Upcycled Halloween Decor

Did you know there are only 10 more days left until Halloween? I don't know about you, but October has certainly flown by for me. I feel like it was just yesterday that I was walking into Michaels and they were putting out the Halloween decorations. That was around August 31 right? I'm kidding, but seriously, stores start selling holiday decor too far in advance, if you ask me.

Those artfully decorated end-of-aisle displays always catch my eye. I end up rationalizing a gorgeous wreath to put on my front door or a couple little trinkets that will clutter up my dresser and I'll end up giving them to my mom for a garage sale because they're not cute outside the store. I have a problem.

So this year I have decided to upcycle my decorations. I stumbled upon this awesome blog called Upcycle That and it honestly changed the way I look at products I use on a daily basis. For example, I started to imagine a candy corn decoration out of a glass coke bottle and a wine bottle by adding a couple coats of paint.

Upcycling: “It’s taking something that you would otherwise throw out and finding a way to make it into something else.” -Upcycle That

Upcycle That posted about a couple upcycled Halloween decorations. My favorite is the Ghost Jug, which originally was posted on the Disney Family Fun blog.

So after fantasizing about upcycling every little thing I was about to throw away (a person could really become a hoarder with that mindset), I decided to put my money where my mouth is and upcycle already!

Candy Corn Bottles and a Jack-o-Lantern Milk Jug

Supplies Needed:

1 Glass Coca-Cola Bottles= $2.19

1 Wine Bottle= $1.99 (Yes I like to drink Charles Shaw wine or you might refer to it more affectionately as "Two-Buck Chuck")

3 Different Colors of Acrylic Paint= $4.47

1 Sponge Brush Set = $1.79

1 Gallon of Milk= $3.49

1 Glow Stick= $0.75

Total Cost= $14.68

Gather the supplies and get started!

1. Start by painting the top of the bottles white. Several coats of white may be necessary.

2. I prefer to mix my own colors so I blended equal parts of red, yellow and white paint to create the orange color I wanted.

3. Paint a line around the bottom of the neck with orange. The orange painted portion should cover the largest surface area of the bottle so it looks similar to the candy.

4. Paint the remaining part of the bottle yellow.

 5. Let paint dry.

 6. While you're waiting for the Candy Corn bottles to dry, you can make your Milk Jug Jack-o-Lantern.

7. Cut a a square out of the back of the milk jug. This opening is where you will place your glow sticks.

8. Use a black pen to draw the face of your jack-o-lantern on the opposite side of the milk jug.

 

9. Place glow sticks in the back of your Milk Jug Jack-o-Lantern and turn the lights out to enjoy!

After these two simple upcycles I'm now a huge fan of upcycling every day products!