Halloween is a fun time of year for kids and adults, and Spooky Mixed Media Art Halloween Bottles: Upcycled Textured Centrepieces shows you how to turn empty wine and vinegar bottles into eerie mixed‑media art pieces. Combining layered textures, coloured wax pastes and upcycled embellishments, these Halloween bottles double as haunting centrepieces or mantel décor—without breaking the budget.

Assemblage mixed media combines found objects and varied materials in one artwork, emphasising texture, depth, and contrast. It tells a story by arranging everyday items—metal bits, wood scraps, fabric, paper—and unifying them with paint, wax, or patina.

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Spooky Mixed Media Assemblage Art Halloween Bottles: Upcycled Textured Centrepieces

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Materials Needed

• Empty bottles (vinegar, wine)
• Craft glue or Mod Podge
• Tissue paper, serviettes, toilet paper
• Plastic mesh, rope, burlap, corrugated cardboard
• Elmer’s glue
• Black gesso or black acrylic paint
• Coloured wax pastes (store‑bought or homemade)
• Hot glue gun & glue sticks
• Plastic spiders, bats & webs
• Silicone sugar‑skull mould + plaster
• Waterslide decal paper + printed Halloween motif
• Cricut vinyl cutter + Halloween vinyl decals
• Artificial flowers or shell petals + copper spray
• Cork fairy lights (optional)
• Shimmer spray (optional)

Step 1: Prepare Your Mixed‑Media Art Bottles

Remove labels, clean and dry bottles before you begin layering textures.

Step 2: Build Up Texture

I used budget craft glue and cheap serviettes to create texture. Using a flat brush, I painted a thin glue layer onto the bottle. Then I pressed torn serviette pieces into the wet adhesive. Once dry, I applied another coat of glue and added a second paper layer to deepen the texture. Feel free to use any paper—tissue, napkins or even toilet paper—for a unique finish.

I grabbed scraps of onion‐bag mesh, lengths of rope, frayed burlap and corrugated cardboard packing pieces, then glued them on in a spontaneous, haphazard pattern.

There’s no need for precision—embrace the randomness. In fact, the more varied and erratic the placement, the richer and more striking the texture on your Halloween bottles. If you’re hunting for more materials to layer on texture, this post is packed with creative product ideas to inspire your next bottle makeover. After your base coat has dried, apply an even layer of black gesso over the entire bottle.

Step 3: Base Coat & Wax Highlights

This was the very first bottle I made, and while painting it black and adding wax before decorating does work, I’ve found it much easier to glue on all your embellishments first, then apply black gesso and finish with your wax highlights. Don’t worry if you prefer the other way around—it still produces a great result!

To bring your mixed‑media art Halloween bottles to life, swipe coloured wax paste over the black base. Although I bought two store‑bought colours, they weren’t vivid enough, so I blended my pastes with equal success. A little wax goes a long way. Dab a small amount onto your fingertip, then rub it lightly over the bottle. Avoid pressing wax into the crevices. Let the highlights rest on raised textures for a haunting glow.

Step 4: Embellish Your Art

Time to embellish your mixed‑media art Halloween bottles. Start by hot‑gluing plastic spiders—grab an inexpensive pack from Kmart—and stick them on in random clusters. Next, create a melted‑wax effect with your hot‑glue gun: drip beads of glue around the neck and let them run down the sides. Traditional taper candles work best here

I cast my own sugar skull using a silicone mould and quick‑setting plaster—no waiting on deliveries! The plaster sets in about 10 minutes (or faster if you blast it with a hair dryer). Once fully dry, coat the skull in black gesso, then highlight its details with coloured wax paste or acrylic paints for a spooky, handcrafted accent. I later discovered an even simpler trick: pipe hot‑glue directly into the mould—it sets instantly and skips the plaster step entirely.

A pack of inexpensive plastic mirror pieces arrived from China and, while too small for wall displays, fit perfectly on the Halloween bottles. A free Halloween motif was downloaded online, printed onto waterslide decal paper, then transferred onto each mirror shard. For a step‑by‑step guide on using waterslide decals, check out my Halloween Mirror tutorial.

Next, I raided my stash for found objects—small twigs from the garden’s grapevine, wood studs and old jewellery. Then coat glued pieces with black gesso and swipe coloured wax paste to unify the look. Feel free to rearrange or swap embellishments until you’re happy with the final effect. If it doesn’t work, paint everything in black and start again.

Step 5: Fabric & Vinyl Accents

Fabric overlays add instant dimension without expensive stiffeners. Start by brushing a thick coat of Elmer’s glue onto the bottle, then press on scraps of any fabric—old rags, cotton or linen all work. Use your fingers to pinch and fold the fabric into creases, then seal it with another layer of glue. Let it air‑dry (or speed things up with a hair dryer). Repeat these layers until you’re happy with the depth. Once set, mix in other textures—cardboard, burlap or mesh—to build a complex, mixed‑media finish as above.

Using my Cricut, I cut sugar‑skull, spider, bat and cobweb decals from black vinyl and applied them in a random pattern around the bottle. After brushing on black gesso and sweeping on wax highlights, those crisp silhouettes stand out against the bottle.

6. Pistachio shell flower

To make this bottle stand out, I added a floral collar at its neck. I sacrificed a faux bloom from my décor stash and even crafted one myself by hot‑gluing pistachio shells into petal shapes. A quick blast of copper spray paint gives both flowers a unified metallic sheen—far faster than hand‑painting each tiny shell.

All sides of the complete bottle with the vinyl decals.

For an eerie glow, drop a battery‑operated LED light—designed to look like a cork—into the bottle’s neck. It sits snugly in place, transforming your mixed‑media art Halloween bottle into a self‑illuminated centrepiece.

The mixed‑media art bottles sat in the corner, arranged in front of the Halloween mirror I created the year before.

Close‑up photos reveal every intricate detail of each bottle.

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