The most wonderful time of the year is nearly upon us, but lets be honest: is there ever an occasion where a bottle of someone’s favorite beverage is a bad gift? Not in my book! Dress up that drinkable present with this fun, easy-to-make Decorative Washi Tape Bottle Labels!
Beat Gifting a Boring Bottle
Brainstorming some gift-wrap ideas to get ahead for this holiday season, I tried dressing up some liquid libation gifts with curling ribbon to see how festive I could make them.
The answer? Not very. I mean, yeah, it was better than a bare bottle, but… still not what I was going for. Cue the washi tape!
Supplies for Decorative Washi Tape Bottle Labels
Bottle to be gifted (Champagne, wine, sparkling cider, fancy water – whatever floats their boat)
Scrapbook paper
Scissors, large and small
Ruler
Pencil
Brush pen
Washi tape, coordinated with scrapbook paper
Tape runner (or double sided tape)
A Note on Bottle Temperature
This project is intended to be executed on clean, dry, ROOM TEMPERATURE bottles. Any bottle that has been chilled will begin to condensate as you work and will ruin your label. I do not recommend applying the label then chilling, either, as the humidity of refrigerators can also ruin your labels. This is best for “give now, enjoy later” type gifts.
Starting the Decorative Labels
To begin, I decided I wanted my decorative labels to cover the front label on the bottle. (How did I decide that, you ask? I did not have enough paper to make it all the way around the bottle. Seriously. You do you.) For this Champagne bottle my paper label was 4” x 6”, for the individual bottles of sparkling cider the labels were 3” x 4”.
Once I had the paper sized, I lettered a fun phrase onto each bottle. The sky is the limit on what you could write! For party favors it could be each guest’s name, for a bridal shower it could be the number of days until “I Do,” for graduation it could say “Hats Off to You!” Shorter is sweeter, in this case, if you want the whole phrase to be visible without having to turn the bottle.
Applying the Decorative Washi Tape Labels
Once you are sure the lettered phrases are dry, flip the labels over and apply 3-4 generous lines of tape runner to the back side. This will help hold the label in place both while you apply the washi tape and in general transport.
Carefully stick the label to your bottle, keeping it smooth and straight.
Next, cut strips of washi tape that are ¼” longer than the dimensions of your paper. Apply to the vertical ends first, then the horizontal sides. Viola! A beautifully decorated bottle!
If you have noticed the horizontal washi tape is not perfectly flat, you are not alone. Applying washi tape perfectly around a curved surface of any kind is a difficult – nigh impossible – undertaking. If the little wrinkles bother you, feel free to just apply washi tape to the vertical ends of each label, as seen on the Champagne bottle below.
Get Gifting!
Now that you know this incredible hack to turn any bottle into a personalized present, why not gift beverages more often? You know it will be an appreciated present with the perfect amount of sentimental flair. Tag me on Instagram @washitapewarrior when you decorate your gift bottles, I’d love to see!
