Monday 20 June 2011

Slumped glass Spoon rest. How to make them from recycled bottles

Depending on your view these can be called recycled, upcycled or repurposed. I prefer upcycled or repurposed because they are no longer wine, herb, condiment bottles and can't be used for their original function. They have a new use or purpose in life.

I use small wine bottles, herb bottles and sauce jars, all of which make ideal spoon rests and used teabag dishes.  

Slumped bottles draw a lot of attention at fairs and become a great talking point as people want to know 'how I got them to look like that'.
My spiel goes something like this...... empty wine bottle (the fun part), clean thoroughly to remove labels and allow to dry fully, then place in kiln with enough space around each one to allow for the slump.
Ramp up kiln slowly until bottles are glowing, red hot at which point they take on the consistency of thick honey. They retain their shape until gravity takes over and gently slump in on themselves and the bottom folds over.

I keep a check on them to ensure they have achieve the shape I want, then they are cooled, slowly, to allow for annealing of the glass. This stage takes the stress out of the glass so there is not a risk of thermal shock shattering your lovely creation.
Yes glass suffers from stress too!

Once fully cooled, remove from kiln, wash, allow to dry, add furniture bumps to prevent them scratching any surfaces and there you have one less bottle smashed on the pavement or clogging up landfill.


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8 comments:

Wendy said...

They are just fab.
You've made me want a kiln, just so I can melt bottles and jars! x

Unknown said...

I love the little bottles... what a great way to re-use them, a real William Morris item, both beautiful and useful!

Alison - Belovedly said...

Ohhhhh I am LOVING these. Great idea!

Unknown said...

What a fantastic idea! Love the slumped bottles, they look so cool x

Jan said...

I love these, the blue glass looks great and a great way to re use old bottles.

Jan x

Laura Tee said...

Oh wow, these are the best thing I've seen in a long time! So cool.

Carolee Crafts said...

I love these Terry, what a brilliant idea. The small one is my favourite could also be used for tea bags

yvette said...

What a great idea, I can see why people are attracted to these.