Green DIY Holiday Décor: Wine Bottle Candle Holders

If you’re looking for some cheap, green ideas for holiday décor that don’t look like a fourth grader’s art project, Design Sponge has instructions for wine bottle candle holders that look chic and cost far less than store-bought décor. And no, this doesn’t entail simply sticking a taper candle into the mouth of a wine bottle. Using a glass cutter, you cut the bottles at varying heights to create a custom-made tablescape.

From Design Sponge:

Here’s what you’ll need:

-Glass cutting kit (we like this one or this one)
-Empty wine or beer bottles
-Sandpaper for polishing cut edges
-Candle
-Ice cube

Making a vase or candle holders out of a glass bottle isn’t rocket science, but it does take some practice. Don’t be upset or frustrated if you end up sacrificing a few bottles to the recycling bin before you master the fine art of scoring. To get started, adjust the cutter so that your bottle lies flat on the rollers with the scoring blade at your desired height. Using both hands, carefully roll the bottle towards you, keeping steady pressure as you create as straight a score line as possible around the entire bottle. Remember that to get a nice clean break in your glass it’s more important that the line be straight, not necessarily deep.

Now it’s time for the fire and ice. Light your candle, and holding the score line directly above the flame, slowly rotate the bottle for 20-30 seconds. Then do a few quick rotations so that the score line is evenly heated all around. Next, grab an ice cube and slide it along the score. This is where it gets interesting. If you hear any clicks or tiny cracking noises, this is a good sign. Most bottles won’t separate during the first round, so you may have to repeat the fire and ice routine a few times before the bottle magically (and cleanly!) snaps in two.

Soften the cut edges of the glass with sandpaper and you’ve got yourself a perfect little vase (or candle holder, or drinking glass)… Experiment with different sizes and heights and you’ll see that the possibilities are endless!

This could be really beautiful with jewel-toned bottles in different shapes. It’s a great way to reuse the many wine bottles your family imbibed on Thanksgiving, and it totally cuts out the need to run out and consume more crap you don’t need. Check back with EarthFirst over the coming weeks for more cool DIY holiday projects.

Link [Design Sponge]

Oh The Humanity! Economic Downturn Impacting Wives of Rich Asshole Bankers

It looks like we’re staring down the barrel of a pretty healthy recession and it’s important to remember the people truly being affected by the economic downturn- the wives of rich bankers. The NY Post reports that the spouses of some of the guys behinds the Bear Sterns meltdown are cutting back on basic necessities like high end interior decorating. They have it:

“We only had about $50,000 worth of final touches [to go], and the wife called me last week and said stop,” said interior designer Darren Henault, whose work has been featured in Vanity Fair and Elle Decor.

“She said they’re not poor, and are never going to be poor,” Henault said, “but their capacity for discretionary income for things like window valances just went out the window.”

It just reminds me how cold and cruel the world can be.

Link [New York Post]