4 Ways to Upscale a Discarded Tequila Bottle

On my walk to the ice-covered lake I made a grand find: an empty Silver Patron Tequila bottle on the side of the road. The bottle was intact, and was only slightly marred by a few scratches on the bottom edges. The bottle's shape inspired me take it home and turn it into something beautiful. I carried it across the frozen lake, through the woods and back home. I washed it and removed the labels and then started brainstorming different ways I could turn someone else's trash, a shapely tequila bottle into treasure.

4 Ways to Upscale a Discarded Tequila Bottle

1. Asian Inspired Vase

I have a bamboo plant which needs a new home. It thrives in rocks and water, without soil. One way to upscale this discarded tequila bottle was to turn it into a vase. I sketched out a a way to paint the entire top half of the bottle black, while leaving the bottom portion clear. The roots of the bamboo plant snaking through wet rocks is to pretty to hide. Then a Japanese Kanji symbol could be painted on the black. The symbol for harmony is one I like in my life. I could also use a symbol for growth.

2. Abstract from the Inside Out

With liquid acrylics and some acrylic flow release to make an abstract design inside the bottle, leaving the outside free from paint. By dripping in different liquid acrylic colors and letting each one drip back out with the bottle turned upside down, abstract designs would emerge. Colors could be mixed or layered.

3. Frosted Look with Iridescent Powder

One of my favorite acrylic paint mix-ins is iridescent powder. It can be mixed with an acrylic medium which will dry clear, including Gel Medium Gloss by Liquitex. These iridescent powders, also called interference powders have two complementary colors, depending on the angle of the light.

4. Visual Metallurgy: From Glass to Metal

A metallic color would be one way to transform this appealing glass bottle into something else entirely. With a copper, bronze, silver or gold paint the bottle would look like metal. By painting a black base underneath, realistic shadows and reflections could appear under a varying layers of metallic paint.

I think I am going to need more empty bottles.