Guest Post: A Touch of Glass

Such a fun and inspiring project by Becca for her second guest post. I can just see these cuties in varying shades of orange, gray and black spicing up my Halloween house that takes over the entire month of October. Read the details from Becca below, and have a great weekend everyone!

I was inspired a couple months ago when I stumbled upon a DIY centerpiece on Pinterest. I pinned it onto my ever-growing “Craft” board knowing I’d eventually get around to this simple, yet charming project. Since then, I have been on the lookout for interesting clear, glass bottles. I ended up with a solid assortment including an inexpensive decanter I found for $5.99 from Marshall’s and several cashew jars my boyfriend had laying around his place. You know those cheap vases you get when loved ones have flowers delivered? Those are perfect to use and the color will add instant life to them!

 Added to that was a BBQ sauce bottle and beer, liquor and wine bottles that I had on hand around the house. Any bottles/jars will work for this project. Get creative and put those objects to good use. Pasta sauce jars, olive oil bottles and pickle jars are instantly revamped with a little paint and patience.

Now that I had my bottles collected, I had to remove the labels. I boiled some water on the stove, then turned the burner off and carefully set the bottles in to soak for around 10 minutes. Since this pot was the largest I had on hand, it took a couple batches before I had all the bottles bathed. After removing each bottle from the pot, I peeled the label off by hand. Some were more difficult and required a metal object to scratch the label off. If glue was left, it easily came off with a sponge and soap. Ensure the bottles are completely dry before moving on.

Now they were ready to be painted! You can pick out any colors you wish but make sure you use an enamel paint or paint that works on glass. I used Glidden Duo Tester - Interior Eggshell Paint plus Primer from Home Depot. At $2.94 apiece, I decided to go for four colors that work well together, in any combination: Fresh Pineapple, Mint Shake, White on White and Seal Grey. Handmade funnels from wax paper allowed me to easily pour the paint into the bottles and jars, without making too much of a mess. Once poured, I twisted the bottles/jars to allow the paint to coat the entire inside, leaving no clear spots to be seen. After the entire inside was coated, I poured the excess paint back into the paint jar. I kept the bottles standing up to dry but you can also turn them upside down to dry faster.

Before I painted, I grouped the bottles together to ensure I had a good balance of size, shape and color. And as you see, the finished product(s) are complete!

The pops of color are the perfect touch to a tan wall and white mantle. Who would have thought a vodka bottle would make such a beautiful vase! I’m looking forward to using these vases as a centerpiece in the future.