upturned zinc canning lid with a hole drilled in it, but I’m not sure.

I couldn’t pass up the chance to play with the pie pans I had collected before they got away from me.  Some good looking conduit, salvaged from something taken apart ages ago, covered the center threaded rod nicely.  

Two small brass lamp pieces added between the conduit and the surfaces of the pans not only hid the raw edges of the conduit but helped provide sturdiness.  As shown below, the larger of the brass lamp pieces has a ridge and gives the capped conduit a place to seat.

Well, I think I’m calling that a wrap for Part One. I hope it wasn’t too boring, I tried hard to keep it short. I’ll be back soon with pictures of the garden chandeliers and stakes in Part Two. 🙂

Please feel free to leave a comment, ask questions, like and share. I love hearing from readers.

Stay Well and Stay Safe Friends!

Vintage Style Display Tray DIY

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With the summer dates on the calendar filling in almost quicker than I can write them down, I’ve had to kick my garage clearing project into a higher gear.  A tag sale is being planned at my home toward the end of May so there’s going to be a lot of crazy going on here for the next 2 ½ weeks.  Fun crazy!

But first, I wanted to put up a quick post on a newly finished display tray created from a vintage springform baking pan, a brown ceramic insulator, metal lamp ring, wooden finial, and a zinc Ball canning lid stacked on a short length of ⅜” threaded rod.  It may seem like an odd assortment of pieces, but the different materials melded together beautifully.

Before starting, a ⅜” hole was drilled in the center of the zinc lid, and a 11/32” hole was drilled in the bottom center of the wooden finial.  The hole in the finial is slightly smaller so the threaded rod will fit snugly. An assortment of washers and nuts were found to fit the threaded rod.

As with previous projects, all pieces were cleaned well and waxed before laying them out to be assembled.

The finial was constructed first.

The rounded end of the insulator sits into the pan’s center opening.
Insert the rod down through the insulator.
Turn the piece upside down, holding the finial firmly. Drop the zinc lid in place over the rod, add washers and the nut; tighten. The insulator may shift as you tighten. If so, loosen the nut and adjust.

The biggest challenge I had with this piece was to find an item that would fit perfectly inside the pan center from the bottom and not slip through. The zinc lid was the solution for me.

The little metal piece on the outside of the pan was bent up slightly so it would not scratch any surfaces.

Would love to know your thoughts. Please feel free to comment and share. Until next time …

Tiered Tray DIY Repurposed Enamelware

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I’m back with my first tiered tray. As mentioned in my previous post, I’m working to clear out old before bringing in new. I would like to use as many of my gathered pieces as possible, so you may be seeing several small projects over the next two months and occasional tag sales at my home to help achieve my goal.

To get started, a collection of three worn enamelware pans were taken to the drill press and 5/16″ holes drilled through their centers. The enamel coating will chip away during drilling. I applied a coat of clear fingernail polish around the drilled holes and any chipped edges of the enamel to prevent any further chipping. A clear sealer could be used for this step too. After the fingernail polish was dry, the enamelware was waxed and buffed.

I chose two decorative spindles to use as spacers between the pans. I thought their design worked well, they already had center holes in one end, and one already had a finial; perfect. After cutting them to the lengths desired, they went to the drill press and a hole was drilled through the length of them using the original hole as a guide. They were sanded, painted, and sealed.

A piece of 5/16″ threaded rod was cut to the length needed and a washer and nut found to fit it.

The pieces were slipped on the rod, working from the top down and secured with the washer and nut.

I thought it was finished at this point, but after looking at for a week, I had to add one more detail; a wire ring at the top.

With bolt cutters, a circle was cut from a steel bedspring; sanded, painted, sealed. The tray was taken apart and the finial drilled through at the drill press. The steel ring was almost unbudgeable. I had to hold the finial while my husband stretched the ring enough to get it the holes; its a tight fit.

The tray was reassembled and done! I have my first item for a future tag sale!

Please like, comment, and share as you wish. Keep recycling, repurposing, and upcycling, each small step helps.

Junk Jaunt

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Spring season fun has begun!  Yesterday, our little group took off on a short road trip to Fairfax, Iowa. There, the owner of Simply Iowa (aka The Mad Hatter) was hosting her spring opening at the “rabbit hole”, a special on site place that does kind of make you feel like Alice entering a magical, peculiar land where unexpected treasures can be found. It is suggested that you wear grubbies, and bring a truck, which is very sound advice.

I’m often asked what type of places I look for and/or go to for gathering unique pieces.  Well, the rabbit hole is a favorite spot, so I thought I’d share it with all of you.  If you’re near, you may want to visit.

A ton of pictures have been narrowed to 13 which will still give you a good idea of what it’s like. There’s stuff on stuff, in front and behind, and high and low. I usually go around at least twice so as not to miss anything that was peeking out at me on the first round.  Enjoy!

What did you think?  Curious place, huh? Simply Iowa is on FB and has a blog if you’d like to follow.

I kept myself in check and only brought 5 small pieces home.

Oops, sorry, make that 6. I spied this as I was walking to the car.

No judgments please, lol.  I usually have a thought in mind when I choose things and they’ll probably be shown in some way later.

I have my first tiered tray finished and will be posting on it in a few days. If you get the chance, please, stop back by and give it a look. Thoughts are always welcome; good ones preferably. 🙂

Have a great week-end!

Repurposed Garden Tote Garden Basket DIY

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Look, I’ve found the way back to my blog.  There’s no doubt at all that if I had to rely on this to make a living, I would starve, lol.  

As most know, I store treasures in my garage.  It’s pretty cluttered, and, with no tables, I mostly work on the floor, or move out to the old picnic table when weather permits.

Late last fall one area of my garage got a big improvement when my husband was looking for a place to temporarily store a lift. He had no problem if it was covered and used as a work table.  Wow, what a difference it made and I can stand up to work! 

BEFORE

AFTER

Most of my treasures were collected pre-covid and way before, when I was actively participating in more shows and events.  I’m excited to get out to this summer’s junk jaunts and tag sales to find some larger pieces for my home and discover some new ideas to play around with.  But, first, now that the weather is getting warmer, I need to get back to work on some of those projects in the pictures above; they’ve been waiting for me all winter.

I was in the process of making myself a simple, rustic garden tote last year.  The pieces were gathered and laid out, but I got busy with stained glass work and didn’t follow through.  So, that seems like a great place to start now.

A large capacity bowl, and an easy grip handle was what I wanted and why I chose the pieces I did for this project. 

A drill press was used to drill a 5/16” hole in the center of the pans and an 18” length of an old shovel handle. The depth of the hole drilled in the shovel handle is approximately 3”.  A 2 ½”L lag screw and a flat washer was screwed into the shovel handle for safe keeping.

To keep further rusting at bay and for easy cleaning, a coat of Briwax was applied to the cleaned pans and buffed. A car wax or Shield spray could also be used.

The shovel handle was stained and sealed.

For added strength, and to give the shovel handle a more solid seat to rest on, a small area of Briwax coating was sanded off the bottom of the large pan, and a large scrap washer was adhered with JB Weld; weighted down to dry overnight. E6000 could also be used.

Both hands and a crescent wrench was needed to get the shovel handle screwed on securely.  I found the best way to do this was to work from the bottom up. After laying the inverted pie pan on the bottom of the large upturned pan, the lag screw was pushed through the flat washer and the pans.  

A large bead of E6000 was laid on the cut bottom of the shovel handle.

While holding the pans on their side, the shovel handle was lined up with the screw and started. I then held the shovel handle with my left hand, balancing the pans while I tightened the lag screw with my right; went together quickly, and done!  Clean away any excess glue.

The handle looked bare, so it got a scrap of wire wrapped around it, under the grip, just to break it up a little.

We’re a ways off from our gardening season yet, but, I’m ready for it. My new garden tote will be much handier than our big green Tupperware bowl. Hope you don’t mind, I grabbed a few props from the frig for pictures. 🙂

Although I’m planning on using this piece as a garden tote/basket, it could also lend farm house country charm filled with pots of flowers or herbs on a patio; just a thought.

We’ve got another week of nice weather in our forecast and I’ll be moving on to another project. Pondering over the pieces on my new work table, it looks like some tiered trays will be on the agenda next, and soon. I hope you’ve liked what you’ve seen today, please comment, like, and share. Repurposing and upcycling with salvaged materials can help lessen the load on our landfills and have a huge impact on our environment. Thanks for visiting my blog, stay well, stay safe, and have a great day!

Upcycled Chicken Feeder Birdfeeder DIY

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Couldn’t resist making one more fun piece for my garden before getting on to things I should probably really be doing. 🙂

I’d like to attract more birds, and thought a small feeder in the garden would help.

An old metal chicken feeder has been hanging in my garage for several years now, so why not put it to use.

Of course, what fun would it be to hang it just the way it was?

I found a pair of silver plated flower votive holders that had been sitting around for a long time too. Aren’t those petals gorgeous? And, they were simply put together with a small nut and bolt.

After drilling a hole, two of the flatter petals were attached to the feeder with the small nut and bolt. To cover the bolt, the top of a decorative metal bead was painted silver, then indented on the backside with a screwdriver tip and a quick whack of a hammer. Adhered with JB Weld.

A rectangle of thin scrap aluminum was flattened and cut to make a top. The sharp edges were filed where needed and the corners were notched. The fold lines were scored on the backside with the tip of a screwdriver before bending.

That’s it! One afternoon! This may be one of the quickest and easiest upcycles I’ve ever done. I did let the JB Weld dry overnight before hanging it outside. Isn’t it cute? It’s perfect for my garden.

We’ve got a local vintage market coming up this Saturday, Dysart’s Back Roads Vintage Market https://www.facebook.com/events/422893409128982. Can’t wait to get there. It’s been awhile since I’ve been out #treasurehunting, I’m hoping to bring home lots of good stuff!

Repurposed Strainers Planters Fun DIY

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This time of year is the greatest … back out in the garden, doing yard work, and mowing. I get some of my best thinking done while on a mower. 

Best of all, our year of homeschooling was successfully completed last week!  I think the whole family let out a big sigh of relief over that, lol. You definitely have to give teachers and others who homeschool every year a standing ovation; it’s a lot of work, and patience.

Anyway, having a little free time on my hands now, I made something quick and fun to hang on a couple of ugly poles in my yard.

I have a small pile of metal strainers and such that I’ve found in the salvage dropped off for my husband.  Seems no one wants the poor things unless they’re a special vintage piece. 

I used to collect the most interesting ones and we would heat the handles a bit to bend them upright and be used as hangers.  I’d sell them at vintage markets for a couple bucks each. The large mesh ones were the most popular, but not as easy to come by anymore.

Many of you know I have a thing for metal flowers too.  If you’re lucky you can find some that are constructed with a screw and nut which makes them really easy to work with.  I usually find flowers at garage sales, thrift stores, and flea markets. My stash was getting pretty thin until I recently scored some beautiful ones from my sister and her husband who own Mc’Do-its Upcycled, Repurposed and Flea Markets. It’s awesome having them so close, they’ve had just what I was searching for on several occasions.

I’m ready to share what I came up with, but please remember there are no limits when it comes to projects like these.  Use whatever you have; paint, washers, glass donuts, wire, buttons, etc.  I played around with several ideas before settling on the ones I wanted.

Had to have a touch of blue –

I was going for a blue enamelware look with this little guy. Exterior blue paint, white speckles, and clear spray sealer.

An eye bolt was added to the back to help it hang evenly and provide a loop for a wire to be threaded through and secured to prevent rocking from side to side. Two glass donuts were wired to the handle.

This vintage look might be my favorite –

I love this combination. Red exterior paint, clear spray sealer. An eye bolt was added again, this time with an extra nut glued to the exterior before painting. I used JB Weld for gluing. After determining placement, holes were drilled for the screws on the back of the flowers and they were tightened into place. The stem was wired on. Decorative metal beads were painted and sanded lightly for the flower centers and glued on.

Here’s another useful tip – slide pieces of wax paper under the pieces you are wiring on to prevent your base paint from getting scratched.

Boho anyone? Just because it has a hanger doesn’t mean you have to hang it.

Exterior orange paint, red speckles, clear spray sealer. A medallion was made with a large decorative coat button on top of a glass lamp piece. The wire is threaded through the button and through a hole in the glass piece. The wires went through an old button on the inside of the basket to hold it securely.

And then there’s this one, just because I thought it would be cute in the kitchen.

So, what do you think? Don’t these look like fun? Please, feel free to comment if you like. I love hearing from readers.

Back soon!