Creative Things to Do With Glass Bottles - Upcycled Cacti Planter

9 Materials
$50
2 Hours
Medium

Here in the UK the average person uses 500 glass bottles a year, and incredible only one in six are recycled.... It is best to go one step further and upcycle rather than recycle. So when my husband helped my children make this stunning cacti planter, plus vases for flowers from old glass bottles as my mothers day gift I could not have been happier.

Soak the glass labels off the bottles, then set up a glass bottle cutter.

Ensure the edge of the cutter touches the edge of the bottle, and gradually rotate the bottle.

Cutting a glass bottle in half takes practice, do not be discouraged and have lots of bottles to hand! Initially when he started one bottle in three would cut evenly and straight but with practice he is now at about two out of three cut good and straight.

As you rotate the bottle do not go over the same area twice.

Place the bottle inside a sink filled with cold water and ice.

Next pour boiling water over the scored mark. 

Repeat until the bottle breaks into two halves.

Sand the cut edges of your glass. Start with wet-dry sandpaper, wet it then in circular motions rub the bottle over the wet dry.

To even out any little nitches use a dremel. This works best when wet too – fill an old plastic bottle with water, pierce a small hole on one side and add the lid to the container. You should get a steady stream of water.

Drill holes in your driftwood the width of the neck bottle. Use a drill piece 28 wide. This is fractionally wider than the neck of the glass bottles but as the glue is expandable this is not a problem.

Using gorilla bond glue, glue the glass neck to the driftwood. Follow the instructions, wet the glass and place the glue in the hole in the driftwood.

Once dry fill with cacti soil and plant your cacti.

Use the other half of your bottles as glass vases. If you love alternative upcycled planters check out my tea set as a three tier indoor succulent planter.

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  • Tonya Tonya on Apr 18, 2022

    I love these ideas! I also love how u patiently explain the directions👍🏾 u must have a great husband and kids😍tfs

  • Julia Julia 5 days ago

    Too much to buy for this for me, glass cutter, renal, I don’t have any of that! Cute tho!♥️

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