Happy New Year!
I’m still catching up on some DIY gift posts here, so I’d like to show you some drinking glasses I made for some special people for Christmas this year. If you’d like to know more about how to cut glass bottles, or how to etch glass, click on those links back there.
I spent a lot of time with a rotary tool (the most popular brand name of these is a Dremmel), grinding down the edges so they were safe for human mouths. There was a lot of sparkly dust everywhere after that.
These ones were for Cait, who has a lovely dachshund named Ruby. The glass I used came from vinho verde (the pale blue) and riesling (the dark blue). Out of curiosity (and as a rather lengthy aside), I asked my cousin Lindz, who studied as a sommelier, why certain wines come in different coloured bottles. I figured she’d know the answer — of course she did. It’s all about the UV exposure. Wines that are to be consumed in a short amount of time require no UV protection, hence the whites you pick up at the wine store coming in clear or blue bottles. Reds need more time to sit around, and so come in the darker green or brown bottles. Blue bottles, according to Lindz, are not as commonly manufactured, and so are more expensive, but easier to recycle. I hope to have a bit more on the amazing machinations of Lindz and her very clever team when I’m in Vancouver this summer, but until then you can check out their most recent television appearance here. If you are on the lower mainland, I recommend checking Re-Up out!
The dog stencils I got off the internet and stretched a bit to fit the glass diameter. I used a cutout for one and then produced a “negative” using the bit I cut out and by frosting the rest of the glass.
These ones are for Rusty, who is living the life in a bachelor pad with another dude and an enormous television set. I figure these glasses, which I made out of some fancy Italian water bottles, will hold beer and also a Rusty-sized serving of milk or juice.
I figured he would like to know how much he’s drinking. I like the slightly blue tint of these glasses, though the thinness of the bottle meant that I did crack two attempts by overheating it. That’s why there are only three — I cracked two bottles and then the grocery store stopped stocking that brand of water, so I couldn’t get any more.
And these ones are for Kristopf, who moved in with his fiancée, Atlas, this year. I figure the glasses are grown-up enough that both male and female members of this household will approve. They are made out of Perrier bottles, many of which I broke while learning how to cut on a curve. I think the little sprout pattern is well-suited to the green glass.
Ali Does It Herself 