Bejeweled bottles

Hands-on time: Approximately half an hour per bottle.
Skill: Easy and kid-friendly.
Cost estimate: Approximately $2 per bottle (excluding the bottles).

Materials & Tools

• Glass bottles in assorted colours, size and shapes (the best place to get original and unique bottles are flea markets, yard sales and rummage sales)
• Wire cutters, needle-nose pliers
• 22 to 24 gauge Fun Wire in assorted colours (available at craft stores)
• Assorted beads in various colours, size and shapes. Smaller beads like seed beads and pony beads are perfect for this project. Available at dollar stores, craft stores and specialty stores.
• Screws or nails in assorted sizes and lengths (to make curls and corkscrew shapes)

These simply beautiful beaded, tinted glass bottle creations can add a little colour and pizzazz to any special corner or mantel.

This is a design-as-you-go project. Select beads and coloured wires to coordinate with your bottles.

Depending on the shape of the bottle, try to decorate a focal point. For each bottle creation once assorted beads are threaded to the wires, make a closing loop with needle-nose pliers at the ends of the wires to secure the beads.

For a bubble-neck bottle, cut a metre of coloured wire with wire cutters. Make a small hook shape at one end; hold the hook below the bubble, wrap the wire around the neck once and insert the wire in the hook and continue to wrap the wire around the neck several times. Secure the other end of the wire by tucking the end under the previous row, creating a hook closure.

Accessorize bottle necks with contrasting wire colour and beads. Secure a wire at the neck, then thread assorted beads at different intervals while wrapping the wire around the neck of the bottle. To fastened the end, tuck it under the previous row.

Loosely wrapped wire makes for an interesting effect with a bracelet-type accent placed around the collar. Cut a piece of wire about 15cm long. Insert a large bead then several smaller beads, then finish with another large bead and finish with a loop. Place the beaded wire length around the collar then twist the wires to connect them together into place. To add a curled wire accent, curl the wire with a pencil tip, slide in assorted beads and secure each end with a loop.

To make a butterfly, cut a 5cm piece of wire, make a loop at one end then insert 3 beads (a small square one, a pony bead and a longer bead to make the body). With a wire length of 20cm, make four loops using your fingers, twist them together at the center to hold them in place. Attach the wings to the body, and the body to the bottle with a wire piece.

To make corkscrew wire shapes, wrap a wire length around a skewer, nail, chopstick, knitting needle or similar object. Add a combination of corkscrew shapes in various colours with assorted beads to create another type of free-form bottle collar décor. Bend the corkscrew at the top to hook it onto a wire that has been randomly looped, beaded and placed around the collar.

Tips

• You can also use double-faced tape or craft glue to secure wire to bottles. Nail clippers can also be used to cut wires. You can add colour tint to clear glass bottles by painting them with diluted glass paint or by spraying them with Krylon's Glass Magic Spray in the stained-glass finish.

Variations

• For extra décor dazzle, variations for this project are endless. Why not make a style statement and start a bottle collection in various hues for the changing seasons. Aside from bottles, consider vases, pillar candles, candle holders, and jars of all types for other fun variations of the above project.
• With spring around the corner think of outdoor projects like decorative garden items: rims of planters, watering cans, or iron accents.
• Get wired with more fun project ideas made with Fun Wire.