Upcycled Glass Brick Bookends
I made these beautiful glass bookends for only $4
I bought a whole bunch of these worse-for-wear secondhand glass bricks on FB Marketplace last year and ever since have been thinking of ways I can repurpose them. Although in saying that, I completely forgot I had the secondhand glass bricks until I stumbled upon them in my garage on the weekend when I was getting my surfboard. I got so excited and did some research to find out how to clean them. There were quite a few options but I felt most strongly about a product called Goof Off and decided to give it a try. And as they say, the rest is history and now my arms are buff - ha! Then I had to figure out what to do with the first two I had cleaned and in the end I decided to use them as bookends, which were totally inspired by Jess Carpenter.
Watch this video to learn how to make Upcycled Glass Brick Bookends
Before & After
Project Details
♻️ Upcycling: Glass Brick Bookends
🕒 Project Time Estimate: 30 minutes
🪑 Skill Level: Beginner
💰 Materials Cost: $
Materials
2 x Glass bricks
Dry clean cloth
Warm soapy water
Tools
How To Clean Glass Bricks
After some trial and error, I found the following steps below were the best approach for cleaning stubborn glue from glass bricks.
Step 1: Using the wire brush, brush the sides of the glass brick in quick sweeping motions. This will help loosen some of the glue for the next step.
Step 2: Apply a small amount of Goof Off directly onto the glue. Use the scraper and the wire bristles to remove the glue. Wipe down with a clean cloth when all the glue has been removed.
Step 3: Gently clean away any leftover small glue particles and dust from the glass bricks using warm soapy water. Set aside to dry naturally.
Ta daaa!
And I'm obsessed! Making these beautiful glass brick bookends was as simple as putting them onto our sideboard and placing a few of my favourite books in between. I love that the light reflects through them and that they look good from all angles. I even tried placing the glass brick front on, which is also a fun way of displaying them. I’ve got lots more left and I’m excited to experiment with more upcycled glass brick ideas.
