Recycled Water Bottle Crafts
How to Make Recycled Crafts from Water Bottles Including: Flower Patio Lights, Crushed Water Bottle Panda Bears, and a Water Bottle Octopus
DIY Recycled Water Bottle Flower Patio Lights
What you will need:
Clean, Dry Water Bottles with Lids (The lightest ones you can find, the thinner the better.)
Christmas Tree Lights
Sharp Scissors and/or a Knife
Krylon Stained Glass Color - Translucent paint for glass, metal, and wood. (It also worked great on the plastic bottles.)
Spray Paint for Plastic in Contrasting Colors (Optional)
Watch a "View it and Do it" Video about how to make this craft:
How to Make the Water Bottle Flowers:
1. Using a sharp pair of scissors cut off the top of the water bottles anywhere from 2" to 4" from the top of the bottles depending on how big you want your flowers. Cut more if you aren't sure. You can always make them smaller.
2. Cut slits from the cut edge up to the bottom of the lid. To make sure they are evenly spaced cut a slit in the front and directly in back. Then cut slits in between those two slits and then in between all the slits. You can round off the edges, leave them straight, or cut them at slants. Some of the water bottles I used had an S-shaped design at the top so I followed the design with the scissors giving the flowers petals a wavy look.
3. Once you have all the slits cut bend back the petals so that they stick straight out.
4. Take the caps off the cut flowers and place the flowers on newspaper outside and spray them with the stained glass color spray paint. You can experiment by painting the outside edges of the petals one color and the insides another, or just paint them all one color. You can spray both sides if you would like, but it isn't really necessary. Spray two light coats of paint letting them dry in between coats.
5. If you don't like the colors of the caps, you can also spray paint them with spray paint made for plastic.
6. While the flowers are drying punch holes in the center of the water bottle caps using sharp scissors or a knife making an X shape in the top of the bottle.
7. Press the caps onto the Christmas lights so that the lights are in the inside of the cap. Press the cap all the way down past the light holder to the wire.
8. When the flowers are dry screw them on to the caps on the Christmas lights!
©2012, Carolyn Warvel - See Copyright Information
*Bloggers if you use this craft or a derivative of this craft on your blog you must put a link back to this page for the complete directions.
Recycled Water Bottle Crafts on Other Pages
Other Website with Recycle Crafts
Planetpals - Planetpals has hundreds or recycled craft ideas and links to other websites with recycled crafts for kids.
