I've been saving glass bottles and jars to recycle into utensil containers, paint rinse cups, vases, candle holders, windchimes and whatever else. At this point i could break half of them and still have plenty. I have a glass bottle cutter and the stuff to sand down the cut rims afterward. (I read somewhere that the sanded rims are fragile and it's best to heat the glass rim with a propane torch, but i dunno if i'm up for that.)

I'm thinking about how to turn these plain containers into nicer items, ideally so i can keep saving my bottles and recycling them into gifts. I've read about engraving glass with a rotary tool (which i own, with plenty of diamond bits, and i've engraved on metal), and the only other thing i know of would be using armor etch, but i'd have to hand cut the stencils and it sounds tedious and messy.

I don't know how concerned i should be about the glass shattering as i am engraving. I have glass cutting oil, or do i need to rig up some kind of tub with a water drip to engrave in? I know glass dust is a problem, too. I've waited until summer to start this project so i can work outside, at least until i get the feel for it.

Has anyone engraved on glass or done a similar decorative project with recycled bottles and jars? Or just a project with cut down containers? How'd it go? What did you make?

i live in alaska and i've started doing some very slapdash lazy composting. i bought a wire pet pen off amazon for $35ish that comes in 8 panels, and then i split that into two 4 panel segments, and then i staked & zip tied them behind my shed to form two wire boxes and i've been tossing yard & kitchen veg waste in there willy nilly. the advice i got was it's tough to compost here properly because of the 6 months of winter, so just put everything in a pile and cover the top when the snow comes, and then next year when it thaws, dig it out and use it.

i'm thinking about starting a small indoor worm farm this fall to handle kitchen waste in the winter months, instead of having to shovel a path to the compost bins.

i have a large raised garden bed and i think the lady who had the place before us just put her kitchen waste in the corner of the bed. there's a lot of happy worms in the soil.

anyone got any tips for composting options in northern latitudes?