THE coolest thing I have ever made

In my bottle cutting adventures, I have created tumblers and aperitif glasses and stemless "stem"ware and Collins glasses. Pretty much all manner of glass. I'm pretty happy with my results this far, so I'm ready to try something new: The self-watering planter. I tried it out today in "art class," and I LOVE my results. 

It's pretty simple, too. All you need is a wine bottle and (hopefully) one accurate cut. Seriously. That simple. The hard part is finagling the measurements. You want the neck of your bottle to almost touch the bottom of your base. The problem with this is that wine bottles are always tapered and fancy, AND you have to put the top INSIDE the bottom which messes up just eye-balling it. I'll say that my first attempt was pretty much luck in that it worked out perfectly. My second attempt (which I'm still working on) is requiring a little more ... coaxing. Hopefully it will be done tomorrow and I can share it. 

For my first attempt, I used a pretty simple ice wine bottle with no curves and fancy lines. I actually think it is pretty and simplistic that way. The long cylindrical neck made it easier; today's project has a more tapered neck and that is where I'm facing some challenges. 

The bottle requires one cut and then some sanding. Of course, if your measurements are off, you'll require a lot of sanding. 

The finished product. Simple, right?

Once I had success, I stopped at Lowe's on the way home to find a low-growing, creeping or trailing plant to place in my new planter. I didn't want something with height since the planter is tall on its own, and I wanted something that would eventually trail or creep because I think that would look cool. I also wanted something dainty because this planter isn't very substantial. I chose some kind of ground cover with little blue flowers. 

I placed a cotton ball in the neck to serve as a wick and a stopper (so all my dirt didn't fall out!). I filled the neck with soil, compacting it nicely so there were no air pockets. My plant turned out to be too big, so I split it in two (the other half will look nice in my other planter when I finish it ... tomorrow?) and placed it in the top of the wine bottle. 

How cool it this, really?

I love how you can see the roots through the glass. It's pretty cool. I LOVE this project and foresee many more in my future. I just need to master the measurements and getting right the first time every time.

Roots!

I've had some crafty moments in my life, and I've attempted to make a lot of different things over the years. This little planter is by far the coolest thing I have ever made. EVER.

A vote while you're here would be great! Thanks!