Samhain - Halloween Wine Bottles

Because it is still fairly warm outside right now I wanted to wait as long as possible to carve our jack-o-lanterns. Too early and they would have rotted for sure. Well... I waited too long and our commissary was out when I went to pick up out pumpkins, and I was too spoiled by $0.15/lb pumpkins back home to pay $5-10/pumpkin out in town. This craft was my end result.

Materials:

• Wine bottles in green, amber, or clear glass  (free because they were left over from the wine)
• Spray paint, enamel kind works best on glass (About $3.75 a can)
• I bottle black paint, acrylic or enamel will work. I used leftovers in my stash. ($0.50 to $1.50)
• Small Paint brushes
• Pencil or Marker
• Tarp or more Newspaper of spray painting on 
• Newpaper 
• Papertowels
• Jar of water, to clean brush in.
• Painter's tape ($1.00/roll)

How To:

Taping the neck of the bottles.

1. If you are making the pumpkin version try using a green or amber glass bottle. Wrap the neck in painter's tape. If you don't have a colored glass bottle you could always paint the bottle neck later. Don't bother taping ghost bottles you will paint it all white. 
2. In a prepped area spray paint the bottles your choice in colors. Enamel paint should only need two coats and sticks to glass well. If you get the "all surface" kinds they will run and need as many as 5 coats. 
3. Spread out newspaper, and mark out your faces on the bottles **AFTER** the spray paint is set.
4. Paint your faces on the bottles in black paint. I did this in two coats so the faces would be stark and inky. Try experimenting with different painting techniques (stipple or smudging) if you like.
5. Allow to dry and use them inside or out! Wouldn't it be fun to put glow sticks or lights in them? 

Edit 10-31-2012: Using a primer on your bottles will make the paint more even, and you will need fewer coats total.

Finished wine bottles.

Happy Halloween