I like having my gin and drinking it, too. By turning our empty Hendricks bottles into chalk-painted vases and decor, I get to feel like I’m drinking towards something other than a hangover.
While it’s probably best practice to use chalk paint-specific brushes, I used a regular wall paint brush, and, if I do say so myself, it worked out just fine.
This is one of the easiest ways to breathe new life into liquor bottles, old glassware, etc. To achieve the rustic look here, I recommend using bottles with raised lettering for sanding.
Things You’ll Need:
– Empty and clean Hendricks bottle (or any other bottle you fancy. If you’re using a Hendricks bottle, use a pair of pliers to pull out the rubber “fun stopper” at the top so you can clean it out thoroughly)
– Chalk paint (I’ve got a teal-accented thing going on in my kitchen that I wanted to continue. You’ll only need a small amount from one bottle for this project.)
– Paintbrush (I used an angled 1 1/2″ paintbrush that I had lying around, but I would say anywhere from 1″ – 1 1/2″ would work fine. You can get one here from Amazon.)
– Sandpaper or sanding block
– Optional: Twine and hot glue (my love of twine never ends. If you don’t dig this as much, you can skip these two items)
Start by peeling off any stickers on the bottle. The easiest way I’ve found to do this is to soak the entire bottle in soapy, hot water for about an hour, peel off as much of the sticker as possible, and then use 70% isopropyl alcohol and a paper towel to rub off the remaining glue.
Once the bottle is fully dry, start painting (using strokes that flow in generally the same direction) your first coat. Chalk paint is very thick, so make sure to only use a thin layer each time. Your first layer will look streaky and oogly-moogly, but we’re all about progress, not perfection, right now.
This particular chalk paint that I used calls for two hours drying time in between coats. To err on the side of caution, I allowed about 12 hours in between my first and second coat, and three hours between my second and third coat.
Here’s what it looked like after the third coat:
Once the third coat is fully dry (I left it alone for about 4 hours after the third coat though it may take longer or shorter depending on the amount of paint you use), take your sandpaper and sand down any raised letters or areas you want to weather.
Finally, if you’re into twine as much as I am, hot glue some twine around the areas you want.
And that’s it! These make for great flower vases, gifts, incense holders, and reminders of why your liver hates you. I just bought some white chalk paint and am going to upcycle an empty limoncello bottle that my friend gifted me (it was not empty at the time, but I changed that).
“Creativity is making marvelous out of the discarded.” – Unknown
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