I have been addicted to glass jars and bottles for a little while now. Obviously, I am a crafter, so I mostly use my bottles and jars for storage of buttons, beads, washers and other little parts. I also put pens, markers, scissors and paintbrushes.
To reuse glass bottles and jars, clean them out thoroughly prior to using them in any of the following projects.
Here are 15 great ways to reuse glass:
1. Put them on a tree!
Legend of bottle trees:
According to Wikipedia, Glass bottle trees originated in Northern Africa. Superstitious people believed that a genii or imp could be captured in a glass bottle. Legend had it that empty glass bottles placed outside the home could the evil spirits at night, and it would be destroyed the next day in the sunshine. The practice of hanging bottles in trees became widespread first in the Southern states of the United States and now more widespread, where they continue to be used today as colorful garden ornaments.
2. Use them in mosaic art.
One of the most amazing and beautiful examples of this is at Philadelphia's Magic Gardens.
click on the photo to go to my entire set from Philadelphia's Magic Gardens
3. Use them as vases. You can use beer bottles, wine bottles, old spaghetti sauce jars or any other glass bottle.
Here's a cutely decorated vase tutorial:
4. Use as a candler holder. Put a taper candle in an old wine bottle or put a votive or tea light in an old mason jar or cleaned out spaghetti jar.
5. Make "gifts in a jar." There are tons of books and recipes out there. Basically you layer all the dry ingredients of a baked good or soup (and many other things), tie on the recipe and give it as a gift.
6. Use for storage for your office or for crafts. Separate out small items - paperclips and thumbtacks for your office or buttons or beads for your crafting supplies.
7. Make terrariums!
8. Reuse your glass bottles and jars as drinking glasses.
9. Put a pump on top and use as a soap dispenser.
11. Make sand art.
12. Use them as windows in your home.
(The above photo is from that post.)
14. Keep your collections in jars: marbles, buttons, etc.
