AN ALTERNATIVE CHANDELIER, JUST USE WINE GLASSES

Still sparkly and shiny, this is an alternative chandelier spotted at Bistrot du Sommelier in Singapore.

LOVELY GLASS BOTTLES AND JARS FOR PLANTS OR DUST?

We stumbled upon this picture and thought how cute they are together. We have been clearing out our rooms for a less cluttered 2014 so this picture sort of scare us a little bit too. They are just asking for a collection of not glasses but DUST! They would however be very cute for a day back from the fields in spring or summer. You could always get the children to pick little flowers and grasses to decorate these odd glass bottles and jars lying somewhere at work.

They will make a great center piece to finish with cup cakes and tea!

3 IS A CROWD ECO-FRIENDLY, GUILT-FREE SAKE GLASSES

Our ETSY shop is up! This is to help one of us get to Amsterdam and as a means to sustain in the Netherlands.

These 3 shot glasses each measuring approximately 50ml is hand-cut and hand-buffed recycled glass bottles. These are unique sake glasses which can be used as shot glasses. This adds a guilt-free quality to your savoring the alcohol as they are 100% eco-friendly. As we say, live a little, give a little, save a little with Fidgety Fingers.

BUY IT NOW.

DIY TABLE DECORATION : OR WHAT TO DO WITH WINE GLASSES WITH BROKEN RIMS

Planning a wedding and need some easy DIY table decorations? We found this really cool idea on casasugar. This idea is so simple and cute. If you get engraved wine glasses they could even be used as a gift for guests to take home. You could probably find even cheaper lampshades at a party store, dress the lamp shade up with some beads or flowers and you have a nice decoration.

A CHANDELIER, OVER OUR DEAD BODIES

This is the chandelier of a restaurant in Asia. It is very green but a bit scary to walk under. We hope it is secured properly. It is a superb conversation piece, but we would not put something like that in our homes. Over our dead bodies!

HOW TO MAKE FLAT BREAD WITHOUT A ROLLING PIN AND COOKIE CUTTER

We wanted to make some bellini style flat bread for our eggplant puree and dips. The last time we tried to roll out perfectly round dumpling wrapper from the rolled out dough was a failure. We managed to save a couple of tin cans from the last dinner and away we go with out bellini style flat bread.

ALL YOU NEED IS : A smaller size wine bottle without its label.

And a tin can. Cut off the lids on both sides if you can. It is ok to give leave it open on one side.

You can even bend the tin with some tools to create more interesting shapes.

And check out how they used to make old school cutters.

Sweet! Very Fidgety Fingers indeed!

THEY DRINK FOR THEIR GARDEN

Hyperlocavore.ning.com saved their wine bottles to build this herb bed. It definitely rocks our boat.

IDEAS IDEAS IDEAS

ECO ARCHITECTURE IN SINGAPORE SINCE 1924 : GUESS WHAT? GLASS BOTTLES

This is an interesting fact contributed by a friend, Sheila. We found this amazing. We used to walk pass this mosque very often but never knew the sustainable story behind it. Thank you Sheila!!!
What do you get when a building in Singapore is

• designed by an Irish architect working for a British firm,
  
  
• built in a ethnic quarter marked out by an Englishman,
  
  
• surrounded by roads with Omani and Afghan names, and
  
  
• initially funded by Malays, Bugis, Javanese, Indians and Arabs?

Well, the Sultan Mosque, of course...
The architect: Denis Santry
The firm: Swan & MacLaren
The Englishman: Sir Stamford Raffles
The Roads: Muscat St, Kandahar St
One of the oldest Mosques in Kampong Glam - the area allocated By Stamford Raffles for Sultan Hussein of Singapore - Became a Malay and Arab Settlement.
The first Sultan's Mosque was built about 1824 when North Bridge Road ended at the junction of Arab Street. To erect the present Mosque, North Bridge Road was extended and Jalan Sultan was diverted to provide the space needed for the Mosque.

In the early twentieth century decision was taken by the Trustees and leading Muslim residents of Singapore to erect a new Mosque because the old one needed substantial repairs. The estimated cost for the new Mosque was $200,000 and campaign was launched to raise the funds.

The gold-coloured dome sits on a ringed structure made up entirely of glass bottles (see picture above).

The story behind this ring of bottles is very heart-warming. While the rich donated from their gold stashes to the building of the mosque, the poorer folks raised funds by collecting and selling used glass bottles. Look up at this ring of bottles today, and you are reminded of the humble folks who gave generously out of their poverty.

Today, the mosque continues to welcome people from all economic backgrounds - as was the case in 1924-1928 when it was being built.

THE BEER HOUSE

Have you ever thought of recycling as a creative act? To recycle something doesn’t necessarily mean just hauling used bottles, cans and cardboard to the curbside for pickup. Some creative people, either out of need or personal interest have taken the notion of recycling to the next level, using products that would be melted or shredded as whole objects in the construction of creative new buildings.

Bottle walls sounds like something a quirky eccentric would construct just for fun. In point of fact, the oldest surviving bottle house was constructed out of over 50,000 beer bottles in 1907, due to the lack of lumber available in the deeserts of Nevada. Though many bottle buildings are decades old, recent structures around the world have been built out of necessity in places where both building supplies are scarce and other recycling methods are unavailable.

The now-famous Texas beer can house, however, was indeed the result of one man’s eccentricity. What began as one man’s bored urge in the 1960s resulted in a 2-decade, 40,000-can creation that truly is a strange wonder of the world. John, the house’s creator, is survived by his wife Mary, who still invites the public to come and see his amazing creation. John was just an ordinary man who saved beer bottles for years, until he finally came up with a clever way to use them. The latter two images above come via The Beer Can House dot Org.

From the weburbanist.com

RECYCLED GLASSES WE LOVE

FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS!!!

BUBBLES

VITAMIN SHOTS

We took liquid vitamin bottles and cut the top off to make them into shot glasses. The rim is carefully bluffed to ensure a whole night of shooters without bleeding lips. Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year indeed!!!

CANDLE HOLDERS FOR WINE

WEDDING VESSELS

Our friends Daphne and Norman got married last week. We have offered to cut some of their wine bottles for them so that they can use them as wedding keepsakes for their new home. We also took some candles which unfortunately do not fit our cut vessels. Nevertheless, we have successfully cut 2 vessels and 2 candle sticks for them. We only need to buff the edges now.

WINE PLANTER

COZY SO COOL

We have always associated cozies with grannies and teapots. The new packaging for Diesel perfume changed our mind. The lace-like cozy instantly sex-ify the glass bottle.

FROG FRENZY

We went looking for some miniatures to put into our terrarium before we start. We didn't manage to find exactly what we wanted but we stumbled across these psychedelic frogs. Some of their colors are a tat radioactive-looking, but some are like those beautiful poisonous frogs you see on documentaries. We thought we will put this in one of the mini terrariums and shock the person receiving it. A little boy would love this!

A LIVING SNOW GLOBE

We have been collecting glass jars and bottles for the arrival of our glass cutter. And while we are at the subject of plants, we have decided to make some mini terrariums. We talked about friends without green thumbs and the sweet token of giving something green. It is going to be a disaster if the gift dies before the next time you visit them. So, we thought of fool-proofing it by making terrariums.

Terra is a word meaning Earth in Latin. It is an area, usually enclosed, for keeping and raising animals or plants for observation or research. Often, a portion of the ecosystem for a particular species is simulated on a smaller scale, with controls for environment conditions.

The main requirement is that it be watertight to keep the moisture in. So, non-green thumbs ahoy! This means light watering every month or longer. The plants are usually hardy and do not grow quickly if you keep the water circulating. This is a fabulous mini sustainable environment to create, a sort of 'living snow globe'. A magical gift for kids and the office desk.

BOGGLING BOTTLES

Over the weekend, we have been discussing about the sort of manufacturing processes which we are going to employ. We are really trying to be as green as possible, so we are trying to avoid complicated processes. We are trying as much as possible not to even melt glass.

For our first Christmas at Fidgety Fingers, one of our sponsors have kindly bought us a bottle cutter which will arrive in a few weeks. We cannot wait to explore the endless possibilities of creating useful items out of these 'junk' in the recycle bins.