Fun Things to do with Glass Bottles and Jars

Last year we taught you a bunch of fun things that you could do with mason jars. Today we thought it would be fun to show you some of the really fun things that you can do with other types of glass jars and glass bottles. That’s right: glass bottles as craft and gift items. Skeptical? Check it out!

Candles

Wide mouthed jars and bottles make great candle holders. Drop some colored sand (or regular sand) into the bottom of the jar. Then take a candle (the skinnier the jar or bottle, the skinnier this candle will need to be) and push it down into the sand a little bit. The sand will anchor the candle. The sides of the jar amplify the light and heat of the flame while simultaneously keeping the flame safely contained…though you probably won’t want to put the jar too close to anything super flammable.

Photo Frames

Find a few favorite photos. Use your computer to size or crop them to fit one of the sides of the jar or bottle. Print out two copies of the photo and then insert them into the jar. The top of the photo should line up with the bottom of the jar. Put one photo on one side of the jar, the second copy on the other. This way, no matter how the jar is turned, you’ll see the photo. If you can get your fingers in there, secure the photos to each other with tape. This way they won’t peel back from the side of the bottle. Then, flip over the bottle or jar and rest it on its open mouth. Viola! Decorative photo frame!

You can also use a narrow necked glass bottle as a candle anchor. Simply push the candle sticks into the mouth of the bottle!

Personalize It!

Thanks to advances in craft papers, now anybody can etch pretty much anything they want into glass (or at least make it look that way). Why not clean out a few beverage-styled bottles and etch them with friends’ names or with pretty designs that you draw yourself? As long as you keep them clean and safe, you can use the bottles for beverage drinking over and over again.

Hint: You can even order sets of matching glass bottles if you want to give someone a matching set as a gift.

Holiday Light Display

Instead of draping your indoor holiday lights along the mantle this year try something different. Gather a few glass bottles. Paint something fun on the outside, like a Christmas tree or snowman—you get the idea. Line the bottles up on your mantle (or in your windowsill, whatever) and then dip portions of your holiday light strand into each bottle. The result is amazing and beautiful!

You can also attach the bottles to the strand with some weight supporting wires or hooks and then hang them up on your porch or in the yard during the dry parts of the year (though you’ll want to paint other types of designs on those).

There are plenty of utilitarian and decorative things that you can do with glass bottles. These are just a few of them. What are some of the things that you’ve done to reuse or repurpose the glass bottles that have found their way into your home?