More Torani bottle ideas

Oh, yeah, more ideas for glass bottles.  I keep trying to come up with new stuff, not just copy the things I've seen on Pinterest.  The thing is, that's HARD to do!  Y'all are all so creative, and have such beautiful photos, that while I am proud of my work, I'm never fully convinced anyone else would like it.

That's why I maintain that if you're going to do crafts, do it because you like it.  Do things you like to do.  Try things you want to try.  Trying to copy other's work is what makes me the Make-Do Queen, because I always wind up substituting stuff and never using the exact same materials.  lol

Now, on to today's post.

I have three different results.  I started with 4 bottles, but one has gone back on the shelf for a re-think because it just didn't turn out well at all.  I'll come up with a use for it eventually, but for now, I'm calling it a dud. 

I had a nice vibrant blue that I started with, then drizzled white paint into the bottle, as well, and let it swirl.  I REALLY love the colors and marbled look of it!

Over the course of a couple days, I would lay the bottle flat and let the paint run to a new side, then add in a little more, if I felt it was needed, until the bottle was fully coated.  Then, turn it upside down into an old coffee can or whip cream container (something of which I have gobs) and let drain/dry for another day or two.  The weather warmed up and I was able to set them outside in the sun, which helped.

To finish, I just grabbed twigs out of my front yard (I have a HUGE Cypress tree) and tied raffia ribbon to give it a "spring" look.

For this one, I printed a globe-image off my computer, then blew it up to a good size, then pasted it onto the back of my trusty paper tape.  Using a cutting board and an box cutter, I cut the tape to create a stencil.  If you have a Circut or other fancy gadget that makes these sorts of things for you, I'M SO JEALOUS!!

This time, I left the Etching cream on for almost 10 minutes. 

My Dollar Tree purchase of the hydrating beads. I only used about half of the beads that came in the package, and kept the expanding "vase" for use some other time.  Might make a cute gift bag.

Followed the suggested instructions on letting the beads hydrate before placing anything in the bottle.

Then added garden soil. I had some that I purchased from Dollar Tree a couple months ago when I was impatient for spring, and combined that with some Miracle Grow potting soil to give a good mixture.

I have an ivy that I took cuttings from, and used. Somehow, I neglected to take a solo "after" picture.  So scroll down to see the final result.  I actually like it a lot....but I really love plants and planting.

And finally, I revisited my initial post of a solar powered lamp, but stenciled and painted for a more earthy look. Somehow, I neglected to take enough "before" pictures of this one, so I'll have to explain it a little more thoroughly.

Basically, I dripped blue paint down only one side of the bottle, careful to keep it from spreading by letting it mostly dry on that same side for several days.  Then I repeated with the green.  After letting it drain and dry, I stenciled it with the same globe stencil used above. Then, just to be safe, I sprayed multiple layers of clear sealer.  I know that probably completely ruins the whole idea of "earth friendly", but I really didn't want the stencil to wear off over time.  Its a completely optional step, and I should warn you that if you DO use the sealer, it will ruin any etching you've done with the etching cream, so...be informed.

When Dollar Tree was carrying the little solar lamps, I had purchased a bunch for project use, so took one a part, and placed the solar part and lamp shade onto the painted and stenciled bottle.  If you want to, you could easily glue it down with an epoxy or super-glue type adhesive.  I just sat it on top since there is little chance it will get knocked over.  The light is a really cool effect at night.  I wish I had the right kind of camera to do it justice.

TAA-DAA!!!

Total cost: Dollar Tree beads, lamp, raffia ribbon and dirt - $4.00 (I already had the other materials.)

Total time: I would work on them for 30 min every other day or so over the course of several weeks, so....maybe, with drying time, it could all be done in 5 days. 

More ways I've Re-Purposed a Torani glass bottle

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have an endless supply of empty Torani bottles with which to tinker.

I stumbled upon the marble look paint in that post, and decided to expand on it for a St. Patrick's day themed decoration.

I started with the darker color.  Poured a generous amount into the bottom of the bottle, and let it swirl and then turned the bottles upside down to drain/dry.

After a day or so, I added some white paint to the dark color, and mixed, then poured into the bottles to combine and finish coating.

Again, turned them upside down to allow to drain/dry for a couple of days.  Since it was cooler, it seemed to take a while for the paint to fully harden.

When done, I needed something to top and happened upon a green feather boa at Hobby Lobby. :D  Well....I AM a girl!  lol

So I cut the boa into pieces and folded over into the tops.  My daughter thought they still needed a little something more, so I had these green blingy gems from Five Below that I added around the bottles, and...

viola!!  St. Patrick's Day table centerpieces.

This is one time where being the Make-Do Queen worked out.

Time: 30 min here and there over a week...all told, maybe 4 hours.
Cost: $3.00 for bling, $5.00 for boa, $1 for paint from Walmart = $9.00 for 4 bottles.  Not bad!

Glass Bottles everywhere!

NOTE:  Unless you're one of those uber-patient or meticulous people, this isn't really the project for you.  See some of my other blogs on glass bottles.  If you ARE one of those weirdos, then enjoy! HA!  Just kidding.....sorta.

After my failure in my initial attempt at drilling a hole in a glass bottle to create a light of some sort, determination set in!  I went to my favorite store, Home Depot, and purchased the glass/tile drill bits suggested for about $8.00.

I applied the lessons learned on the last attempt, and started the hole above the thicker bottom portion of the bottle.  I also filled an old hairspray bottle with water to facilitate less mess when trying to keep the drill spot wet, but my surfaces dry.

After taping the bottle off, I started drilling.  Very quickly, I realized that the right tool makes ALL the difference, but after another 10 minutes, I decided that this would be the 1st and last bottle I tried to drill through "for fun".

Being careful to spray the spot with water every minute or so, I drilled for about 40 minutes.  I did have to stop about 25 minutes in to change out the battery in my power drill, but I'm not sure I started with a full charge.

The end result was still smaller than what I could get a set of Christmas lights through, so I walked away to think about it for a day or so.  While wandering through Hobby Lobby with the BFF, I saw the small battery-powered LED lights and inspiration hit!  I did have some of those from when Dollar Tree (my other favorite store) sold them at Christmas time, and they were small enough to fit through the smaller hole.

I had seen the glass etching cream ($9 Hobby Lobby) praised highly on several posts on Pinterest, so had purchased some to try out on the bottles.  Since I was already doing a St. Patrick's Day theme party, I decided to etch Shamrocks onto the bottle.

Had to create the stencil for use, and the complete lack of directions on how long to leave on was disappointing.  A search of the posts on Pinterest suggested about 1-2 minutes, so that's what I did.  In hind-sight, I'll leave it on for 3-4 minutes next time.

Sprayed the whole finished bottle with spray on glitter, which isn't clearly visable in these pics, and turned on the lights.  Not horrible, but wish I had left the etching cream on longer.  Live and learn.

Time: 1 hour or so
Cost: $19

Repurposing a Torani bottle

I happen to have an endless supply of glass Torani bottles, and have been trying to come up with creative ways to reuse or repurpose them.

I tried several of the things on Pinterest, but it takes so long to drill a hole in the bottle without a diamond bit! Here's what I had after 30 min of drilling.

See that teeny little dot… Yeah exactly.

Then I remembered seeing where they had painted the inside of a bottle as a means of decoration so I tried that. 

The only thing is, the acrylic paint I already had doesn't dry very quickly on glass.

I let it sit upside down for probably three days and it still was tacky to the touch. In the end, it didn't turn out like I had planned, but I do like the result. It's still not what I was going for, so I'm not sure what I'll use it for.

But I do like the marbled look of it. Planning to do about three or four of these in green for a St. Patrick's Day party.

Still didn't have anything that I would give to anyone as a birthday gift. So then I pulled out my stencils.

And did some painting on of letters. I have a friend who is crazy about owels, so that's the theme I went with.

Added some cutesy flowers, just to spice up the bottle.

Then I was in Dollar Tree, and I saw their solar lamps, and thought I bet I can use that! So I brought it home, and did a little blinging.

Took the solar part and lampshade off of the table lamp, and put it on my bottle.

Cut out some coordinating scrapbook paper and glued to the bottom of the jar, just to tie everything together. I think I like it!