Recycle Your Wedding – Wine Bottle Vase Project

Every year billions of greenhouse flowers are used for weddings not to mention everything else that ends up in the landfill and the water and energy used to clean the items that don’t.  Many people believe it is simply cheaper not to “go green” and once upon a time that may have been the case in some ways.  Green is now in style and there are so many ways to make your wedding a green wedding. Whether it is recycled centerpieces and other little gestures or an all out green wedding why not do a little bit to make the world a better place for your future children or just feel a little bit better about your part in saving our Earth.

This project may not be for amateur crafters and is definitely not for children, even supervised.  Have friends and family help you collect wine bottles with interesting colors and patterns.

You will need:

  • Picture hanging wire
  • Sand paper
  • A large candle
  • Lots of wine bottles (you will probably break a few and do a few incorrectly so have more than you need for your centerpieces or gifts)
  • Thin gardening gloves to protect your hands from the wire
  • A bucket of cold water

Step #1:

Clean and remove the labels from the wine bottles and let dry.

Step #2:

Score the sides of the wine bottle with the picture wire where you want the bottle to break. Wrap the wire around the bottle at the desired height and pull it back and forth to make a score line.  Take your time this step will require some patience.  Don’t worry if your line isn’t perfectly even all the way around you can even it out later or leave it asymmetric for a unique look.

Step #3:

Light the candle and slowly turn the wine bottle over the candle at the score mark.  Be sure to have a firm grip on each end without squeezing too tightly.  Extra pressure could cause the bottle to break but you want a form grip on the bottle as the heat causes your scored area to crack so you don’t drop either end.  Be sure to keep turning the bottle so it heats evenly all the way around.

Step #4:

When your bottle cracks immediately dunk it in cold water to complete the break.

Step #5:

The edges of your vases (or your glasses) will be jagged so you will need to sand them down to make them safe to handle (or drink from)

Use these Eco friendly containers as vases for centerpieces, containers for a candy bar or glasses to drink from if you can gather enough wine bottles for all your guests.  An etching tool can be used to write the couples initials or wedding date in all of the containers.