Igloo Cooler to Easy-Breezy Wine Chiller

How about a crazy easy summer time project that requires no tools or effort whatsoever? This is one of those ideas of mine that *almost* doesn’t warrant a blog post because it’s so dang simple. BUT- I’ve learned through your comments that even when I have a simple project idea, I should always publish it here on the blog. So, here we are…with a thrifted Igloo beverage cooler…that I am upcycling into a fun and easy wine chiller!

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There I was at Habitat ReStore- looking for treasures and inspiration, as per the norm. And for whatever reason, my ReStore often has a decent selection of Thermos-type containers and coolers in various sizes- probably because the store is frequented by builders and outdoor workers. Anyway, one cooler stuck out amongst the others- this 1-gallon teal Igloo beverage cooler.

Just hangin’ out at ReStore…

My ReStore haul…but let’s focus on the cooler for now.

Now, it was neither vintage (i.e., valuable) or perfectly clean (slight ick), and the broken handle had been tucked inside- but I loved the teal color and the tall-ish, narrow-ish shape reminded me of a wine chiller or wine bucket. Basically, if I upcycled it into a wine chiller, then the ick factor didn’t matter (i.e., I could clean it, but nothing I drank would ever come in direct contact with it), and the broken handle was a moot point. A simple but sublime “related reuse” project that maybe fell just shy of a full-scale upcycle or repurpose. This post contains affiliate links for your crafting convenience.

Broken handle? No problem.

So, here’s the thing- I could have stopped there. The cooler didn’t need ANYTHING DONE TO IT, other than a good scrubbing in the sink. I could have just as easily done that, popped a bottle of rosé inside and surrounded it with ice. But OF COURSE, I needed to embellish it ever so slightly.

And how would I embellish it? Well, the phrase “It’s 5:00 somewhere!” kept bouncing around in my mind, no matter how hard I tried to come up with something else. So, I decided to embrace that phrase but in my own dry-humor kind of way. I purchased a small clock face stencil, fixed it to the outside of the cooler with painter’s tape, and grabbed basic white paint and my favorite stencil brushes (from this online shop).

Cleaned up and ready to embellish!

I knew going into this that my stenciling might be subpar- the ridges on the cooler prevented the clock face stencil from laying smoothly across the surface. But I went about my stenciling business anyway, hoping for the best, but prepared for the worst.

I’m almost scared to look- did it turn out ok??

But, you know what? It wasn’t awful! Not perfectly crisp like I normally aim for, as the numerals had slightly fuzzy edges, but about as good as could be expected given the uneven surface. Besides, it’s going to be a wine chiller and wine makes me a little fuzzy, too.

YES, it turned out ok!

Now to make my clock say 5:00 permanently! (That’s my dry humor version of “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere!”). The clock face stencil didn’t come with arms, so I commandeered my arrows stencil, identified one of the smallest arrows, and carefully stippled paint until it read 5:00.

It’s ALWAYS five o’clock in my wine chiller…

It worked like a charm! Now, I just needed to “set” my handiwork with a couple of quick coats of a matte spray using my go-to trigger handle.

All done and ready for wine!

And that was it! Like I mentioned before, the stenciling was just a fun way to embellish it- but it’s certainly not a required step to repurpose a beverage cooler into a DIY wine chiller.

Perfect for summer!

I’d love to hear how you’d personalize your own beverage-cooler-turned wine chiller in the comments below. And before you go, feel free to get more summertime project ideas from my full collection here!

Craft on!

S

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