2020 Recycling Project
Made from recycled bottle glass, we love this jewelry for its lighter weight, unique shapes, and playful designs!
This Process for recycled bottle glass jewelry is in addition to “The Process” outlined lower in this post.
- Have fun breaking bottles
- Sanitize the best pieces
- Fire in the kiln to flatten the bottle glass pieces as much as possible, and to properly anneal, or, cool the glass.
Some pieces are curved and maintain their natural shape, so bottle glass jewelry varies in thickness and curve. - Sandblast
- Drill the holes
- Hand-paint the design
- Seal the design to the glass. The sealant endures our rigorous testing!
- Hand-form the metal loops from colored craft wire.
NOTICE: if you have metal allergies, please refrain from purchase.
Click here to shop for the latest Bottle Glass Jewelry!
The following is from our 2012 Post, Recycling – About the Bottle
The Process: Transforming Bottles into Art
- Empty the bottles and rinse to prevent sediment
- Immerse the bottles in hot water to loosen the labels
- Use a razor blade to get the labels off completely
- Scrub with steel wool because no label glue can remain
- Let dry completely
- Use alcohol to rinse bottles and completely wipe down the outsides too.
No water spots or fingerprints can remain or they will be fused permanently into the glass. - Let dry completely (it took 2 days to get to this point)
- Day 3: Now the bottles can go into the kiln to heat, melt, and anneal (cool) properly.
- After the bottles have slumped flat with a handled neck, I can finish the bottles with or without labels.
After over 20 years in the glass industry, I decided it’s time to explore the process of melting glass bottles.
– Michelle Copeland
One would think this is a simple process, but after diving in, I realize recycling bottles is more difficult than traditional glass fusion.
Perhaps the most important info I can share with you is this; glass bottles are all made of “mystery glass”. Every bottle has a different manufacturer and every manufacturer uses a different type of glass to produce the bottles. To add to the mystery, results vary based on bottle glass color, thickness, and shape.
Some bottles are perfectly shiny, while others come out soft-looking, not shiny at all. The really odd bottles have a little bit of both going on. It looks like an exhaled breath on a window.
With these things in mind, please note we no longer make glass bottle trays. Click here to see what we still have available!
2013 note – Food Safe Labels are sealed with a clear coat guaranteed food-safe, non-toxic, and waterproof.
Click here for my Glass Care and Use guide.
Keepin’ it Green,
Michelle