Save old glass jars and containers to make these up-cycled DIY Halloween Potion Bottles. We love this creative Apothecary Halloween Craft to make the most Boo-tiful decor for the October season.
DIY Halloween Potion Bottles
If you are anything like me, you save glass bottles & jars in hopes of making them into something new & exciting. I love a pretty mason jar, and even some salad dressing jars speak to me, so in no time I can have a decent collection of them begging to be up-cycled.
Halloween is one of the best times of the year to utilize those. You can make cute storage jars, fun character crafts on them, or in this case, some pretty potion bottles for decoration.
I had the Crown Royal bottle for a while, saving it for just the right project, because it’s such a pretty bottle, but let’s face it, not exactly the right theme to put out for just anything, so this was it. But, you don’t have to have a fancy bottle to make these. The taller one I used had been a bath salt I had made last fall, and the label was still on it, so I decided to just paint right over it, making it look more finished off, instead of trying to remove it and leaving a torn paper on the bottle instead. So, if you have bottles with labels, as long as the label is well fixed, paint right over it! Don’t hesitate to try to utilize things you may not have thought would work, sometimes the outcome will surprise you.
DIY Halloween Potion Bottles
Supplies:
- 1 or 2 glass bottles of your choice
- Metallic finished spray paints of at least 2 colors* – we used a silver and a gold
- Black acrylic paint or a black paint marker**
- Washi tape if desired – this is a way to get a more finished off look or a handmade label without too much work
- Buttons – anything metallic to Halloween color
- Baker’s Twine or string to attach buttons as needed
- Scissors
- Super glue
*I used a metallic silver, which by the lid looked like it would be shiny and reflective, but it was actually more matte, and I was happy it was – then I used a hammered finish one that is more of a pewter/ copper, to contrast that silver – Gold would work too, you just want more than one type
** If you are using the paint, you will need a plate, and a thin paint brush, water cup and paper towel.
To begin, be sure the bottles are nicely cleaned and dried, then, if you plan to actually use the bottles for storage, remove the lids from them when you paint so they don’t dry and tear the paint when opening them later.
You can go ahead and lay all pieces out to spray. (I left my lids on, since I knew they would only be for decoration.)
Spray the lighter shade of color on the bottles first, you want the darker one to be on top for contrast and you will use less of it.
Let them air dry for a good 20-30 minutes. After that time, check the spray paint to see how well covered the bottle is, if it needs any more coating, and if so, go ahead and spray it again. Then, give it another 20 minutes and check to see if it is dry.
Once the layer is well covered and the bottles are dry, you can use the darker colored spray paint. I shook mine up, but not as much as I normally would’ve, because I actually wanted it to come out a little uneven and maybe even chunky in a spot or two. It worked well, too. What you want to achieve is a light coat of it around the edges of the bottle, to look more like wear and discoloring than a full coat of paint. I tried to leave the label areas open, with the lighter color only on them, so that it would be easier to paint on and read later. This layer of paint only took one coat and I just very lightly went back and forth with the spray paint, hitting it here and there. Some of this is of course, your preference.
Now, let that coat fully dry.
While you are waiting on that, you can start arranging your buttons and deciding how you want to lay out the decorations on the bottles. I went with washi tape on the top, thinner part of the bottle, because I felt it was too skinny to try and paint any wording there or anything. The top curve of the bottle where it gets wider is the perfect place to make a focal point. So, think about adding washi tape there and your buttons.
Now, if your buttons are flat, then all you have to do is glue them on, unless you want to add the twine anyway, for looks. Otherwise, the baker’s twine is the way you are going to attach the buttons. Tying the twine through the back loop on each button and then letting it hang just a bit off the bow is perfect. I used a combination of both types of buttons.
So, once your bottles are dry, get your glue, your paint marker and your washi tape ready.
Look over the bottles and choose which side you like the best, and make that the front side of the bottle.
Add the washi tape wherever you decided to first, being careful to keep it nice and straight, and smooth it out nicely. It’s important to go slowly as you do this, otherwise if you have to pull it back up, it may tear the paint off the bottle, depending on how strong it is.
Next, you will want to add some nice lines here and there to represent labels on the bottles. You don’t have to add wording if you don’t want to, but the paint marker makes that easier for you if you aren’t good at hand-painting lettering. With the paint marker, you will need to shake it up a lot to get it started, and then using a scrap piece of paper, press down on it to bring the paint to the tip. I practiced on the paper first, to get used to the paint flow. It can tend to be uneven and you sometimes have to go back and press the tip down again when it dries up.
If you are using a paint brush, you obviously won’t have to bother with any of that part. Go ahead and paint on your lines – there is no right or wrong to this, I would just advise to go slowly and to follow the curves on the bottle or the label area and don’t over-do it. Less is sometimes more.
Let the paint dry once you’re done and then you can add the twine and buttons.
Measure out the baker’s twine around the bottle to be sure you have plenty to work with, figuring for the knots, and then cut that. Run the twine around the neck and tie a good knot to keep it in place, and then make a bow. Once the bow is done, go ahead and tie on any buttons you need to. Double knot them on the back and if you like, add a drop of glue so they won’t loosen. Then, glue on any buttons to the bottles themselves by adding a drop of glue to the back and then holding firmly in place for a minute to be sure they won’t fall off.
Now, set the bottles back from you a bit and give them a good once over – if they look completed to you, then you are all set! If they need any touch ups or additions of buttons or lines, go ahead and finish that off.
Happy Halloween!
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