Wine Bottle Jack-o-Lanterns


  Turn regular cheap wine bottles into some funky Halloween decorations. Halloween decorations that you can drink! Even better.

What you need:

  • (1) can of Mandarin Krylon Dual spray paint
  • (1) can of Hunter Green Krylon Dual spary paint
  • Cheap wine (Charles Shaw is always a winner here)
  • Masking tape
  • Sharpie
  • X-acto knife

How and How Long:

  1. Ditch the labels: Soak the bottles in a bucket of water for a little while and then peel and scrape off the soggy mess. This only took about 10-15 minutes, I think. I actually forgot about them on my front stoop for a bit. I'm an awesome neighbor.
  2. Tape it up: Break out the masking tape! Put a large working are on the front of the bottle. The "front" here being the side facing you when the seams of the bottle are pointing to the side. Also wrap a bit of tape around the top of the bottle to avoid painting the cork and lip of the bottle.
  3. Draw Faces: Use the Sharpie to draw some Halloween faces on the bottles. Have fun with this step, it's better to be loose and see what you make.
  4. Cut and Peel: Use the X-acto to cut the edges of the faces you just drew. Make sure to get all the way around. Then just peel away everything else, being careful not to go too fast. You may have missed a spot and don't want to go back. If you do mess up and tear the tape, you can patch it with a bit more masking tape. That's what happened to the happy face on the right.
  5. Paint the stems: Break out the green spray paint and spray the necks of the bottles. Wait a while, at least a day, before applying some masking tape over these to protect them for the next stage. Do it too early and the tape will pull off some of the paint when it's removed.
  6. Paint the bodies: Now use the orange spraypaint and apply a series of light coats with 20 minutes in between to let each coat dry. Once you're done, let the bottles dry for at least an hour before removing any of the tape.
  7. Peel off and Enjoy! Slowly remove all of the tape and you have some wine bottle jack-o-lanterns! While these bottles are dry to the touch they may still be a little tacky and smell like spraypaint. Let them fully dry for a few days, or even a week, before putting them out or giving them to someone else. No one likes a smelly present. Finally, don't hesitate to drink them, fearing that you'll ruin the look. They still look good even when empty. Enjoy!

Approximate project time: 30 minutes.

What it Costs:

Cost is $20 for 2 cans of spray paint and bottle of wine.