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Arts & Crafts

Artisan

June 2, 2020 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

Explore and discover On2In2™ for hobbies and new arts and crafts projects.
Arts and Crafts: Find your passion and the joy of creating a work of art here at On2In2™
Stan Reinshagen, inspiring artisan & hobbyist

My father was an ardent hobbyist. You might also call him a “generalist” because he didn’t focus on a specific hobby or category of interest.  He was a music lover and amateur musician (trumpet), gardener (vegetables), BBQ master (with a killer secret sauce), meister mechanic, weekend golfer, and smooth social dancer (the waltz).  While he didn’t have a creative arts background or formal training and never thought of himself as “talented”, a few hobby classes taken while serving in the US Air Force sparked a passion for the creative process, and he spent many happy hours in his private studio (the garage), exploring his varied interests and testing his handcrafting skills while working on a variety of arts and crafts projects. 

Dad made really beautiful things in ceramic, wood, metal, and leather.
All are treasured pieces.  Most importantly, he found joy in creating, and inspired our family to love ‘making things’.  Let his story inspire you — Make your soul grow.

To help you get started on the search for your passion and the joy of creating a work of art, below is a list of arts and crafts hobby categories for inspiration (including a few links to topical articles) as well as Zola’s arts & craft photo gallery, and there’s a collection of video documentaries on the Art Works and Creative Perspectives channels that include insightful stories from artisans about their work, motivations, and approach to the creative process.

But, please….before buying a bunch of hobby supplies, do a little research and consider the things required for the crafting (time, money, work space, tools, supplies, basic skills and physical abilities) and what you’d like to try. Then, start small.  For example, it doesn’t take much to start coloring, and many find the creative process of ‘coloring within the lines’ to be relaxing and therapeutic.  Find FREE adult coloring books → HERE.  Also, look for arts & crafts instructional classes offered in your community by colleges, museums, art galleries, recreation centers, and local artisans.  If that doesn’t work for you, search libraries and book stores for crafting books, and do some googling.  You’ll be amazed at the variety of instructional books, online courses and ‘how to’ videos available.

 

Arts and Crafts - Woodworking: Find your passion and the joy of creating a work of art here at On2In2™
Standing Wine Rack, handcrafted by Stan ©2018 Zeester Media LLC
Arts and Crafts: Find your passion and the joy of creating a work of art here at On2In2™
Welcome Sign for a Gardener ©2018 Zeester Media LLC
Arts and Crafts Wine Foil Collection Table Top: Find your passion and the joy of creating a work of art here at On2In2™
Wine foil collection table top by Zola ©2018 Zeester Media LLC
Arts and Crafts Confetti Bowl: Find your passion and the joy of creating a work of art here at On2In2™
Glittering Confetti Bowl ©2018 Zeester Media LLC
Button Collecting and Arts and Crafts: Find your passion and the joy of creating a work of art here at On2In2™
Button Bezazz by Zola © 2018 Zeester Media LLC
Flower Design and Photography: Find your passion and the joy of creating a work of art here at On2In2™
Flowers in the Light by Zola ©2018 Zeester Media LLC
Creative collage made with recycled plastics: Find your passion and the joy of creating a work of art here at On2In2™
Controlled Chaos by Zola ©2018 Zeester Media LLC
Glass Blowing and Photography: Find your passion and the joy of creating a work of art here at On2In2™
Perfect Imperfection ©2018 Zeester Media LLC
Leatherwork and Arts and Crafts: Find your passion and the joy of creating a work of art here at On2In2™
Leatherwork by Stan ©2018 Zeester Media LLC
Digital Art with an app is fun
“My Yellow Boat” Digital Art by Zola ©2018 Zeester Media LLC
Bottle Cutting Creations
Made a pretty flower vase using rubber bands.
Rubber Band Flower Vase by Zola ©2018 Zeester Media LLC
My Dad was the inspiration for my love of arts and crafts
Ceramic Cornucopia by Stan ©2018 Zeester Media LLC
Find your fun with arts and crafts
Fish Kissing by Zola ©2018 Zeester Media
My first attempt at using coloring book app "Colorfy"
Seashells using coloring book app ‘Colorfy’

 

The Arts & Crafts Idea List

Candle and Soap Making

Ceramics/Pottery

Crafting

Digital Art

Glass:  Cutting and Blowing

Jewelry Making

Model Building (replicas of cars, planes, ships, railroads)

Leatherworking

Paint/Watercolor/Sketch  

Paper:  Papermaking;  Decoupage

Photography

Recycled Plastics Art 

Sand Sculpting

Textile:  Sew/Knit/Crochet/Embroidery/Weave

Welding and Metalworking

Wood: Woodworking;  Woodcarving/Whittling;  Woodburning

For more crafting inspiration, click/tap these links:
Watch: Art Works
Rubberband Art
Watch:  Photography
Watch:  Digital Arts 

 

 

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Zeester Media LLC may receive a small commission for a purchase you make via the Amazon link within this page. This in no way affects the price you pay for the purchase.

Feature photo is courtesy of Gratisography CC0

Filed Under: Create, Insight, Visual Arts Tagged With: Arts & Crafts

Art Transforming Trash

February 29, 2020 By Zola Zeester 1 Comment

Inspired art works can be created from the plastic trash collected on the beach

“The opposite of beauty is not ugly… it’s indifference.” — Richard Lang

There are many complex issues involved in the elimination of pollutants from the environment, but there’s at least one problem easy to identify and understand — trash.  Take just one walk on a beach, and you’ll quickly see the ugly truth.

More than 8 million tons of plastic makes its way into the Ocean each year, and the stuff doesn’t go-away or disappear.  Just one plastic bag takes 1,000 years to decompose.  Much of this garbage can be seen floating on top of the ocean surface.  Between California and Hawaii, the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” is more than double the size of Texas, and it’s just one of many similar floating debris patches.

Ray Ives, a retired Royal Marine and commercial diver, saw even more during his 40+ years of deep sea diving,……“You can’t believe some of the things people dump in the sea.  It’s like the biggest rubbish dump in the world”.

Artists are using their creative talents in amazing ways to help make positive change as their works of art bring attention to the plastic pollution problem the world faces and inspire all of us to “rethink plastic”.

Gyrecraft is a short film about crafting objects at sea, in the past with whale’s teeth and in the future with plastics collected from Ocean waters.

Studio Swine went on a 1,000 nautical mile journey through the North Atlantic Gyre, from the Azores to the Canaries, collecting plastics as they sailed.  (The North Atlantic Gyre is one of five large systems of circulating ocean currents.  The vortex of currents traps man-made marine debris into a large, dense floating debris zone called  the ‘North Atlantic Garbage Patch’.)  Using a specially designed ‘Solar Extruder’ machine, the plastic pieces collected during the trip were melted on board ship with heat from the Sun, creating a ‘sea plastic’ material used to create art works.

 

In the short video, Sea Chair, watch as a stool is built on a boat from the plastic collected in a fisherman’s nets.

 

Since 1999, Richard and Judith Selby Lang have been visiting a special spot at Kehoe Beach at the Point Reyes National Seashore in Northern California, collecting plastics that have washed up on shore. The Lang’s then take their treasures home, wash and sort the items, and create works of art.  Over the years, they’ve collected tons of the stuff, learned a lot about ocean pollution, and discovered each little bit of found plastic has an interesting story to tell and provides an insight into human culture.

 

Aurora Robson is a multi-media artist known for her work with waste materials, and the founding artist of Project Vortex a collective of creatives who work with plastic debris as a medium and support organizational efforts to reduce the amount of plastic littering the oceans and shorelines of the world. She has said the intention of her art is “to take something negative, try to change the direction it’s going, and turn it into something positive”.

 

Inspired to create your own “environmental art”, but not sure how to start?  David Edgar creates marine life art forms from plastic bottles, and his instructional fish project video is a how-to guide for beginners. In the demonstration, you’ll learn that creating a sculpture requires scissors and a couple of simple tools, and reshaping plastic can be accomplish with heat from a hair dryer.  Really, the possibilities are endless because unfortunately, so is the trash.

 

Information/Resources:

Point Reyes National Seashore  Point Reyes is a peninsula surrounded on three sides by the Pacific Ocean, supporting a large diversity of species throughout the food chain and ecosystem.

One Plastic Beach  The Lang’s offer workshops, presentations, art sales, commercial and residential artwork commissions

Aurora Robson  See more art and media

Washed Ashore – Haseltine Pozzi, an artist and longtime art teacher, made it her mission to collect garbage that washes up along the Oregon coastline and use it to create large art sculptures in an effort to bring awareness to the enormous amount of plastic pollution in oceans and waterways and inspire change.

Project Vortex is an international collective of artists, designers and architects creating art works with plastic debris in support of projects that intercept plastic waste in innovative ways and help water cleanup efforts.

Plastic Ocean by Tan Zi Xi – an inspired art installation simulating the environment of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch created the experience of being immersed in a space covered with trash.

Healthy Seas – a joint venture of non-government organizations and businesses dedicated to cleaning ocean of litter and recycling it into new products such as socks, swimwear, textiles and carpets.

International Coastal Cleanup Day is celebrated annually the third Saturday in September to encourage people to join in efforts to rid beaches of the garbage plaguing beaches, and around the world, conservation groups organize cleanups along coastlines and waterways. 

Plastic Oceans Foundation – a non-profit organization with a mission to engage people through education and media projects, campaigns and global partnerships

Underwater sculpture museums contain breathtaking works of art that seek to encourage environmental awareness and appreciate the breathtaking natural beauty of the underwater world.You’ll be surprised to see what lies
beneath the waves – Art Underwater 

 

 

The Ocean is an essential life force, and we must stop its destructionOur Oceans are suffering from many decades of
abuse and neglect, but each of us has the power to help heal it 

 

 

It's easy and fun to join On2In2 social networkWe’d love to hear from you!  If you’d like to comment on this post, join the conversation, or share your inspiration, and you have not yet registered as an On2In2™ playmaker, please sign up via the ‘Engage page’.  Don’t worry, it’s pretty quick and easy.

 

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Feature photo is courtesy of Free Stock Pro/Pexels CC0

Filed Under: Collections, Insight, Video, Visual Arts Tagged With: Art, Arts & Crafts, Environment, Ocean

Beautiful & Fascinating

February 28, 2020 By Zola Zeester 1 Comment

The beautiful art, history and collecting of buttons.

The memory of my grandmother, an avid ‘up-cycler’, carefully cutting off buttons from the family’s time-worn clothes and saving both the buttons and fabric for future use, is what probably inspired me to hold onto buttons.  Kept in a zip storage bag, my eclectic assortment has grown slowly over the years — It isn’t a large or valuable collection.  In fact, many of the buttons are quite ordinary, but they are uniquely mine, taken from my wardrobe, and they’ve become a collection of memories as well as a personal style timeline.  I’ve also used some of the buttons for arts and crafts projects, and they’ve often come in handy for button replacement.

“Le bouton est non seulement indispensable, mais capable d’enjoliver un vêtement, de le personnaliser et de lui apporter la touche finale.” *— Herbert de Givenchy, Introduction to Boutons by Loïc Allio (2001)  *The button is not only indispensable, but capable of beautifying a piece of clothing, of personalizing it and giving it the final touch. (Translation by Caroline Baumann, Director of Cooper Hewitt Museum)

Buttons have been placed on clothing as ornamentation for thousands of years, and crafted in a variety of ways by artisans and artists or manufactured in low and high-tech factories from every imaginable material, making these small objects significant in fields of decorative arts and design, fashion, visual art, and arts and crafts as well as archeology and materials technology.

Beautiful and Fascinating!  Long admired for the artistry as well as historical value, button collecting began centuries ago and is still a popular hobby today.  The photo gallery below includes just a few examples from extraordinary button collections.

 

Chinese, 249-210BC, Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Walrus Ivory (Alaska 3-4th Century), Michael C Rockefeller Memorial Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Stone (8-10th Century) excavated in Iran, Rogers Fund, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Etruscan, 6th C BC, Rogers Fund, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Metal (American 1770-1800) Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
18th Century, Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Enamel (British, 1770) Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Chinese (1770 – 1895) Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Enamel 1780 (probably European) Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Glass (French 1770) Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
1770-1895, Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
1770 -1895, Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Glass (French 1775) Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Glass (French 1780) Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Glass (French 1780) Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Hungarian button (1780) quartz, garnets & metal, Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
French water color, 1780, Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Pearls & Sapphires (French 1785) Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Metal & Enamel (French 1785) Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Mother of Pearl (British 1820-50) Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Hanna S. Kohn Collection (1770-1895 American or European) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Hanna S. Kohn Collection (1770-1895 American or European) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
French enamel 1850-80, Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
French enamel 1850-80, Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
French enamel 1850-80, Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Union Porcelain Works (1876) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Metal (Japan 1850) Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Horn (German 1850) Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Metal (British 1880) Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Metal (Thailand 1880) Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Glass (American or European, 1880) Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Glass (American or European 1880) Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Italian mosaic 1860, Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Glass (American or European 1880) Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Glass (American or European 1880) Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Glass (American or European 1880) Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Metal (British 1850-80) Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Metal & Enamel (British 1880) Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Semi-precious stone (British 1880) Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Glass (American or European 1880) Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Semi-precious stone (British 1880) Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Semi-precious stone (British 1880) Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD
Italian 1880, Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, PD

 

See More Glass Buttons (1700–1951, American or European) from the Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
→ Gallery 1
→ Gallery 2
→ Gallery 3

See More Wood Buttons (1900-20, American or European) from the Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
→ Gallery 4

The Cooper Hewitt button collection is amazing, and available to view online → HERE

Inspired Button Art – “I hold the button to my ear and it whispers to me, “I want to be…..” Augusto Esquivel creates sculptures from buttons, and he shares his work and creative process → Augusto Mucho Gusto website

Button Jacket by Kenneth D. King

Kenneth D. King created this stunning jacket using some of the 75 pounds of antique uniform buttons he inherited. [Pinterest pin “Using Buttons As Embellishment” by Threads Magazine]

 

 

 

 

   

Information/Resources:
Button Society Websites & Contacts – List of button society websites and contacts by country and US states
Button, Button, We’ve Got the Button(s)! by Margery Masinter (Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, November 1, 2017)
Buttons: In the Collection of the Cooper Hewitt Museum by Carl Christian Dauterman (The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Design, 1982)

Hammond-Turner & Sons – Button Galleries – an online museum displaying buttons manufactured by Hammond Turner & Sons (and related companies), button makers of Birmingham (and Manchester), England.  Created by Lesley Close, a descendant of one of the owners of the company.
The Waterbury Button Museum – More than 3,000 buttons are on permanent display in the Button Gallery of the Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury, Connecticut
Déboutonner la mode (Unbutton Fashion), Les Arts Décoratifs exhibit presentation
Boutons, Decorative Arts Museum (Les Arts Décoratifs), Paris, France
Lucie Rie: Ceramics & Buttons Exhibit (22 June 2018 – 12 May 2019, Centre of Ceramic Art at York Art Gallery, UK
European Fashion Project – Buttons, Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Keep Homestead Museum – Button Collection, Monson, Massachusetts – The vast collection is exhibited on a rotating basis, but on permanent display is a wonderful collection of mosaic buttons.

 

Button Button: Identification and Price Guide* is a well-organized guide recommended by the Button Society as a book that every button collector and dealer should own.

 

 

 

Buttons: The Collector’s Guide to Selecting, Restoring, and Enjoying New and Vintage Buttons* shows and describes fabric, metal, glass, ceramic, enamel, plastic, and uniform buttons along with the history of buttons.

 

 

 

Buttons by Diana Epstein and Millicent Safro* looks at the authors’ collections of buttons, describing their history and value as art.

 

 

 

 

Creating art with buttons is a fun arts and crafts project.
ⓒ Button Art by Zola Zeester

FREE To WATCH: Collector Confessions – A diverse group of engaging collectors tell their stories about lifelong passions for objects. [Videos on Demand]

 

 

 

It's easy and fun to join On2In2 social networkWe’d love to hear from you!  If you’d like to comment on this article, join the conversation, or share your inspiration, and you have not yet registered as an On2In2™ playmaker, please sign up via the ‘Engage page’.  Don’t worry, it’s pretty quick and easy (unless you’re a robot).

 

 

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*Zeester Media LLC may receive a small commission for a book purchase you make via a link within this page.  This in no way affects the price you pay for the purchase.
Feature photo “My Button Collection” © Zeester Media LLC, 2015-18

Filed Under: Collections, History, Visual Arts Tagged With: Art, Arts & Crafts

Rubber Band Art

February 28, 2020 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

Rubber band art project was fun and easy.

Noticing the jar of multi-colored rubber bands in the kitchen, a friend asked me, “What are you going to do with them?”

There really was no answer.  In fact, it’s not at all understandable why someone would save rubber bands, except they seem impossible to throw away and occasionally the odd one or two will come in handy for bundling up or repairing something.  And, really….they are everywhere. Even the broccoli and celery at the grocery are bundled together with a colorful rubber band, and all must be saved and collected, perhaps protecting the environment in some small way or (most likely) a kooky obsession.

People using rubber goes way back.  The Aztecs and Mayans used natural rubber products and mixed latex and other materials as early as 1600 B.C.;  however, the process of “vulcanization”, the chemical process of converting natural rubber into a more durable product, was not developed until the 19th century.  Stephen Perry, a British businessman and inventor, received a patent for the rubber band in England more than 170 years ago.

 

Rubber band balls are the simplest form of rubber band art

 

Today, rubber bands (aka elastic bands, laggy bands, gum bands, and elastics) are made of either synthetic rubber or natural rubber (latex) taken from the sap of rubber trees, and there are many types, sizes and versatile household, office and industrial uses as well as uniquely creative uses for the rubber band.

 

The biggest rubber band ball

For example, everybody likes making rubber band balls.  It takes patience and a lot of rubber bands to get things rolling, but not fine crafting skills, and it’s fun to have on your desk to bounce around the office.

A man named Joel Waul from Florida is credited by Guinness World Records as the builder of the largest rubber band ball (aka “Megaton”). Consisting of 700,000 rubber bands, it measured 6′ 7″ high, 25′ 4″ in diameter, and weighed 9,032 lb.

 

 

Creative rubber band chair is art you can use.

 

Megaton is certainly impressive as is Preston Moeller’s cool rubber band chair which earned him first place in 2011 at the Appalachian State University 6th Annual Chair Design competition.  A great example of functional “rubber band” art and creative design using unconventional materials.

 

 

 

Those achievements are inspiring, but also a bit beyond ordinary skills and require a huge supply of big rubber bands.   Thinking smaller scale, the idea for an art project began to develop—–create colorful vases by simply wrapping rubber bands around glassware, one at a time.  It was fun and easy (no glue or special tools required), and the pieces are fairly durable except the rubber bands will deteriorate when exposed to heat or sunlight, requiring repairs and replacements.

The rubber band art vases and jars are pretty as well as handy to have around the house and office, and they’ve been put to good use as flower vases and planters as well as holders for organizing pencils & pens, utensils, odds & ends, and…. more rubber bands!  People are always amazed when told the flower vase they are admiring is decorated with rubber bands, and the possibilities are endless as are the design variations. 

 

More rubber band vases, large and small
Made a pretty flower vase using rubber bands.
Rubber Band Flower Vase by Zola ©2018 Zeester Media LLC
Creative colorful jars using rubber bands

 

Finally, there’s an answer to that provocative question —“What are you going to do with them?”  Try it, and have some fun with your own project.

 

Creative collage made with recycled plastics: Find your passion and the joy of creating a work of art here at On2In2™
Controlled Chaos by Zola ©2018 Zeester Media LLC

There’s inspiration here — Art Transforming Trash shows you the many ways to create beautiful art from plastics discarded and found.   

 

 

 

 

It's easy and fun to join On2In2 social networkHave you created an art object with rubber bands or other recycled items?
Please share your ideas and creations with On2In2™, and join the conversation via
“Engage“.  Would love to hear all about the fun you’re having.  

 

 

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Feature photo of rubber bands by Bill Ebbesen CC BY-SA 3.0
Rubber band ball and art images from the Zeester photo studio CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Information Resource:  Wikipedia (Vulcanization, Rubber Band)

Filed Under: Collections, Create, Visual Arts Tagged With: Art, Arts & Crafts, Environment

Bottle Cut Creations

February 28, 2020 By Zola Zeester 2 Comments

Beautiful bottle cutting craft creations

What to do with those wine bottles!?!

Sure, most can be recycled easy enough via local residential and business collection services. [Even so, hundreds of thousands end up trashing up our cities, parks, and beaches.  Glass beverage bottles ranked # 7 of top ten items collected during the 2015 International Coastal Cleanup.]  But, now and again, you get ahold of a nice one, beautifully colored or shaped, unique or with some sort of sentimental value, like a bottle of wine opened for a special occasion.  Unfortunately, saving bottle ‘keepsakes’ will eventually develop into an assortment of bottle clutter, and at some point, there must a be decision to either throw them out in the recycle bin or store them somewhere (e.g., closet, garage, basement).

The discovery of the “Creator’s Bottle Cutter (Ultimate Addition)”* offered new possibilities for a craft project and an answer to the question “what to do” with all the bottles.  Didn’t take too long, however, to figure out glass cutting is not a quick and simple process regardless of a merchant’ claims, expert advice and customer reviews, but it is actually easier than anticipated and a really fun, challenging try-out.  Admittedly, felt a bit of a thrill to cut the first bottle as well as surprise it actually was cut perfectly in two, and very happy with the finished products.

You can do it, too, and to help you get started, here’s the lowdown ⇓

 

Glass cutting project tools and creations

 

First off, try to talk a friend into joining you in the glass cutting, especially the first go-around. It’s not impossible to do solo, but helps to have a partner.

Safety Equipment:  Scoring the bottles creates some fine glass dust and shards, and there are inevitable wax drips when using a candle for the “thermo-shock” process.  Therefore, best to protect your work table and always wear safety glasses. For this project, a (12” x 18”) “Crafty World” cutting mat*was used because that’s what was on hand.  It worked fine, but you may want to go with a bigger size (18” x 24”) for a larger work surface.  Any other type of non-slip protective mat should work.  Also handy to have thick kitchen towels for water drips and spills and to help in handling wet bottles during the cutting and finishing.

Watch the Instructional Videos.  After reading the Creator’s Bottle Cutter (Ultimate Edition)* instructions and sorting through all the contents of the glass cutting kit, recommend you watch instructional videos (a few times) because nothing beats actually seeing the process.

 

 

Cut Placement and Labels.  You don’t have to remove all the paper labels from your bottles, but the cutter won’t cut through paper labels.  Therefore, remove labels that get in the way of your desired score placement by first soaking in hot water, then take a small knife or razor to scrape off as much paper as possible.  Last step, get rid of the paper and glue residue with Goo Gone* spray gel.

Marking your Bottle.  The instructions state that after placing the bottle on the glasscutter roller carriage, mark the top center of the bottle with a Sharpie marker so as not to overlap the cut. An oil-based, silver color Sharpie pen was not the best choice because it’s difficult to see the mark on dark glass bottles. Recommend a colored wax pencil (e.g., a yellow Sharpie Peel-Off China Marker) or a wine glass writer pen in a bright/bold color would work as well)*.

“Thermo Shock” Process.  The method chosen for this experiment was the “candle – ice water plunge”, only because it was demonstrated in the “Bottle Cutting 101” video. To everyone’s amazement, it worked.  Here are a few helpful tips (learned during the process):

* Timing is everything. You need a stopwatch (use your smart phone).  The manufacturer’s recommended “thermo-shock” process times for heat & cold are good estimates, but very often the process had to be repeated and/or the times extended as much as half a minute (especially when cutting thick wine wine/champagne bottles).  For example, the better chance for a nice clean break in the glass occurred when the ice water plunge was extended to about 20 seconds rather than the 10 seconds recommended in the instructional video. Listed below are the candle flame warming time estimates used with the most success during this experiment (they differ from estimates given in the instructions):

1.5 minutes (thin glass like beer bottle)

2 – 2.5 minutes (wine bottle)

2.5 – 3.5 minutes (bottles with thicker glass)

3.5 – 4.5 minutes (champagne bottles)

* Be careful—always have a good grip on the bottle because just when you think the bottle will never separate, it will –like magic– fall off.  Once the bottle actually came apart while on the candle flame during the second re-do.

* Get comfy.  Sit down at the work table and get the candle low enough to be able to prop your elbows on the table because arms soon start feeling heavy when holding and spinning the bottle above the candle flame.

* Be Patient. You can’t rush things.  If the glass doesn’t separate the first (or second) time, don’t get discouraged, and don’t try to pull it apart. This lesson was learned when an attempt was made to force the bottle apart after a few tries with the “thermo shock process”.  The bottle did not break cleanly, and there was no way to file or sand down the jagged edge.

* Had purchased a 3M emery cloth for smoothing rough edges, but realized the sharpening stone stick (included in kit) really works better.  Had also purchased some “professional glass cutter oil” manufactured by CRL, but can’t figure out what to do with it, so will return it.

 

Beautiful bottle cutting craft creations

 

BOTTLE ART

You can make drinking glasses, flower vases, candle holders, lanterns, lamps, ornaments, cloches (keepsake domes).…. all kinds of things.  Decorate your home or perfect as gifts.

* The look of votive candles and tea lights* flickering inside a wine bottle (with bottom cut off) is pretty, but this type of ‘bottle’ lantern will not get enough oxygen to keep a candle flame going unless you cut a larger opening at the top of the bottle or place the bottle on a metal stand that lets air flow from underneath the bottle.  Placing the bottles on a kitchen cooling rack and trivets did the trick.  Be careful—the bottles get hot.  Don’t touch without some hand protection (kitchen pot holders became a useful item for the workshop).

* Using battery powered tea lights* and LED shapeable wire lights* works, too.  They also eliminate the issue of a hot flame and create a different sparkling look for the bottles.

* You can really get creative decorating your bottles with costume jewelry, buttons, wine glass pens, paints, wine foils, and stick-on rhinestones…….Time to let your imagination run wild.  Soon you’ll need more bottles to cut!

 

Find your passion and the joy of creating a work of art here at On2In2™

More arts and crafts ideas→
 Artisan
Rubber Band Art

Art Transforming Trash

 

 

 

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*This page includes affiliate links to a shop website for some glass cutting and decorating tools and supplies. If you purchase a product or service directly through the link, Zeester Media LLC may earn a small commission. This in no way affects the price you pay for the purchase.

Feature photo of bottles sourced from Pexels CC0
Bottle creation photos by Zeester Media LLC CC BY-NC-ND

 

Filed Under: Create, Visual Arts Tagged With: Arts & Crafts

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