I’ve been an avid collector of antique bottles for many years now. But in all those years of hunting down my collection, I never once picked up any amber glass bottles. My eyes went straight for the aqua and green bottles, and now I’m kicking myself for passing them by. Because they are positively PERFECT to use in fall decorating.
So, when I came across this collection of small glass bottles at Goodwill, I decided to try creating a DIY version of amber glass.
And to achieve the look of amber glass, I decided to try out this color of sea glass spray paint.
I’ve worked with the beachy colors before, but never the brown version! So this new project idea would be a fun change of pace.
Now, I knew going into this that sea glass paint would be cloudy and far more opaque than traditional amber bottles. But I wanted to try it out anyway, complete with a metallic twist!
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Two-Tone Amber Bottles
My plan was to coat the glass bottles on the inside with metallic paint and then spray the outside with the amber paint.
So, I gathered up my favorite metallic craft paints, mostly golds, coppers, and bronzes. Basically any warm metallic colors that I thought worked best in fall decor.
Just as I had done with this milk bottle project in the Spring, I added a few drops of water to my metallic paint and squeezed some into the glass bottle.
I rolled and shook the bottle (covered with my thumb) until the paint had thoroughly coated the interior of the bottle. Then, I turned it over and let the excess paint drip out onto a paper plate.
Moving the bottle periodically kept the excess paint from building up inside the neck of the bottle.
Then, I allowed the paint to dry for a couple of days before moving onto the next step, which involved leaf stickers!
I bought several packs of leaf stickers from the scrap booking department of my local craft stores.
Next, I placed the stickers on my bottles in a random fashion and rubbed my fingers over them to ensure there were no air bubbles.
Amber Glass Bottles with Spray Paint
Then, I took the future amber glass bottles outside and set up a spray painting station. I gave each bottle several coats of the amber sea glass paint (each coat dries in a minute).
I also balled up painter’s tape to place on top of the bottles before I spray painted.
Ultimately, the amber glass bottles ended up completely opaque, which I was hoping to avoid. BUT, this was an experiment after all.
Once the amber glass paint had fully dried, I used a pair of tweezers to very carefully remove one of the leaf stickers.
And voila! Just like that, I had metallic leaves underneath the amber glass spray paint.
Perhaps not as gorgeous as the clear amber glass bottles that you can find in antiques stores, but still a fun twist to add to my autumn decorations!
Decorating for Fall with Amber Glass Bottles
My favorites were the yellow gold and antique bronze versions. As it turned out, the copper and rose gold metallic leaves didn’t pop against the amber spray paint.
As you can see, I mixed them in with the amber glass that I DO have and they work wonderfully with the real amber glass.
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Guess what today is? It’s Thrift Store Decor Team Day, so my friends have also been up to all sorts of makeovers and upcycles. Click on the links beneath the collage to see their “afters”.
2. Vintage Christmas Wonderland Cloche
5. DIY Amber Glass Bottles with a Twist
6. Christmas Sleigh Centerpiece
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And if you enjoyed this bottle painting idea for fall decor, then please check out how I transformed these liquor bottles into pumpkins!
Plus, don’t forget- my first book, “Crafting with Flannel”, has an entire chapter of Fall projects!
Craft on!
S
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Sarah Ramberg is the owner of Sadie Seasongoods, a website that celebrates all things secondhand. From upcycling ideas and thrifted decor to vintage-centric travel itineraries, Sadie Seasongoods is a one-stop shop for anyone who loves thrifting and approachable repurposing ideas. Sarah is also the author of “Crafting with Flannel” and has been featured in numerous media outlets and magazines.
Sarah,
Your bottle ideas are so cute. I even liked them with the stickers ON! 🙂
sharing on facebook and pinterest
gail
Your bottles are very festive! Great idea to paint your own!
These turned out super cute!
Thank you!
I’ve used the sea glass spray paint before but I didn’t notice that gorgeous Amber color – so pretty!
I love your new picture! You look lovely!!! Hope your book is coming along! I’m so happy for you!
Thank you so much, Christine! I’m thinking that photo will be my author photo on the back of the book. It’s coming along well and I’m on target to send my manuscript to the publisher on February 1!
That was a very clever upcycle Sadie! I have some Amber Cremora jars that my grandmother used to can sauerkraut. I have been trying to find a use for them, so right now I am rooting some cuttings from a large tropical vine that an Aunt gave to me years ago. It was growing so aggressively that I could not keep it vertical! Do you have other ideas for them? ~ Thanks!
Hmm…outside of using them as a vase of some sort (even with faux or dried plants for Fall), I’m not sure. But don’t get rid of them! 🙂
What a pretty idea! I bet they’d make adorable mini vases over Thanksgiving dinner.
Totally! Thanks so much, Audra!
These are so adorable and clever. I’d love to have a group of them clustered on a dining table with flowers as a centerpiece. You are so creative!
Thanks, Christy!
I enjoyed seeing your process; you introduced me to the sea glass paint with your “sea glass” bottles. I wonder what these amber bottles would look like with lights inside??? I am not an amber fan but I do like it in fall vignettes.