But really, a wino. Well, a wino or two visited our house. We rarely drink a bottle of wine, but between some celebrations and parties at our house (my brilliant husband graduated! Woot!), we had some friends and family gift some wine and help us drink it, too.
There is something kind of beautiful about wine bottles right? I love the way that they're shaped, the different colors, and some of the pretty labels. Obviously, I couldn't just turn these in at Hy-Vee for the five cent deposit now could I? My parents never had alcohol in the house growing up, so there is something about wine bottles that seems classy and grown up, but I get that wine decor probably isn't for everyone! So logically I put them on top of a cabinet and let them sit empty for two months... ya know to ferment? Ten points for a wine word.
So step one to make something pretty. Get rid of the labels. Fun fact, the more expensive and fancy the wine, the harder they are to peel off. Perhaps this is a perfect excuse for some Walgreens wine?
Illustrating my point. Cheap bottle came off clean, expensive one didn't. You're welcome for that totally necessary picture. In the middle of peeling these off head downstairs for while and wait for the tornado sirens to go off. That's what I did.
Step 2, wash them really well. Especially any wine drops that were left to ferment for two months. Also, imagine that this picture is in a beautiful white porcelain farm sink... Ahh. Also, be afraid that lightening from the aforementioned tornado is going to shock you will you wash them. Again, personal experience.
Last step, spray paint! I used this spray paint from Walmart. It's just basic chalkboard paint, but I've always had good luck with it. You can see that the wet spots are shiny, but as it dries it turns into a really sleek matte black. I also did this on the garage floor - my husband was obviously impressed (it's on our list anyway!). I did four coats and then flipped it upside down to hit the bottom. It's not really necessary, but I wanted them totally covered. Then, let it cure for a few days - I know, torture!
After you've been thoroughly tortured by waiting 2-3 days, grab some of these bad boys on Amazon. They're chalk paint pens! I've wanted some for a while, but I haven't sprung to order them before now (Spoiler: totally worth it). Did I mention I live in the middle of nowhere? Seriously. There is no Target. Not. Even. One. It's sad. But you can also assume that we definitely don't have a Michael's or craft store either so I have to order it online or drive an hour (yes, an hour!) to pick one up. Gahh, I love Amazon and free shipping!
Then, do some pretty writing. It's totally harder than I had thought to write on a curved bottle, thank goodness the pens wipe off well. Another reason to make sure your bottles are totally cured before you try the chalk pens! You could totally do this with regular chalk too! I'd like to decorate them a bit more and maybe add some burlap or rope to them to make them pop. But for now, they sit on my kitchen window. The hubs is going to work on some radiator covers (eventually) and I think they'd look great in the dining room on one with some accessories. Happy crafting! What have you done lately with chalkboard paint?
