It Isn’t Great But It’s Green

by Robert C Murray
(Fernley, Nevada, USA)

Bud Vase

Back when I was in the “old” U.S. Army, just before rocks turned hard, I saw empty Tabasco Sauce bottles used as toothpick holders.

My dear wife refuses to accept them as a viable addition to the kitchen but I saved a few empty bottles in the garage. Occasionally I pondered what to do with these little bottles - but nothing. One day I was thinking about using cement (Sudotufa mix) as a clay replacement, to make a flower vase(without a kiln). The biggest drawback: it was not exactly water-proof. T

hen I thought, “Wait a minute, what about those Louisiana Hot Sauce bottles? I could use them as a test; an insert for a small bud-vase.”

I used a large Styrofoam cup as the mold and made two pours.

In the first pour I embedded the bottle partially in the mix and let the cement mix cure over-night.

The next day I poured the second mix and inserted the inverted bottle and cement from the first pour.

The following day I removed the piece from the mold, cleared the bottle opening of mix, and scored a few lines in the damp surface. After the vase had cured for a few days I filled the scored area with Bondo® (two-part putty manufactured by 3M) and in a few hour I sanded the vase to remove the excess Bondo® and smooth the surface of the vase.

When I showed the completed bud vase with a box flower in it to my wife she said, without the slightest bit of hesitation, “I’ll take that.”

BTW, you could use any size jar or bottle to make a vase that will hold water from your favorite mix.

Woman of Many Sticks reply:

I agree with your wife - what a fabulous idea! And great as well as green - keep those bottles out of the landfill.
Thanks so much for sharing, Robert!