DIY Idea: Bottle Bookends

Square plastic bottles are the ideal shape to act as bookends on your bookshelf. With a coat of paint to mimic contemporary ceramics, this look is quite funky and industrial, and you can even incorporate a touch of greenery to the setting.

WHAT YOU NEED

• 2 x five-litre clean plastic turpentine or cleaning bottles
• Ready-mix concrete
• All-purpose primer
• Masking tape
• Paintbrush
• Paint tray
• Light grey water-based enamel paint
• Light grey textured paint
• Dark grey water-based enamel paint

WHAT TO DO

1. Fill the bottom third of each bottle with concrete mix. Leave overnight to dry. This gives added weight to the bottles.

2. Spray the bottles thoroughly with primer and leave to dry.

3. Mask the bottom half of the bottle and paint the top half with light grey paint, and leave to dry.

4. Once the light paint is dry, mask the top half of the bottle and paint the bottom half with the textured paint.

5. Once the paint is dry, use the masking tape to section off bands that can be accentuated with the dark grey paint.

TIP: The bookends can be used as they are or as a vase with foliage, to add a dash of nature to your bookshelves.

This is an extract from 50 Upcycling Projects: From Trash to Treasure by Misi Overturf, published by Human & Rousseau. The book, which retails at R325, is available in both English and Afrikaans.