Looking for a creative way to upcycle your plastic bottles and add a magical touch to your home decor?
You've landed in the right place. Welcome to my DIY guide, where I'll show you how to transform your discarded plastic bottles into a captivating string of floral fairy lights. This eco-friendly project will give those bottles a new lease of life and illuminate your space with a unique charm and warmth.
So, get your crafting gear ready, and let's dive into the magical world of DIY lighting!
At the end of the post, you can subscribe to get the instructions in PDF form.
Plastic water bottles
Rubbing alcohol for the airbrush gun
Airbrush gun (I think you could figure out another way to paint these if you don't have an airbrush)
Heat gun or hairdryer
Drill or Dremmel
Step 1 - gather plastic water bottles
Grab a bunch of plastic water bottles. You'll need as many as the lights on your string.
Step 2 - cut bottles into flowers
Cut the bottoms of the bottles and cut and shape them to look like petals.
Step 3 - cut out some leaves
With the remainder of the bottle, cut out some leaf shapes.
Step 4 - paint your flowers
Using an airbrush gun, spray the plastic flowers with different colors of paint.
Do the same with the leaves.
Step 5 - shape the flowers and leaves
After the flowers and leafs dry, take your heat gun..- a blow dryer works just as well - And carefully heat the plastic.
Just a little heat will give them a lot of shape - too much, and they curl more than you want them to.
Check out my melted pieces:
Step 6 - attach to lights
Insert the bulb of the string of lights through the back of the flower.
You want just the bulb to be showing through the front.
Use a glue gun around the bulb's back to secure it to the flower.
Make sure you glue it on the back of the flower so the front looks prettier.
Once completely dry, pick a place to hang them and appreciate your work.
There are many other ways to reuse plastic you’d otherwise get rid of. Check out these 17 other ways to get creative with recycled plastic bottles.
I have more fairy light tutorials too! Check out my tutorial on using ping pong balls on a light string. Plus, see how fairy lights can light up painted recycled wine bottles.
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