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The amount of garbage that each person “produces” is growing year by year. The problem is becoming global, as flying plastic bags and plastic bottles lying everywhere have already pricked everyone’s eyes. I am burning, it turns out, you can help, and even for the benefit of yourself. In any case, this applies to plastic bottles. You will be surprised how diverse and, importantly, useful crafts from plastic bottles can be made in just a matter of minutes. Well, or hours … Depends on the scale.
The buildings
PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is a thermoplastic from which bottles are made. It will be useful to know its physical properties:
- density – 1,38-1,4 g / cm³,
- softening temperature (t dim.) – 245 ° C,
- melting point (t pl.) – 260 ° C,
- glass transition temperature (t st.) – 70 ° C,
- decomposition temperature – 350 °C.
Plastic bottles are very convenient to use, but harmful to the environment, since the polyethylene from which they are made decomposes for more than 200 years. The same property makes it possible to use practically waste raw materials as a building material. Craftsmen are already building houses from plastic bottles, as well as sheds, dachas, greenhouses, greenhouses, fences. Various technologies have been worked out – the approach is quite serious.
How to build a house out of plastic bottles
The main idea is to pour bulk material into bottles, screw them with caps and use them like bricks. Fill the bottles with sand, soil. Sand is preferable, as there is too much plant debris in the soil that can rot. It must be sifted, dried, bottled, well compacted, topped up even to the very top. Get kind of bricks.
To build a house from plastic bottles, you will need a solution that fills the gaps between the “bricks”. There are options here too. It can be an ordinary mortar, which is used when laying brick walls, or clay mortar can be made. To keep the “bricks” in the wall until the mortar sets, they are tied with twine from the side of the covers. Later, these “grids” will come in handy when you plaster the walls. They turn out uneven, so alignment is indispensable.
We make a greenhouse, barn, greenhouse
From plastic bottles you can build a greenhouse or greenhouse. In this case, only transparent plastic is used, since it is necessary that the light passes in sufficient quantities. For the construction of a barn, on the contrary, it makes sense to choose darker plastic – it will be less visible what is inside.
The first technology – one to one
The second requirement for bottles as a building material is an even shape. This, you know, without recesses. Otherwise, folding the walls so that they retain heat will not work – it will “siphon” into curly cutouts. Remove labels from bottles and dry. It is also necessary to prepare pins or rods – bottles are strung on them. Their diameter is small so that the neck passes freely. Now you can start building a greenhouse / barn from plastic bottles.
For the construction of a greenhouse or a barn, poles are dug in at the corners. Frames are assembled from timber according to the size of the walls. These frames will be the base for the bottle walls. We collect them (frames) on the ground and fasten them to dug-in poles in a ready-made form. When making the frames, don’t forget the doorway and windows.
The construction process begins with cutting the bottom. We string the cut bottles on the pins, directing the necks in one direction. We insert the bottles with force so that they become very tight. Having collected a row of the desired height, we attach it to the frame. You can fasten with clamps, strips cut from metal, nails … In any way available to you. We press the second row to the first so that there is a slight deformation. We fasten in this position. So, row after row, we collect all the walls, then the roof.
Using the same technology, you can make a gazebo. But there is already no need for tightness, so you can collect figured and colored containers. It will turn out even more interesting (an example is in the photo).
The second technology is sewing plastic
Bottles will also need to be smooth, transparent or yellow. The central part is cut out of them, getting a square-shaped piece of plastic. Pieces are sewn together in long strips. In the strip, the pieces are arranged so that they are twisted in one direction. Then the strips are sewn into canvases. To make the canvas even, the strips are arranged so that they are twisted in different directions. As a result, they equalize each other. Finished canvases are nailed to the frame. On this, the construction of the greenhouse of their plastic bottles is over.
Such a plan “sheathing” for greenhouses perfectly tolerates winters, it does not need to be removed. Due to the firmware (many small holes), there is no absolute tightness, which allows you to adjust the humidity. You won’t be able to heat such a greenhouse, but it will push autumn back to you, and it will speed up the arrival of spring.
You can sew plastic for the greenhouse manually, but it’s not easy. It will be easier for those who have non-capricious sewing machines. The old Podolsk cars cope with this task. Others may have problems.
Fence and fence
There are many ways to make a fence out of plastic bottles. If you need a serious monolithic fence, you can use the bottles as bricks. The technology is the same as when building a house. To avoid plaster (after all, there is a high risk that it will collapse) – select the color of the plastic to obtain the necessary rust. But in this case, you will have to look for “building materials” of the same diameter or lay out patterns from different sizes. In general, the creative process, no matter how you look at it.
You can also make filling for the fence from plastic bottles. Make a frame, say, from wood, and come up with a beautiful filling from curly containers and their parts.
Furniture from improvised materials: recycle plastic bottles
From plastic bottles you can make not only a house and a fence, they are also used as the basis for upholstered furniture. The idea is to use plastic containers instead of wood for the frame. With tightly screwed lids, they have a high bearing capacity, and assembled in blocks, they are quite able to withstand loads of up to 100 kg or more.
Although the furniture is made differently, the general algorithm of actions is the same:
- Select “building material” of the same height, tighten the covers well.
- Assemble the blocks of the desired size, fastening them with tape.
- Having collected the base of the required shape, sew the cover. For softness, adding furniture foam rubber.
The whole trick is that the bottles fit one to the other very tightly and do not move. The slightest play can lead to the destruction of the structure. Therefore, collect the blocks slowly, carefully fixing. You can fold the bottles in layers, securing each layer in several places. For the inner layers, it is better to use double-sided tape – the fixation will be more reliable.
Ottomans / banquettes
The easiest way is to make an ottoman or a bench out of plastic bottles. We act in the order described above. It is necessary to find bottles of the same height. It is better if they are of the same shape – it is easier to collect. From plastic containers with tightly screwed lids, we assemble the base in the form of a cylinder. It is desirable that the radius of the base be greater than the height of the bottles – so the bench will not turn over.
Next, you need to cut out two circles from fiberboard, which will be slightly larger than the resulting base radius – this is the “bottom” and the base of the seat. We fix them with tape. We take furniture foam rubber and, according to the dimensions obtained, cut out the necessary spare parts. We sew a cover from furniture fabric, a color that matches the interior.
Such a bench can be not only round. It is quite possible to make a square. And so that this furniture is not too light, it can be weighted by pouring water. But water is not a very reliable business. It is better to pour sand. Heavier and more reliable.
Sofas, chairs, armchairs
If you need furniture of greater height than one bottle, proceed as when creating walls for a house. Find “material” of the same shape and height. The first bottle is left intact, the cork is screwed tightly (you can pour sand so that it does not turn over). The bottom of the other is cut off, put one on top of the other. The bottle goes a certain distance and does not move any further, no matter how hard you try. If the resulting height is enough – great, if not – put on the next one. In this way, collect the rows of the desired height, then fasten them into blocks.
There is another way. It is more reliable in the sense that the bottles are held not by compressed air, but by a mechanical stop. And the walls in them are double, which is also important. Minus – more work, more raw materials are needed. The whole process in a step by step illustration.
- We take a bottle, cut it approximately in the middle of the height (the upper part with the neck is smaller).
- The upper part of the neck (the lid is screwed on) is inserted all the way into the bottom.
- We take a whole one, of the same size and shape, insert it upside down into the prepared structure.
- We cut the third one in about half and put the lower part on top (with a lid).
From such modules we assemble blocks of the desired configuration, fastening them with adhesive tape. Don’t feel sorry for the scotch. You can first fasten two bottles, then assemble large blocks from double ones.
As you understand, with this technology, there are a lot of tops from bottles (half of the third bottle). They can be used to make other crafts from plastic bottles: flowers, more practical household items.
Flower making methods
The most common plastic bottle crafts are garden figurines and flowers. Read about garden figurines here. There are other interesting ideas, but there are many interesting animals and insects collected. And we will tell about flowers from plastic bottles below – these are probably those crafts from plastic bottles that give the most pleasure. The process is simple, the possibilities are many, the result is amazing.
You have probably noticed that the bottom of a PET bottle looks like a flower. All you need to do is find a bottle of a beautiful color, cut off the bottom of it. Now you already have a pretty flower. In the middle, you can add petals cut from the central part, a core from a plastic strip cut with noodles, or glue beads inside, but a little more about everything.
Using the power of fire
To work, you will need a marker, a lighter or a candle (it is more convenient with a candle). If available, take pliers, tweezers or pliers to hold the workpiece during processing. You will also need acrylic paints, you may need glue and beads. The whole manufacturing process comes down to several steps:
- We take a bottle, on it we draw the contours of a flower with a marker. You can draw on any part. It’s just that the petals will be curved to varying degrees.
- Cut along the contour.
Draw, cut - We light a candle and gently heat the petals. It is important to seize the moment and not melt the plastic. Heat the edges a little more so that they melt a little, forming a more natural edge of the petal.
- With the help of an awl heated on fire, we make holes in the middle of the resulting petals.
- We paint with acrylic paints. Flowers will be opaque. There are also paints for glass (for stained-glass windows), but they are expensive, although it turns out beautifully.
Warm up on fire, giving interesting shapes - Once the paint is dry, you can assemble the flower by lining up the holes in the center, unfolding the petals however you like. You can fasten them with a thread or thin wire with a threaded button or a large bead. A button or bead is the core. You can combine the petals and fasten with a drop of glue, and decorate the core with a strip of the same plastic (or another color) cut into noodles.
- The stem can be made of green wire, or you can wrap any wire with a strip of green plastic heated on a candle fire (in a spiral).
There are a lot of options here. Just start doing. Right away, it may not work out perfectly, but you will understand what and how can be corrected. See a few more pictures with step-by-step photos of the process of making flowers from plastic bottles.
The most simple
For beginner needleworkers, you can try making flowers from plastic bottles of simple shapes to decorate the garden. In this case, milk containers can also be used. In order not to paint plastic, look for colored ones. It doesn’t matter if they are transparent or not. They can be combined, getting flowers of different shapes.
To create such flowers, use the part near the neck. It is cut to form petals. Next – warm up a little, giving the desired bend to the petals, a little paint, a core of a melted piece with a thread (a bottle of a smaller diameter, a pharmacy will do). Here is the buttercup.
Another option is to cut from the neck into strips of equal width – 1-1,5 cm, bend them (warming up a little at the base). Make the middle whisk from the side of a milk bottle or paint the transparent plastic with acrylic paint.
The middle is any bright. Here is a piece of cork, but you can cut it into thin noodles, roll it up and then heat it up. Get a fluffy core.
The topic is really inexhaustible. Flowers from plastic bottles are made in a variety of ways. From simple and uncomplicated to very realistic. It’s not so much about skill, but about different tastes and desires.
Useful ideas for the home
PET containers turned out to be such a good material that a lot of useful things are made from them. In this section, we have collected useful crafts from plastic bottles that can be used on the farm.
For the kitchen and beyond
If you cut off the bottom of a bottle with a capacity of 2-3 liters, you get a bowl or a bowl, and so that its edges are even, they can be melted on a heated iron. But so that the sole does not have to be cleaned later, use a special silicone pad. If not, you can do it through a sheet of parchment for baking.
From the same bottle we cut off the threaded part. 1-2 cm of plastic should remain around the thread (the edges are melted using already known technology). Now it will not be difficult to hermetically close any package: we pass it through the cut off neck, wrap it outward, twist the lid.
From the bottom of the bottles attached to the bar, you get a great newspaper shelf (photo on the right). You can also store umbrellas.
From plastic cut into strips, you can weave different shapes of containers. Bottles need an even shape, with thick walls. They are cut into strips of a certain thickness. It is necessary to cut in a spiral – as a result, rather long strips are obtained. If their length is not enough, they sew perfectly.
Lampshades
You can even make a lampshade, but on one condition: you will use such crafts from plastic bottles in lamps with LED lamps – only they almost do not heat up. Plastic is incompatible with other lamps. We will describe three ways to make a lampshade from a plastic bottle.
First. You need a large bottle. We draw it into strips of the same width. At the beginning and at the end of each strip, we make holes with a heated soldering iron or a nail heated on fire. We insert scissors into this hole, cut. Get even stripes.
When the strips are cut, we also make a hole in the bottom, pass a thick fishing line through the neck, bring it out through the hole in the bottom, and fasten the decor on the reverse side. You can – a button, you can – a pebble of a suitable color. Now, pulling the fishing line, we get an interesting shape of a lampshade. You can put a light bulb in it.
Another lampshade was made using a similar technology. But then they cut a part of the bottle with a neck into strips, wrapped the strips and fixed them on the neck. To give the desired shape, the place of the fold can be warmed up a little over the flame of a candle or lighter. The resulting “flowers” are attached to the base. Here we get an unusual design.
They also make lampshades from bottoms. You need to find a sufficient number of identical bottles, cut off their bottom, glue them together using universal glue (choose transparent). The main thing is that it glues plastic and quickly hardens.
flower vases
Making a vase from a plastic bottle – what could be easier … Just cut off the neck and you’re done. But there is a technique that allows you to get patterned walls. You will need a soldering iron with the thinnest tip. Its power should not be too high. Then everything is simple: with the help of a heated sting, you burn out the patterns.
Magically! To make the picture appear brighter, we take acrylic paint and paint the resulting beauty. The paint can be in an ordinary can, but it is faster and more convenient to work with a spray can.
Photo Ideas
Crafts from plastic bottles are such a vast topic that it is impossible to talk about everything. What is nice, knowing a few tricks, you can easily find out how and what to do by looking only at the photos. So here we put together a few ideas that we found interesting.