Spooky Halloween Party Table Decor

Halloween is just around the corner and if you're planning a party... I've got some recycling ideas to make your serving table funny and spooky!

By using bottles, jars and cans, with glued on labels and other embellishments, you can make Halloween table decor much more fun!

Check this out:

Print labels
Trim them off
Glue them onto...

bottles, cans, jars, actually any kind of containers... even wooden fruit crates! Then decoupage over the labels.

... and embellish with beads, jewelry and other trimmings.

The results are dressed up Halloween servers!

These recycled bottles can used for punch, juice, cider, water or whatever your choice beverage is.

I used an old button and twine on the neck of this bottle.

An amethyst and leather bracelet along with a broken pendent decorated this one.

I used an outdated necklace and strung some beads on this bottle.

Here are my other spooky containers.

A can wrapped with the "Scarecrow Stuffings" label and twine glued on is awesome for pretzel rods, lolly pops, twizzlers, etc.

A painted peanut butter jar decorated with rope and an old clip on earring can hold m&ms, candy corn or other treats.

And a spice jar with a satin ribbon tied on can hold tiny candies... like cinnamon buttons.

This cut bottle has "Bat Wings" for a label. It could hold tortilla chips or jerky.
The olive jar is labeled with "Eye of Newt" and would be fun with chocolate chips in it.
And the salsa jar is recycled into a "Dried Rat Tails" container... maybe some small pretzel sticks would be funny!

There are so many different types of containers to use for decor too. You can try salad dressing bottles to make "potions"; ketchup and mustard containers, jam and jelly jars, coffee creamer bottles, and even wicker baskets to hold popcorn, etc.
The ideas are endless.

These bottles would look awesome with grape juice or red fruit punch in them.

This is so easy and fun that the whole family can get in on the crafting to decorate for your party. 

Beads, chains, strings, yarn, leather and much more can be used to decorate around the labels just by simply gluing them on.

I found my labels on Pinterest and I made a board of about 45 of them. If you want to grab these for yourself, here's the link --->  Halloween Labels.

I posted this early enough to get started before October in hopes to give you some ideas for decorating in plenty of time.

Have fun!!!!

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Addie Pendant Light Knock Off: Cutting A Bottle

This month the Inspiration Tribe is working with the theme of Knock Off projects.
Loving the industrial look of repurposed bottles into light fixtures, I looked for one that I can add into my workshop makeover challenge.

I found this one in the Ballard Designs catalog and loved it... in a kinda sorta way. If it was more industrial - rustic looking.

And, I had a large bottle to use for it. Knowing I that I could add a rustic look, it had potential.

Using a bottle cutter I allowed enough space to hold the socket and a bulb inside. Then scored the glass.

When I cut glass bottles (which is a bit more challenging than cutting tiles), I use the temperature shock method because it gives a smooth break by scoring the glass with the cutter first.

That shock method is just simply using containers of boiling water and very cold water. (Safety glasses, rubber gloves and tongs are required.)

1. Score the glass with a cutter, with steady contact, all around the bottle or subject you are using without pressure. (pressing too hard will create disasters.)

2. Dunk the scored bottle into boiling water ( I rolled the bottle in a large kettle of boiled water in my double basin sink.)

3. Then shock the heated bottle by putting it into cold water. (Again, I used a large kettle of cold water with ice cubes added to it and rolled the bottle in it on the other side of the sink.)

4. The bottle will take a few seconds to take affect, but you will hear the "pop" and the two sections will come apart while giving off a bit of air pressure. Sometimes, you may need to go back and forth from hot to cold to hot, etc. But do it quickly to utilize the water temperatures. If you end up with the glass break in the boiling water, retrieve the parts with tongs. Switching can also change the water temperature. (Tip: keep more boiled water handy at the stove to add to the hot and a bowl of cubes to add to the cold.)

Not all cuts will be perfect but it is much more effective than the "tapping method". 

Have extra bottles in case of bad splits. With this one, I had a one shot deal and it turned out well. 

Then I gathered up a plug in type of light socket with a cord switch to be hooked up and hung.

And, bought an awesome vintage light bulb.
I'm so in love with the style.

To insert the wiring through the bottle top, I had to remove the wires first. (Easy to do. Just loosen the screws to release the wiring.)

I replaced the bottle cap and punched a hole through it to feed the loose wire into the bottle.
Then replaced the wires by tightening them around the screws and put the socket back together.

After sanding the cut area of the glass with sand paper and a bit of water to smooth it, I used electrical tape as the trim. It was too stretchy, so I removed it and used black duct tape that I cut down to 1.5" to wrap around the brim for about 3/4" on the inside and 3/4" on the outside.

Then the fun part: added the light bulb, hooked it, and hung the pendant up. 

The hardest part of the project was a good glass break. Otherwise, it's really easy!

Pretty enlightening, isn't it? :)

It's going to look awesome over my workbench. Now I'm off to turn a dresser into the workbench with some fun ideas "attached" to it!

Decorated Garlic Infused Oil Bottle & Recipe

I cook with garlic-infused olive oil quite often. It's healthy, tasty and ... expensive.

Making it yourself can save a lot... to buy... more garlic and olive oil. It's so beneficial cooking with it and it's a big budget helper. It takes just 6 smashed cloves of garlic to one cup of olive oil.

I confess, I've bought the pre-made infused oils and vinegar off the shelf; but only on sale.

I saved the used bottles to hold my own home-made. I opted to change the look of the plain "what is in that?" bottle by decorating it.

Cradling the bottle with rolled towels I drew an outline of a head of garlic in permanent marker.

Then painted it.

Still somewhat plain and too simple... I chose some decorative writing from this stencil by The Crafter's Workshop "Grow" # TCW 531S.

I sprayed adhesive on the stencil and wrapped it firmly onto the bottle while applying a green iridescent embossing paste.

The little design became a visual label for what's stored inside.

Super easy and quick little bottle dress up! I'll do this for the infused vinegar recipes too!

Do you make your own infused olive oils?

Created for The Crafter's Workshop.

I'm updating the post to for the requested recipe I use! :)


Garlic Infused Olive Oil

Ingredients: 

(Stove top simmer method) 
6 Cloves of Garlic to 1 Cup of Olive Oil

First, use high quality olive oil. Getting it on sale can help keep the cost down.
Second, the garlic needs to be cooked to remove bacteria and the threat of botulism.

Start by peeling and chopping garlic, then add some oil in a pan to saute the garlic with medium heat for about 5 minutes. A steady sizzle without browning will avoid bitterness. Lower heat to medium low and add cup(s) of oil to infuse, allowing a slow light boiling of the oil for another 5 minutes. Make certain it doesn't burn. Lower heat to low and simmer 15 minutes. (This is to ensure any health threatening spores are killed.) Turn off the heat and allow the oil and garlic to cool.

Once cooled, strain the entire contents into an airtight container, making sure no garlic pieces are in the oil. (Any remnants could spoil the oil.) Store the oil in the refrigerator for use. It lasts quite a long time chilled.

(Tip: Those cooked garlic pieces can be used in a recipe right away! I like to make a garlic herb butter for hard crusted bread to use it up... Garlic bread goes great with many main entrees!)




(Slow cooker method)
1 Head of Garlic to 1 cup of Olive Oil

You can leave the skin on using this method, and I do, to hold the cloves together. I cut the heads in half and put them into the cooker using high heat the first hour, then medium heat for another 5 hours. This allows the natural garlic oil and it's healthy benefits to release into the olive oil while killing bacteria.

Shut off the cooker and allow the oil to cool. Strain well into airtight bottles/containers. I've stored this method in a bottle in my cooking cubby up to a week without any health risks. (It usually gets used up within that time period.) You can refrigerate or store in a handy place for cooking.



Garlic Infused Vinegar

Ingredients: 

6 Cloves of Garlic to 1 Cup of Vinegar


Garlic infused vinegar is a lot easier! Because vinegar is acidic, it kills the bacteria spores in garlic and you can simply add the cloves into it. White or apple vinegar gives the best garlic infused flavor, but I've used it in wine vinegar too.

Peel the garlic and smash it to release the oil and drop into your container. Or you can use a wooden skewer to put through the cloves and push it into a bottle. Pour vinegar in and that's it!

You can leave the cloves in as long as you wish. The longer the better without bitterness. As you use the contents, just add more vinegar to top it off. It lasts a very long time.  If the garlic changes color, it's normal, and nothing is wrong. It's a pickling process. (You can remove the garlic and start with another batch anytime.)

(Tip: The pickled garlic can be eaten... add it to a salad vinaigrette!) 


The initial cost of the ingredients for the oil and vinegar recipes can equal the cost to ONE or TWO prepared store bought. The savings is huge and you can control the flavor you desire.

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