Handmade and holidays go hand-in-hand. This holiday season, upcycle some empty bottles into masterpieces for your mantel, cheerful centerpieces for your table or a festive addition to your holiday decorating. This easy craft is so fun can be enjoyed by the whole family and will make certainly make the perfect gifts.

What you will need

Clean, empty bottles from your favorite Missouri wine (colored bottles look very festive)

Dish soap and rubbing alcohol

Acrylic paints

Paint brushes

Brush on sealant

Battery-powered lights, which will fit into the bottle

Holiday ribbon (optional)

Step 1: Scrub-a-dub

Acrylic paints are easy to use and easy to paint, but unless the surface of your glass is immaculate, it may not stick. That makes it essential to have a clean surface before you start painting. Wash the bottles thoroughly with dish soap to remove your labels, and then wipe clean with rubbing alcohol to remove any fingerprints or residue before they dry completely.

Step 2: Load your brush and start painting

Just pick up a brush and start painting. Try painting simple snowmen because they are just three circles. This holiday craft is only limited by your imagination. Paint Santa, his reindeer, trimmings on a tree, a winter wonderland or anything else your heart desires. If you’re set on the snowmen, here is your how-to:

• With a medium size brush, pick up a small amount of white paint. Thinly paint three circles stacked on one another, with the smallest circle at the top and the largest at the bottom, to make a snowman shape. Add some white paint at the base of your snowman for snow. (Note: if this layer looks patchy or if you can see through it, don’t worry, it’s just the base layer.)
• Grab a small, detail brush and dip it in the white paint. Thinly paint the details you’d like to add to your snowman, such as arms, a scarf, a hat, etc. This thin layer of white paint serves as a primer or base for the colors you’ll add to your art, making the brighter colors easier to see and more vibrant.
• Now, let’s add colors. Start with the snowman and your medium brush and repaint all your snowman shapes white until you can no longer see the bottle through your artwork. Once the white looks good, mix a little bit of a darker color, such as black or blue, with white. This color will be the shadow. Pick one side of your snowman shape to be in the shadow and paint around the side and halfway across the bottom of that shade. Blend this color into the white background for a more natural shadow.
• Bring your snowman to life by using the detail brush to paint the finer details like its arms, scarf, nose, etc. Try paint pens if you’re worried about painting fine details with a brush. If you’re having a great time making your snowman unique, try adding shadows and shading to your smaller details for added dimension.
• Have fun, and remember that acrylic paint can be scraped off of the glass once it is dry before a sealant is applied, which brings us to the next step.

Step 3: Seal it

Since paint can be removed from the glass, we recommend you seal your artwork with a brush-on sealant to protect the finished bottle.

Step 4: Light it up

Drop the small, battery-powered lights into your decorated bottle for extra holiday sparkle. For added flair, adorn the neck of the bottle with ribbons or ornaments.

Step 5: Decorate, gift and enjoy

Use these beautiful bottles to make the holiday season a little more festive. Decorate with them, give them as gifts, or place them in your favorite spot to add a little light and holiday cheer!

Share your wine bottle designs or other repurposing ideas with us by tagging #missouriwine and @missourwine on social media.