This nifty home project is a great way to add some new décor in your home, but it also lets you recycle old wine or champagne bottles. Constructing these lighted wine bottles is super easy, and requires very little supplies. It’s also very inexpensive!

Supplies

  • Empty wine bottles & corks
  • Soap and water
  • WD-40 (optional)
  • Drill
  • ½ inch Drill bit (for glass)
  • 1/8 inch Drill bit (optional)
  • Single strand lights (1 set for each bottle)

Begin by gathering all of your empty wine bottles and corks. Tear off the wine label, and then you will want to remove any of the glue residues. You need to wash all the bottles inside and out with hot water and soap. If you still have remaining stickiness from the label, try using WD-40 to remove the rest of the residue.

Next, you need to drill holes in the wine bottles. REMEMBER, you must wear eye protection and work gloves. Only perform this step, if you have experience using drills. If the glass has any small cracks or defects, it is possible while you’re drilling the hole, the bottle can break. Carefully drill a hole about 1-2 inches up from the bottom of each bottle using a ½ inch drill bit that is specifically designed for glass.

Rinse the bottles again to eliminate any loose glass particles. Another option that you don’t have to necessarily do for rough edges, you can use a clear sealant to cover any rough edges of glass.

For each wine bottle you will need a single plug strand of lights (20-25 lights). Now feed the non-plug end into the drilled hole, and leave a good amount of cord extending from the opening. The final step is to insert the cork back into the bottle! If it’s too difficult to squeeze the cork back in, drill a 1/8 inch hole lengthwise into every single cork. Now, the cork should slide in much easier.

This DIY project creates beautiful lighting for your home and is extremely cheap! Let’s try and lessen the amount of trash we throw into our landfills.