https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/cut-glass-bottles-with-stuff-around-your-house • Posted by aranumenwen
::Warning:: I probably a good idea to read all (or most, at least) of the directions and stuff before you try this. But you can totally skim over all my weirdo rambling parts though. :::: I saw this on pinterest and I thought it was a prank (like the glow in the dark mountain dew thing ugh -_- I was soooo disappointed) Me and my sister decided to try it while she was home for Christmas. Totally does work. Sorry I don't have any real process pictures! I just recreated the basics on my desk next to my computer, minus the nail polish remover. The instructions are easy enough to follow anyway. PLUS! I write long winded instructions. I have tons of things planned to branch off of this one so there should be pictures for this one soon. It's cold out now so I don't have much motivation to be out there. I also apologize for the fact that I can't remember the original site that I read this on, aside from Pinterest. ::Notes on supplies:: Your glass bottles have to be kinda thin. I used beer bottles, obviously. We tried wine bottles too, but yeah, that didn't work. (I have to figure out a new method for that one) So beer bottles, smirnoff ice bottles, even wine cooler bottles...whatever else you crazy kids are drinking out of glass bottles these days, 40 ouncers! Maybe? I haven't tried Sobe bottles, and my next attempt is gonna be the imported monster bottles, they're such a pretty colour of green. I'll definitely update if any of my later attempts with different thickness of bottles works. You may want to find one of those long lighters like the kind for lighting candles and stoves and stuff like that. Bic's work too as long as it lights a fire really. It just all depends how good you are at not burning yourself when you try and start fires. The ice water needs to be deep enough to submerge your bottle. So keep that in mind. And it doesn't need to be completely ice, just really cold. I just filled up a 5 gallon bucket halfway and left it outside in the midwest. The cup should be one you don't care about messing up, no paper cups though (it would just leak out). I used one of those tiny disposable gladware dipping cups. I wanted something with a lid so the nail polish remover didn't evaporate. I don't really know how safe it is to have had nail polish remover in a drinking cup, I'd imagine the plastic could absorb some of it. Glass should be fine though as long as you wash it really good. If anyone has an actual straight answer on that one, let me know. As far as the latex/nitro gloves....I know its nail polish remover and it belongs on your hands and everything but it's still toxic to ingest. And they won't really save you from the glass really but hey safety first right? The latex gloves are good because you can still have nearly full dexterity when they're on and they're disposable.
::Warning:: I probably a good idea to read all (or most, at least) of the directions and stuff before you try this. But you can totally skim over all my weirdo rambling parts though. :::: I saw this on pinterest and I thought it was a prank (like the glow in the dark mountain dew thing ugh -_- I was soooo disappointed) Me and my sister decided to try it while she was home for Christmas. Totally does work. Sorry I don't have any real process pictures! I just recreated the basics on my desk next to my computer, minus the nail polish remover. The instructions are easy enough to follow anyway. PLUS! I write long winded instructions. I have tons of things planned to branch off of this one so there should be pictures for this one soon. It's cold out now so I don't have much motivation to be out there. I also apologize for the fact that I can't remember the original site that I read this on, aside from Pinterest. ::Notes on supplies:: Your glass bottles have to be kinda thin. I used beer bottles, obviously. We tried wine bottles too, but yeah, that didn't work. (I have to figure out a new method for that one) So beer bottles, smirnoff ice bottles, even wine cooler bottles...whatever else you crazy kids are drinking out of glass bottles these days, 40 ouncers! Maybe? I haven't tried Sobe bottles, and my next attempt is gonna be the imported monster bottles, they're such a pretty colour of green. I'll definitely update if any of my later attempts with different thickness of bottles works. You may want to find one of those long lighters like the kind for lighting candles and stoves and stuff like that. Bic's work too as long as it lights a fire really. It just all depends how good you are at not burning yourself when you try and start fires. The ice water needs to be deep enough to submerge your bottle. So keep that in mind. And it doesn't need to be completely ice, just really cold. I just filled up a 5 gallon bucket halfway and left it outside in the midwest. The cup should be one you don't care about messing up, no paper cups though (it would just leak out). I used one of those tiny disposable gladware dipping cups. I wanted something with a lid so the nail polish remover didn't evaporate. I don't really know how safe it is to have had nail polish remover in a drinking cup, I'd imagine the plastic could absorb some of it. Glass should be fine though as long as you wash it really good. If anyone has an actual straight answer on that one, let me know. As far as the latex/nitro gloves....I know its nail polish remover and it belongs on your hands and everything but it's still toxic to ingest. And they won't really save you from the glass really but hey safety first right? The latex gloves are good because you can still have nearly full dexterity when they're on and they're disposable.
You're gonna wanna set up everything first. Once you start it goes pretty fast and time is of the essence on this one. Also, you may wanna just go outside for this, just in case. (it's not really dangerous or anything, but broken glass is better left outside) An assembly line set-up worked best for us. Gather your ingredients and fill up your bucket with water and ice and let it get nice and cold before you start. (If you decide to do this inside you could always just use your kitchen sink)
Take your bottle. Measure out and cut: three pieces of yarn that can wrap around your bottle. Leave enough slack so that you can tie a knot at both ends (to tie the three pieces together) and enough to be able to tie the yarn around your bottle. WAIT!!! Don't tie it on there yet.
Fill your little cup with nail polish remover enough to soak your yarn in. If you didn't already guess... Put the yarn in the nail polish remover and let it soak for a little bit. p.s. it the same cup I use for water marbling my nails.
Now, no more dawdling once you start these next steps. We found out if you take to long it doesn't work as well. You don't need to go super speed or anything....just, uhhhmmm no dilly dallying.
When the yarn is COMPLETELY saturated take it out carefully and tie it around the bottle where you want to cut it. Make sure you don't wring out the yarn too much when you do that though. Also, make sure that your yarn is straight all the way around. Diagonals cuts didn't work out for us. The yarn is a really accurate gauge to where it's going to break. Grab the little tails or your knots tuck on into the strands going around the bottle and leave the other one all dangle-y
THE FUN PART!!!! Use your lighter and the light your dangle-y knot end on fire. Hold it at the base of the bottle, or at the biggest part. Now nail polish remover burns kinda funny, so it's really hard to see the flames so you have to really pay attention here.
As soon as you light the yarn on fire start slowly rotating the bottle. keep paying attention to it (make sure it doesn't go out) and, ya know, don't burn yourself or anything. We ended up just looking at it sideways, and looked for the heat waves coming off of it. It's a good idea to light it and start spinning it close to the bucket of ice water, as in like right over it. Keep in mind that the yarn won't burn up at all. It's just the nail polish remover itself burning off of and leaving the yarn in tact.
Immediately after the fire goes out...Super quick stick the bottle in the ice water. If you hear a pop, it worked. Course, if you're paying attention to what you're doing you'd see them separate anyway. It should break immediately so there's no waiting to find out if it worked or not.
If it didn't work no worries you can try it again with the same bottle, but you're gonna need new yarn. One of the version I saw of this said that sometimes it takes a couple tries to get it right? We got it on our first try even though we were standing there "Is this even right? What is this, I don't even!"
Troubleshooting still? The water may not have been cold enough. Maybe the yarn wasn't thick enough, you could try 4-6 lengths instead of three. Possibly the yarn didn't burn long enough. Consider trying a different kind of nail polish remover. Acetone helps but isn't necessary. The whole trick is change the temperature of the glass fast enough to freak it out so it breaks. Dude man, it's like science.
In the supplies list there's a nail file and sandpaper listed....for sanding the edges of the glass down and making it all fancy smooth-ness. I haven't done that part yet because I Didn't really plan on using these one for anything excepting a trial run. I'm waiting for some fancier bottles till I go all out.