DIY lantern

Got some old bottles lying around? Here’s a neat way to recycle them. Make them into tabletop lanterns – perfect for dinner parties either indoors or out.

Click to enlarge

You need a glass cutter, some boiling water and cold water. Make a shallow score right around the surface of the bottle at the base with the glass cutter.

Then take your bottle to a sink and pour a small amount of boiling water (have a kettle close by) over the scoreline to heat up the bottle. Once the bottle is heated, hold it under the cold water for a few seconds.

Repeat the process, slowing pouring boiled water onto the scoreline of the bottle until the bottom of the bottle literally falls off.

You can then sand the edges with sandpaper to get them extra smooth.

If you’d like to see this in action, we found this video here which shows how it’s done.