Cover Old Prescription Bottles To Create Creepy Halloween Decor On A Budget

If you're planning to embrace October in all of its creepy, kooky glory, don't overlook the small details when decorating for Halloween. A ghostly garland is a solid pick, and pumpkin buckets turned into lanterns are all the rage for a '90s renaissance, but you probably didn't realize that some of your best decorative material is hiding in the medicine cabinet. While it's typical to throw empty prescription bottles into the recycling bin, consider holding onto a few and fashioning them into budget-friendly potion bottles this spooky season.

A dash of witch's brew? A sip of Sally's toxic frog's breath? Whatever the case might be, your old prescriptions can easily morph into ghastly "poisonous" potion bottle decorations when painted, labeled, and adorned with a selection of holiday-themed labels and embellishments. The beginner-friendly DIY Halloween project adds a fun pop to your shelf, countertop, or outdoor display and saves you at least a few dollars for the counterparts on shelves at popular retailers. Plus, this gives you the opportunity to add as many potions as you'd like throughout the house, and it places the creative control entirely in your hands.

There are a few ways to tackle this project, and there's plenty of diversity when it comes to styling the bottles. First things first: Remove any prescription labels, and clean the bottle before decorating. Then, decide how to decorate it. Amy Anderson of Mod Podge Rocks utilizes sandpaper to rough up the bottle's surface before painting it black, adhering a potion label with Mod Podge, and distressing the bottle further with light gray paint for an eerie, grungy aesthetic. Meanwhile, YouTube creator Tiki Tiffany takes a different approach by wrapping the bottle cover in snippets of brown paper bags. A decoupage layer of tissue paper adds a rough texture around the bottle that you can then paint before placing a potion sticker at its center. A piece of jute wire around the cap finishes the design, creating a spooky yet charming piece of rustic fall decor. Design your own labels, or search for printable labels for various witchy concoctions online.

There really are no rules for these DIY Halloween potion bottles, but you will definitely need a paint that adheres to plastic, like Artkey Black Acrylic Paint. As far as colors, styles, and Halloween craft accessories — think adhesive eyeballs, felt spiders, and black ribbons — the finished product is entirely up to you. Another perk is that they can live anywhere throughout the house — on the dining room table, as Halloween-themed bar cart decorations, or atop a bedroom vanity, to name a few potential scenarios. Make sure to keep complementary pieces on display to set the scene; consider placing the bottles on a vintage silver tray alongside small lanterns with some faux cobwebs and a bowl or two of your favorite Halloween candy.