8 Crafty And Creative Ways To Repurpose Broken Glass In Your Home And Garden

It can be a real pain when something made of glass breaks in the house, and it makes it all the harder to handle when that glass item is something of personal value. No matter how well you take care of your fragile items, either by cleaning the glass furniture in all the best ways or making sure your glass pieces are out of reach, accidents can still happen. However, you don't have to be angry or disappointed for too long — there's a way to save that glass and reuse it in crafty and creative ways, so that it can still live a long life in your house. One man's trash is another man's treasure, and that adage definitely holds true with this often-discarded home good. From unique decor pieces to functional garden fixtures, broken glass can have a whole new life if you're willing to give it a try.

We know it's a logical and green-friendly choice to recycle broken glass in the traditional sense. However, these DIYs are another sustainable method by which you can creatively upcycle any of those glass materials into your home's decor, just in a different way. You may even find that some of these ideas make for great gifts as well. With a little patience, and sometimes with a fair bit of mosaic grout, you can channel "glass trash" into a new treasure.

If the broken glass you're working with comes in different, fun colors, incorporate them into a dazzling sun catcher. With larger glass pieces, you can bore a hole into the top and string them in a row, while with smaller glass pieces, you can assemble them together into a screen. For the latter, use the glass of a picture frame as your base. Affix the broken glass pieces onto said base with Mod Podge Gloss Sealer, let it dry, then craft a border around the screen. The end result is a beautiful mosaic sun catcher.  

With this project, you can use all sorts of shapes and sizes of broken glass, including irregular pieces like bottle necks or rounded edges. With a disposable pie tin, some mesh wire, and wet concrete, you first want to assemble the base of the stone. Layer wet concrete into the tin, add a layer of mesh wire, then pack in more concrete. While the concrete is still wet, arrange your glass pieces on the surface, making sure sharp edges aren't sticking up anywhere. Then let it all dry before removing the tin.

This project is a great giftable way of repurposing broken glass pieces. Using any tray of your choice, apply some mosaic glue to the bottom of the tray, then lay down your glass pieces in the pattern of your liking. Let the glue dry, then fill in the gaps between the glass with mosaic mortar/grout. Clean any excess grout with a wet sponge, and now you have a unique and beautiful serving tray that's bound to catch everyone's eyes. You can use this same formula to turn old, broken coffee mugs into beautiful art, too!

There are many ways to make a charming birdhouse, but this one may be one of the most colorful and unique. Using any number of flat glass pieces or broken ceramics, assemble a quirky birdhouse in this creative take on mosaic work. With the same mosaic method as our tray idea, and using a pre-fabricated birdhouse as your base, this fun DIY will be sure to delight your garden's flying visitors during the warmer months. 

In one of the more advanced crafts we have on this list, you can use your broken glass pieces to simulate a terrazzo-style table top. Think of this as one giant mosaic garden stepping stone in execution, but on a much larger scale, and with the added step of putting some mosaic resin on top to seal in the surface. While it may be a much more laborious project, the end result is an absolutely stunning and upcycled take on the terrazzo trend.

You don't have to be a potter to make these fun planters. You just need a few, inexpensive terracotta pots, like the 6 Inch Clay Pots from Orceler, and some of that mosaic glue and mortar to craft the pieces together. For this creative project, either assemble glass fragments with the same color story to make a cohesive line up or go all out by using pieces that are purposefully mismatched for an eclectic look. That's the fun of this piece — depending on how you want to use it, you can mix and match from the broken glass you have available.

It's likely that some broken glass pieces are probably a little too big to fit comfortably inside a vase or on a planter. To solve that problem, try turning your bigger glass pieces into crushed glass for a sparkling accent for floral arrangements. There are several ways to safely crush glass, but the easiest is to lightly heat the pieces, before placing them in an ice bath. Afterward, put them in a container, layer with paper towel, then crush them gently with a hammer without applying too much force. Voilà: crushed glass! 

After you've mastered the art of crushing glass, channel that glass into art itself. The crushed glass creates a beautiful sparkle effect that'll look fantastic in holiday-themed pieces or in any designs that call for a little shine. First, paint your canvas whatever color you want the background to be, then liberally apply craft adhesive or epoxy resin, like E6000 Glue, in the desired pattern on the canvas. Sprinkle the crushed glass, along with any glitter filler, over the design pattern until it's filled in to your taste. The result is a beautiful art piece.