The amazing Dale Wayne turns plastic bottles into shimmering joy…
Plastic Bottle arrangement, close-up.
The plastic bottle wreath Dale made for her mom & dad. dalewayne.com
First Place at the Festival of Trees, Orlando Museum of Art, 2011. Dale conceives a large project, then asks the community to assist as to craft skills. Students from kindergarten to high school help with the bottle ornaments. Dale, in the final phase, assembles all the separate decorations into their finished form.
Festival of Trees, Orlando Museum of Art. The color scheme changes as you move around the tree. dalewayne.com
The tree’s top, Festival of Trees, Orlando Museum of Art. dalewayne.com
Candy Mountain Trees, www.artprize.org
Plastic Bottle Forest, ArtPrize, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2011. Long ago in Africa, colorful glass bottles were hung from trees to capture evil spirits. The spirits would be mesmerized by the colors and get trapped inside the bottles, never to escape. dalewayne.com
Close-up, plastic bottle tree, ArtPrize, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2011. Each tree has a wooden support of base, trunk and branches. Photo by All Things Bright, www.flickr.com
The community helps with large projects. dalewayne.com
Glitter is an essential element in many of the sculptures.
Ingredients to make a wreath. dalewayne.com
A plastic bottle garden hanging. Note the roses. Love this juxtaposition. Dale says the sculpture is holding up well out in the elements. dalewayne.com
Plastic Bottle Arrangement Dale gifted to friends in Michigan. dalewayne.com
Glitter – Dale judges people’s character by their interactions with glitter! dalewayne.com
Plastic Bottle Stopper. dalewayne.com
Dale also makes jewelry. Here; plastic mixed with beads, semi-precious stones, and silver. dalewayne.com
Recycled plastic earrings. dalewayne.com
Dale Wayne On Her Art
Glass artist and jewelry designer Dale says she was wracking her “brain for a way to create glass like forms without the huge equipment larger works require. It occurred to me that I could cut, paint, and manipulate plastic drink bottles with heat to create organic forms that mimic glass.” I’m glad Dale transitioned to reuse as “more than 60 million plastic bottles end up in landfills and incinerators every day – that’s about 22 billion a year!” If we all made our Christmas decorations from plastic bottles, we might reduce the load entering landfills. Kudos to Dale, such beautiful inspiration.
How To Make Plastic Bottle Art
Instructions to make bottle floral arrangements: www.davisart.com
DIY Eco-Friendly Ornaments: dalewayne.com
Another DIY instruction for ornaments: www.heraldnet.com
- Cut the bottom off a plastic bottle about an inch up.
- Paint the bottles.
- Decide what kind of flower you want to create. Make some flowers with petals and some with spirals.
- Apply the finishing touches. Your blossoms can be used for decorations individually or in bunches. If you desire to add glitter, you can either do so while the paint is wet or wait until it dries. If you choose to add glitter later, you must coat the bottle or the petals with glue, sprinkling on glitter before the glue dries.
For petals, cut vertical strips in whatever width you’d like, starting each one at the bottom of the bottle and stopping just before you reach the top. Bend each petal to make a flowerlike design. Squeeze the lower part of the bottle to make cutting easier.
For a bouncy spiral, like a slinky, start at the bottom of the bottle and cut at a slight angle horizontally around the bottle to make one long strip.
I just loved the beautiful creations, maybe I will try a project .
Lovey!
WOW!!!!! I love every piece! I’m so sorry I missed the Festival of Trees this year.
Thanks Marcia. If you want to see my tree it is still on display in the Chihuly front gallery. Sherrey, feel free to email me with question but I am warning you , it’s addictive! … (making the bottles, not emailing me )
What kind of paint do you use for outside displays? Do you have a pic of just the tree base?
Hi. I have a dear friend getting married next year and I would love to make her and the wedding party some fun jewelry using the water bottles they use on their marathon run the month before. (the whole wedding party is doing it) I just wanted to know if you use glass paint or sharpie markers and if you use a heat gun for shaping them. Thank you for any help. Kim
Hi! This looks like an amazing DIY project and I can’t wait to start. But what do you use for the base to hold the petals together? What type of paint do you use? Thanks for the great craft idea!
Hi,
Please contact Dale with your requests. If she is able, I’m sure she would love to help. https://dalewayne.com/contact/
As to base that holds the petals together, I believe you just slice the bottles from bottom to top and the neck of the bottle is what holds the petals together…I believe…
I love your wreaths! I was wondering how you formed the cut and painted water bottles into a wreath form? I was attempting to make these using a wooden floral ring and hot glueing each cut water bottle to it. I didn’t know if there was a better way. Also, yours are so full! Mine didn’t look so good. Any tips, I would really appreciate! Thanks!!!
Do you have a pattern to make a wreath I am not very crafty but would love to try this. My son is disabled and plays wheelchair hockey If the wreath turned out, I want to try sell them to make some money for the league Thanks so much
I am not very creative at all. I’d love to have one of your wreaths. Please let me know, if you sell them and how much you charge. You are so talented, thank you for saving the planet, one bottle at a time.
Jenny @ cryderman . com