Becky Striepe
Whether we’re talking plastic or glass, empty bottles are full of potential. Sure, you can recycle them, but that still takes energy. In fact, both plastic and glass are often downcycled into products of lesser quality, which means they can only be recycled so many times before they end up in a landfill.
Of course, the obvious solution is to upcycle those bottles into something new. Need a little inspiration? We’ve got some upcycling eye candy to get you going!
Plastic Bottle Flowers
How sweet are these flowers made from recycled soda bottles by Frozen in Time? I love how she used the shape of the bottle to form the flowers and used darker paint on the tips of the flower petals. Gorgeous!
Wine Bottle Wind Chimes
I’m loving the elegant simplicity of these wine bottle wind chimes that Wiccked shares. It looks like they were made using a bottle cutter to remove the bottoms, and assembled with wire and fishing line.
Recycled Plastic Bottle Lights
This cluster of plastic bottle lights is ingenious! It takes advantage of the various bottles’ colors, and looks pretty simple to string together. You’d probably just need the right sized drill bit and some hot glue to create your own strand of upcycled lights. Photo by F-R-A-N-K.
Let’s keep the re-inspiration going! What are some of your favorite projects for upcycling plastic and glass bottles?
[Image Credits: All photos via Flickr under a Creative Commons license.]
the flowers are beautiful! along with the lights…a solar hot water heater is another great use (but not as pretty as these) 😛
the flowers are beautiful! along with the lights…a solar hot water heater is another great use (but not as pretty as these) 😛
My fellow New Orleans Craft Mafia members, Heather Macfarlane and Mark Kirk make some amazing upcycled lighting installations using recycled plastic and glass bottles. (They also do great things with old Mardi Gras beads!) http://www.shopgreenneworleans.com/
I love the cluster of lights in that bottom picture of this post!
My fellow New Orleans Craft Mafia members, Heather Macfarlane and Mark Kirk make some amazing upcycled lighting installations using recycled plastic and glass bottles. (They also do great things with old Mardi Gras beads!) http://www.shopgreenneworleans.com/
I love the cluster of lights in that bottom picture of this post!
thanks for including my windchimes! That’s exactly how they’re made… hubby makes them 🙂
thanks for including my windchimes! That’s exactly how they’re made… hubby makes them 🙂
These are awesome ideas! I want to share my upcycled project, jewelry made from plastic bottles, in this case a bracelet > http://twitpic.com/1e3cg4
those beads are really cool! nice work 🙂
These are awesome ideas! I want to share my upcycled project, jewelry made from plastic bottles, in this case a bracelet > http://twitpic.com/1e3cg4
those beads are really cool! nice work 🙂
Wow– the lights are gorgeous– love these ideas!!!
Wow– the lights are gorgeous– love these ideas!!!
That’s a great idea! It looks nice and the reusable factor is amazing! I’m going to try it for sure! Thanks,
Nicolas
simplegreenaction.ca team
That’s a great idea! It looks nice and the reusable factor is amazing! I’m going to try it for sure! Thanks,
Nicolas
simplegreenaction.ca team
You may like to check out my blog where I talk, among other things, about plants and flowers crafted from soda bottles. Here’s one link:
http://yipsandhowls.wordpress.com/2010/05/19/pansies-where-i-present-my-newest-creation/
You can find the others by clicking on the “soda bottle” category on the right side of the page.
You may like to check out my blog where I talk, among other things, about plants and flowers crafted from soda bottles. Here’s one link:
http://yipsandhowls.wordpress.com/2010/05/19/pansies-where-i-present-my-newest-creation/
You can find the others by clicking on the “soda bottle” category on the right side of the page.