Wine Glass Gem Collector Cloche

I'm in love with how beautifully this turned out! It's so easy to do and much less expensive than any of the store-bought versions. The materials are easy to find anywhere and it really gives it a personal touch. It's especially great for storing and displaying your more toxic gems. And is great for keeping dust off your gems.

Are you ready to get started? Let's GO!!

TOOLS

• hole saw
• drill press
• dremel or glass cutter
• wood saw
• sander

MATERIALS

• dry log slice
• wine glass
• tumbled rock
• two-part epoxy

This project can be done in about a hundred different ways with about a hundred different tools and materials. I will be explaining how I did it with what I had, but everything I used could be switched out for almost any tools or materials you have.

All right, let's get started!

Since all wine glasses come in different sizes, it is best to buy the holesaw first and take it to the store with you to measure it against the wine glasses that you want to use.

I used a wine glass with a stem because I wanted to have a little handle on the top of my cloche. If you want to use a stemless wine glass. skip to step 2

First, we want to cut off the stem of the wine glass while still leaving a little on there to act as part of the handle.

The easiest way I have found to do this is to mark where you want to cut it, then take a dremel with a diamond-tipped bit, and grind a little all the way around where you want the glass to split. You won't have to dremel very deep.

After that, it won't take much to break it off. Just tap the foot of the wine glass gently against a table, and it should break right in half. If it doesn't, score it again with the Dremel a little deeper and tap it again. You'll be surprised how easy it will snap off with just a light tap.

After it breaks off, it'll still be a little sharp and uneven. I used my sander with a fine-grit sandpaper to flatten it and round over the sharp edges.

Be careful not to push too hard, and take your time, so it won't chip or crack.

Now that we have that part of our handle sanded, we'll need to add something to the top of it to complete our handle.

This is where the project gets cool, because you could put different things on the top, depending on what you're going to display inside. I am using a tumbled amethyst for my handle.

My suggestion is to glue the rock to the top of the glass using a two-part epoxy. Let it dry for a few minutes and then take something small, like a popsicle stick, to scrape off the excess epoxy around the outside of the gem and the glass.

The glass part is done.

Now that the glass is finished, it's time to start working on the wooden base. I will be using a log slice that is about 8 inches in diameter and approximately an inch thick. I went with a log because I like how the grain looks when it's finished.

Time out for a Disclaimer: The log in the pictures is cracked. This is due to improper drying. Normally I would say not to use a log that is cracked, because it makes it very weak and doesn't look as good, but this was the last piece I had left, so I fixed it up a little and made it work for the pictures. But I would not suggest it if you can find something better.

Okay, back step three! Take the holesaw that is the same size as the rim of your wine glass and drill into the center of the log about an eighth of an inch deep. Drill a little bit deeper than you need to leave room for sanding later. Don't worry about the hole in the center we are going to plug that in later. It's always good to do a dry fit to make sure the wine glass will fit inside of the groove. If not, it will need to be widened a little bit.

Now that the groove is in the wood, take a saw and cut around the edges, leaving about 3/4 of an inch around the groove. After it has been cut, take a sander and sand the edges into a circle, and round off the top edge. Then take some fine-grit sandpaper and hand-sand it down to a smooth finish.

Now that the edges are finished, we have to deal with the unsightly hole in the middle of our base. To do that, we're going to make a plug. I'm using a scrap piece of black cherry that I had leftover from another project. I took the end of it and sanded it into a cone shape making the tip a little smaller so it'll fit into the hole. I cut it off and hammered it into the hole until it was snug and sanded off the rest until it was flush with the surface of the base.

Now that the wood is done, it's time to put a finish on it. I like to use mineral oil on my projects for several reasons: it brings out the natural grain, doesn't dye it to a different color, it's non-toxic, easy to use, and easy to clean up! I just put a little on a rag and rub it into the wood. I like to give it two or three coats, allowing some drying time in between coats. This will give a great finished look and protect the wood for a long time.

Your Gem Cloche is now done and your rocks, gems, or minerals can now be displayed safely, free from dust, and will look better than ever in your new Cloche! I have noticed that no matter what you put inside it will look 10 times better!

I also make Gem trees and I love how they look inside of my new Gem Cloche. I included a picture of one of my trees inside of my Gem Cloche. If you want to learn how to make one of my Gem Trees to go inside of your new Gem Cloche, go take a look at my other Instructables to see how to do it! 

Here's that link:  UPCYCLED GEM TREE : 7 Steps - Instructables

ENJOY!