Bottles, bottles, bottles. We see them everywhere, in all shapes and sizes and colors, but how often do we really SEE them? Probably when we go into the gift shop or import store and see them on the shelf for us to buy. . .empty. The truth is, they are all around us already: bottles that hold drinking water or olive oil or wine vinegar or hot sauce. In your travels, you may have collected several small shampoo or conditioner bottles from your hotel room. These are the bottles that we are talking about and these are the ones we want to gussy up with fancy tops and put to good use again. The idea of giving decoratively shaped bottles another go-around before sending them to be recycled isn't new (what idea is?), but maybe you'll find some ideas here you hadn't tried before.
We're concentrating mainly on the bottle stoppers, so what you will need will depend on whether you really want to put something in the bottle and use if from time to time (in which case you'll need a top that can be easily removed) or whether this is for decoration only. I've listed my matrials and innovations below, but improvisation is the name of the game, so use what you have or can inexpensively buy.
Materials:
bottles - various sizes
corks
assorted buttons, beads, jewels, etc.
metallic pens
gold cording - the kind used to hang ornaments
hot glue or jewelry glue
wooden beads
Dremel tool - #7360
Ideas:
- Remove label or printing. Some labels can be removed by simply soaking the empty bottle in soapy water. Others will need nail polish remover or Formula 409. If the bottle is plastic, be careful because the polish remover sometimes clouds the plastic and makes it unusable. If the printing is on the bottle itself, it can often be scraped off with a craft knife. If it is actually raised printing, toss the bottle out.
- To make a removable stopper, a cork is probably best. These can be purchased in all sizes in craft stores or you can cut down a cork you might already have on hand.
- Switch tops on the bottles. Sometimes the small top from one bottle can fit inside the neck of another like a cork and give you a base for attaching the, decorations.
- If your bottle has a screw-on top, you might be able to disguise it, but most likely you will want to replace it. When you do, the threads on the bottle's neck will show. Not good. Cover by applying white glue to the neck of the bottle, then wrapping round and round with gold cord. Before you apply the glue, however, paint the neck with a metallic gold pen. In this case, if you missed a spot with the cord, it would not be visible.
- You can also stack buttons and beads, and either glue them together or string them on a long straight pin (the kind you get at the bead counter for making earrings) to make the decorative top.
- Sometimes a single large bead can be used for a top. Use a Dremel to drill out the hole to make it large enough to fit over the bottleneck. Many beads that look like metal are really plastic so this is easier then it might seem.
- Another technique is to wrap the threaded neck with gold cord, gold-leafed the threaded design on the side of the bottle, and drew spirals on the smooth portion with a copper ink pen. The cork top is stacked with buttons and beads, and to make the decorations show up, add green food coloring to the water you put inside the bottle.
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