How to Make an Elegant Hourglass

Crafting a simple, yet elegant, hourglass involves just a few materials.

An hourglass is used to tell time. Though a traditional and scientifically calculated hourglass will take an hour to transfer sand from one side to the other, hourglasses can also be crafted simply for decorative purposes. Making an elegant hourglass involves choosing materials to suit your tastes and decor.

Things You'll Need

• Two glass bottles (same size opening such as wine bottles)
• Duct tape
• Sand
• Food coloring
• Glitter, gemstones, rhinestones or beads
• Raffia, ribbon or string

Instructions

1. Clean and dry two bottles. Use wine bottles for a more elegant look. Remove all labels if you are going for a clear glass look, or use bottles with decorative labels for a kitchen decor style. Use glass bottles in rich colors such as red or green with wide bases to give the hourglass stability. The bottles must have the same size opening so the sand will flow between the two bottles.

2. Mix sand, either gathered from the beach or found in a craft store, with a few drops of food coloring to change the color of the sand. Add glitter, rhinestones, beads, small seashells or gemstones to the sand mixture. Make sure all objects will fit easily through the bottle opening before adding. You will need 1 to 2 cups of sand mixture to fill the bottle.

3. Pour the sand mixture into one of the bottles using a funnel. Turn the bottle on its side to attach the second bottle. Line up the bottle openings and secure together using duct tape. Shake the bottle back and forth, transferring the sand between the two bottles to check for leaks. If necessary, apply additional tape to block leaks.

4. Cover the duct tape with elegant trimming such as satin ribbon, lace or multiple layers of silk thread. Tie the covering into a bow or attach additional decorations to hide all spots where the ribbon was glued together or attached to the duct tape. You can also add extra embellishments such as seashells to the ribbon or extra rhinestones to the trim to create a more formal hourglass.

Tips & Warnings

• You may need to adjust the color of the sand used depending on the color of the glass bottle. Play around with different color pairings.

• The same method can be turned into a kid-friendly craft by using plastic bottles in place of glass bottles.

• Know that the homemade hourglass will not be able to tell time, so do not rely on a decorative hourglass as a way to measure time.

References

• Easy Fun School: Homemade Hourglass
• Crafters Craft: How to Make a Sand Hourglass With Plastic Bottles
• Paris Bourke: Their Time in Their Hands