Take a Break: Do something with glass jars and bottles

I’ve been posting a weekly “take a break” on Wednesday’s since August 2009 and I thought it might be nice to have a Pinterest site. Check it out and remember it’s still a work in progress.  

Most people have a variety of glass items in their pantry and/or re cycling bin. Depending on size and shape they can be used for drinking glasses, food storage containers, vases, pen holders, and any number of other projects. I collect glass bottles and jars and use them as containers for various gifts (Irish cream, salad dressing, hot cocoa mix etc.).

Below are a variety of projects you can try, but first things first:

Removing the label. At the moment, my approach is to clean the jar or bottle first. Sometimes that process takes the label off. Fill it with water, place in the microwave for a couple of minutes on high and let the water come to a boil. The label will just peel off. It’s going to be hot so be careful. If there is any glue residue, baking powder and steel wool or a scrubber takes it off. Since I primarily use my glass items for food and drink, I then put them in the dishwasher to sanitize them.

Some bottles, particularly ones that may be kept in a cooler for long stretches of time (e.g. beer) have a thin plastic layer for a label. I’ve had good success with hot tap water and just peeling them off. They can leave a sticky residue, which can be removed with dish washing detergent. There are lots of “goo” removers, so there is a bit of trial and error factor with this.

If you are using a jar/bottle that: wont fit in your microwave; you want to save the label (such as a wine label); or it did not contain food (e.g. candle jar) check out the following videos:

• Removing labels from wine bottles 

• How to Remove Wine Labels: This is when you want the bottle and don’t care about the label.  

• Easy way to clean& reuse candle jars 

Now that you have a clean jar or bottle, consider the following:

Painting jar lids: Use spray paint, which adheres to metal (e.g. enamel). Be sure to use light coatings to avoid streaking and clumps. Add floral or other types of decal for a different look. To protect your decal, use a clear gloss spray to finish.

Decorative jar lids: Gluing something to the lid, such as a small plastic toy animal, and then spray it all one color. With Easter not that far off, a jar of jellybeans with a bunny sitting on top would make a fun hostess gift.

Painting Glass

• 5 Ways to Color Mason Jars 

• Painted Wine Bottle Vases 

Decorate Drinking Glasses: There are a number of different ways to decorate jars and wine glasses making them suitable for parties and entertaining. Not only do guests know which drinking glass is theirs, you don’t need to have a “matching set” of glassware, it’s cheap, and it can be a nice gift to send home with your guests.

Several things to keep in mind: Avoid decorating where the lip area will be; once decorated you will need to hand wash them for future use, so no dishwasher.

Window clings are an easy way to decorate glass. You can purchase them from places like the Dollar Store and just peel and stick. Duct tape operates in much the same fashion. An easy way to cut out duct tape designs is by putting strips of duct tape on baking parchment paper. This allows you to draw designs on the parchment and then cut, peel and stick. Terrifically Tacky Tape (red liner double sided tape) is very strong and will hold anything-beads, glitter, foils, and micro beads. It’s available at your local craft store and comes in many different sizes. Know that once you put it down, it’s going to stick, so definitely measure first.

You can do amazing things with Sharpies. Check out the tutorial DIY Wine Glasses Using Sharpies 

• Color Glass and Insert Straw for a one of a kind drinking glass 

• Beaded Wine Glasses 

• DIY Glitter Wine Glasses: This works for any type of glass and uses Modge Podge and glitter. You can make your own Modge Podge by mixing 1 part white glue with ½ part water. Store in one of your clean glass jars. 

Oil Lamps

• Mason and other types of jars 

• How to Turn a Wine Bottle into an Oil Lamp Using Found Objects: Really good tutorial. If you don’t want to make your own torch topper, you can purchase a ceramic one on-line.

Mason Jar Salt Dispenser

Outdoor Lighting: Fill the bottom of a large glass jar with sand or rice. Insert candle and light.

Glowing Jar Project 

Match Holder: Fill a jar with wooden matches. Use one of the following options for the “striker” part. Glue a piece of sandpaper to the bottom. If using a Mason jar, use sandpaper for the lid. Put a good size dollop of etching cream on the bottom of the jar, wait about 30 minutes (much longer than the instructed time for the cream to sit), rinse off the excess cream. This should create a sufficiently rough surface to act as a striking surface.

Create a Glass Indoor Herb Garden: Don’t limit yourself to just Mason jars. Some of the larger peanut butter jars will work very well for this project 

Wine Bottle Cutting 30 Seconds Perfect Edge Bottle Cutter: Re purposing wine and beer bottles as drinking glasses isn’t easy. However, if you want to try it, this is the best video I’ve found on cutting glass bottles. 

Up cycled Wine Bottles Ideas 

100 Clever Ways to Re purpose Mason Jars