Another day another upcycle project using plastic bottles!
I recently upcycled a console table using Gyprock Living’s Multi Joint Compound, I loved working with this product so much that I decided to brainstorm some other ideas which it could be used for. Pulling inspiration from my floor lamp upcycle I decided to try making some ceramic inspired vases using plastic bottles I’ve been hoarding for a “just in case” project – well, that project has arrived!
Materials You Need To Make Ceramic Vases Out Of Bottles
- Plastic Bottles in various sizes
- Scissors (I love these for cutting tough materials)
- Tape
- Multi Joint Compound
- Hot Glue Gun
- Spatula
1
First I began by gathering all the plastic bottles I was planning to use and tried to figure out how to make their shape less plastic bottle like...Not an easy task. For this simple shape, I ended up cutting a Sprite bottle in half and then cutting the top bit in half again just where the neck of the bottle began to curve.
2
I decided to also cut off the neck ring of the bottle and then flip it and reattach it using hot glue to create a curved opening.
3
I then hot glued this section back onto the bottom half of the bottle. Because I originally removed the middle section of the bottle, the new design was much shorter than the original sprite bottle which is exactly how I wanted it!
4
This is definitely an optional step but once the hot glue had fully dried, I wrapped the entire piece in painters tape to act as an adhesive for the Multi Joint Compound to stick to. I tried both with and without the tape, and simply found that when you don't use tape you may have to add an extra coat of joint compound, as the bottle may show through.
5
Once the piece was fully covered in tape I used a small spatula to apply the Multi Joint Compound.
6
This is what my piece looked like after one layer of Multi Joint Compound. I let it dry over night (it may need more time to dry depending on the temperature and humidity). Because there we some spots that were a little bare I decided to give it a quick sand and then apply another layer of Multi Joint Compound and let it dry again. The second layer is optional, I just wanted mine to have a bit more fullness to it.
I ended up giving each of them a light sand once the second layer dried to give it a smoother look, but that’s totally optional! I thought about painting them but decided I like the clean white minimal look – what do you think?
This project is in collaboration with Gyprock Living.
