CANVAS WALL ART SET

CONCEPT:

BEER BOTTLE DRINKING GLASSES

CONCEPT:
Cut, sand, recycle empty beer bottles with unique and interesting labels into a set of cool drinking glasses.

PLAN:
Take a few empty beer bottles. Wash them out. Wrap a cotton string around the part of the bottle you want to cut, and tie a knot. Slide the string off of the bottle and soak it in lighter fluid or nail polish remover. Slide the string back onto the bottle and light it. Turn the bottle so that the flames move evenly. After a few seconds, dunk the bottle in ice water, and it should crack, separating the top and bottom. Sand the raw edge down to a smooth finish, and clear coat the outside of the bottle with a protective coating to prevent damage to the label during washing. (hand wash only)

STATUS:
This is a lot harder than it sounds. The bottles keep breaking extremely unevenly.

I keep trying different variables to see what the problem is, turning the bottle at different speeds and angles, using different amounts of string, different temperatures of water. I have narrowed it down, I think, to braiding the string, turning the bottle slowly, and using the coldest possible water, with lots of ice. I may need to see if there is a difference between using lighter fluid and nail polish remover. Perhaps one burns hotter than the other.

OUIJA BOARD COFFEE TABLE

CONCEPT:
I want to take an old wooden coffee table and turn it into a giant ouija board.

PLAN:
I want to take the coffee table and sand it down to bare wood. I will then need to use photoshop to create a pattern. Photoshop has an option to tile an image onto several sheets of paper during printing to lay them together in order and create a giant image. I want to use this way to make a stencil that I can lay directly onto my table. I need to use tissue paper or graphite paper to transfer the image onto the table. I am debating on doing wood burning to put the image down, or coloring it black with sharpies. I am leaning toward sharpies, as I feel I have more control over the markers than a woodburner. Once the image is copied onto the table, I will have to seal it to protect it and keep it looking nice.

STATUS:
I just happened to find a perfect coffee table sitting out for the trash. I got it and cleaned it up.

Working on sanding the table. I am sanding it by hand with a sanding block, which is a lot of work, so I'm only going to sand the top part of the table where I'll be working.