Icicles from plastic bottles? It’s easier than you think! You only need a common plastic bottle, scissors and a candle.
At the end of this blog entry you also find a video of this tutorial.
You can do this craft with every common water – or soda bottle. It doesn’t matter if the bottle is uneven. It will straighten itself out.
At first you need to remove the top and the bottom of the cleaned bottle. A sharp cutter or scissors will to the trick. You only need the middle part of the bottle for this craft.
Cut stripes from the plastic bottle.
Trim the ends of the stripes with your scissors.
One end should be pointy, the other end rounded.
Now to the fun part:
Hold the plastic stripe with boths hands above a candle flame. Keep a distance of 10 cm (or 5 inches) to the flame. The heat of the flame will soften the plastic and make it bendable.
Pull and twist! While pulling both ends apart, twist the plastic with one hand. Start on one end of the plastic stripe and work your way to the other end. The plastic will only twist where the heat of the flame hits it. So remember to adjust the position of the plastic accordingly.
When you are done, continue to hold your icicle for a moment longer until it has hardened again.
Punch holes with a hole punch tool (available here*) in the rounded end your the icicle if you want to use them as ornaments.
You can also use a heated needle to melt holes into the plastic.
Experiment with different widths, sizes and colors for varying results.
The icicles look pretty as ornaments on a tree, but they also make awesome wintry window decorations or can be used for wind chimes.
video-tutorial for icicles from plastic bottles
Summary for pinterest:
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