Light up with Wine Bottles

Dec 1st 2008ChloeCrafts and Artsy stuff & Green-Friendly Tips

It’s magic — those tiny lights that twinkle in the wine bottles in the rooms at our own North Carolina Bed and Breakfast, Big Mill Inn-the perfect romantic getaway.

The idea is really simple: just drill a hole in a glass bottle and push the lights in. Guests ask me all the time, "How do you do it?"  Now is the perfect time to learn and these glowing wine bottles make great gifts.

First you need an empty bottle; wine bottles are good because they are free. The best ones are light green, usually Chardonnay, or blue, usually Riesling, but not always. The dark green bottles used for red wines like Merlot just don’t illuminate well.

You can either drink the wine or beg your friends to give you their empties. I have been saving wine bottles for years and now I have quite a stash.

Supplies and Equipment you will need:

Light green or blue wine bottle

1/2-inch ceramic tile drill bit (each bit will drill 6-8 bottles)

Small piece of masking tape

Electric drill (battery ones just can’t cut it)

20-count tiny Christmas light set. You need the kind that has a plug on one end only, not the end-to-end kind. The best time to buy these is at Christmas, they are difficult to find otherwise. It is a good idea to wear glasses or protective goggles. Gloves are also a good idea. Some of the bottles will break.

Place a small piece of masking tape on the back of the bottle about 3 inches up from the bottom. Start drilling; don’t use too much pressure, the bottle might break. The tape is to keep the drill bit from jumping around when you first get started.

Be VERY careful; this is a slow process and is not to be attempted by impatient folks.

Drill until the bit goes all the way through the glass. There will be glass dust in the bottle so you will have to rinse this out.  Allow bottle to dry.

Push each light into the hole that you have just drilled. This can be tedious and is not for the fainthearted. After all 20 are inside you are finished. Voila, it is gorgeous and magic!

Some folks decorate the bottles with all kinds of sequins, glitter and bottle covers. I don’t add anything because I like to see the wine labels.

We have these pretty wine bottles everywhere here at Big Mill B&B.  Everyone loves them and the price is certainly right. Oops, forgot to tell you that the ceramic drill bits cost about $16 each.

 What a fun way to recycle!  

33 Comments »

33 comments on “Light up with Wine Bottles”

1. Patti on December 1, 2008 at 1:43 pm said:

   Chloe – I have always loved these – thanks so much for sharing the instructions!

   Happy Holidays!
   Patti
2. Chloe on December 1, 2008 at 2:18 pm said:

   Thank you, Patti…Each one you make gets easier. Hope you have a great holiday too.
   Chloe
3. Sarah and Lickety-Split on March 19, 2009 at 10:07 am said:

   Loved this idea and had to show Sarah. I was educating myself on the pros and cons of blogging and read your comment on bedandbreakfast.com. So, of course, I had to come read your blog-very well done. I have a lot to learn. My blogging skills are minimal but my paws have a hard time on the keyboard after I have been digging up the bulbs outside that Sarah has planted. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Lickety-Split
4. marian on August 1, 2009 at 8:49 am said:

   What do you use to hold the bottle while drilling the hole? Thanks for reply. MF
5. Chloe on August 1, 2009 at 9:42 am said:

   I use an old towel, just in case I break the bottle. I also put a towel under the bottle so that it isn’t as likely to roll around. Good luck! Chloe
6. Mishich on August 27, 2009 at 3:56 pm said:

   Thanks for sharing. I live in Kuwait and it’s hard to find the 20-25 count lights, specially the ones that don’t make the bottle get hot to the touch. Do you know where I can buy these online.
   By the way, these sell very well in our annual christmas bazaar and kuwait being a dry country, people wander where do i get the bottles from :):) I dig in the trash.
7. Chloe on August 27, 2009 at 9:10 pm said:

   Hi, Mishich, thanks so much for your comment. We can get the 20 count lights at any store during Christmas. But I hear the LED really work great and they have them at large craft stores like Michael’s. I hope you can find them and keep digging in the trash!
   Chloe
8. Jennifer Mamo on September 24, 2009 at 6:04 am said:

   Aloha Chloe! thank you for the idea and the instructions! I plan on making a whole bunch for Christmas. My friends are all wine drinkers and I know they will just love this!

   Mele Kalikimaka!
   Jen
9. Chloe on September 24, 2009 at 8:53 pm said:

   Thanks, Jen, Hang on to the corks…I will show you how to make a glorious cork wreath.
10. abaiey on October 2, 2009 at 9:08 am said:

    THIS IS COOOOL JOB. CAN HELP TRASH ISSUE ALSO… i also into your way, jst a little bit diffrent
11. Victoria on October 14, 2009 at 10:08 am said:

    Thank you soooo much for writing this “how to”! My budget is soo tight this Christmas, and now I have a wonderful idea for gifts.
    I’m running out now to pick up my drill bit … wish me luck!

    Victoria
12. Chloe on October 18, 2009 at 3:49 pm said:

    You are certainly welcome, Victoria. And keep saving those corks. I plan to write a Chloe’s Blog entry about making a cork wreath..they are fabulous.
    Chloe
13. Rose on January 31, 2010 at 12:14 am said:

    Love these! They are like fireflies in a jar! We made some after Christmas. Fun – 35 and 50 strand Xmas lights were on sale for a couple of bucks.
14. Chloe on January 31, 2010 at 1:27 am said:

    Hi, Rose, I am now using some of the LED short strand lights and they are gorgeous, and they don’t heat up at all.
15. autumn on October 17, 2010 at 5:13 pm said:

    glad i found this site, by mistake, the bottle sound great, will try them thank you  autumn
16. Chloe on October 17, 2010 at 5:35 pm said:

    great use for all those old wine bottles!
17. Floating Shelves · on November 13, 2010 at 2:08 pm said:

    it is wise to choice to select Light Emitting Diode christmas lights becaue they are not fire hazard ‘-’

18. Pingback: twinkle lights | for real

19. Lauri on November 8, 2011 at 2:42 pm said:

    bottles keep breaking….what are we doing wrong?!?
20. Chloe Tuttle on November 9, 2011 at 9:51 pm said:

    Each drill bit will only drill 6 bottles..and you may be putting too much pressure on the bottle..it takes about 15 minutes to drill each bottle.
21. Becky Rice on November 21, 2011 at 5:01 pm said:

    I have bought 2 different drill bite the first one was 1/2 and everytime we got close to going thru the bottle broke. So I bougt around bit and it is round 1/2 bite
    and it wants to jump around, How can I hold it on the glass without jump around?
22. Pam on August 20, 2012 at 4:22 pm said:

    My question is very simple. I want to make the string of wine bottles around my patio. 1st question, how are the bottles hung around like a covered patio area? 2nd question, how many strands of lights can be connected together? 3rd question, do red wine bottles work well in this project cuz the colors I want to use are red green and yellow. Sure could use the answer to all the questions.
23. Chloe on August 20, 2012 at 10:24 pm said:

    Hi, Pam, thatnks for your comments.. I sent all the answers to your email…good luck!
24. Jill on September 16, 2012 at 11:21 am said:

    Hi 
    I love this!!! When you say drilling the hole is a slow process, about how slow? 
    Thanks,
25. Chloe on October 14, 2012 at 6:38 pm said:

    you can’t rush it-maybe 10 minutes?
26. Stacy on October 20, 2012 at 11:25 pm said:

    I have the same questions as Pam just a couple posts up.  Could you send me the info you sent her? Thank you!!
27. Mark on December 18, 2012 at 2:00 am said:

    To drill a hole in a wine bottle you can use a Rigid 1/2″ diamond drill bit from Home Depot for 18+ tax. On a bench style drill press, with the wine bottle in a rectangle bucket and the bottle being held by an old towel and covered with water to keep the drill bit cool you can make a hole in less than 5 minutes. I’m not sure how many bottles the drill bit will do with this process but my guess is 100 or more based on just doing one and it was too easy but still take your time drilling because if you go too fast you can still break the bottle. Remember to practice safety first.
    Home Depot link http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202528417/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=diamond+drill+bits&storeId=10051
28. Chloe on December 18, 2012 at 10:23 am said:

    thanks…this idea sounds like a good way to drill the holes. Will try it soon!
29. Penny Paul on January 23, 2013 at 4:18 pm said:

    I too would like to know how you hung the bottles up! Did you attach something to the neck? Why couldn’t you put the lights in through the opening at the top and not drill at all?
30. Chloe on January 23, 2013 at 4:39 pm said:

    I have seen bottles that had two tiny holes drilled through the neck and a wire put ther to hang them. But no way to make sure they hang straight.
31. nikki on February 20, 2013 at 12:58 pm said:

    I would also like to know how to hang bottles.bottles
32. Chloe on February 20, 2013 at 1:04 pm said:

    So sorry Nikki, but I do not know how to hange them without the cords being in the way.
33. Cynthia Bush on March 8, 2013 at 9:51 am said:

    I would like the instructions for the hanging wine bottle for the deck please.  I would like to make these for this spring and summer.