Making a Toast -- 1:48 Scale Wine Bottles and Glasses

The little things bring your miniature rooms to life, like glass ware or wine bottles.  Today's mini tutorial shows you a simple, easy way to decorate the blank 3D printed glasses, wine bottles and whiskey bottles from Stewart Dollhouses using glass paint pens.

Let's Begin!

Any brand of glass paint pen will work for this project.  I purchased mine from my local craft store.  Shake your pen and test the ink on a sheet of paper before you begin, as the first run of ink tends to gush out (not good for mini projects!)

Once your pen is ready, carefully draw the color on your bottles.  I started with the whisky and white wine bottles using a yellow pen. In less than a minute, they were done! Allow 8 hours for the paint to dry before removing your bottles from the stand (and read the finishing touches at the end of this article for optional tips before removing).

Creating the Red Wine

The merlot needs a little more work than the whiskey for a convincing look and requires two pens: one red and one brown.  Paint your merlot bottles in brown and allow 8 hours to dry, then paint over them again with the red.  It's an extra step, but the layering makes for wonderfully convincing color.

Apply the brown paint as a base coat and allow to dry.

The Finishing Touches

I wanted an extra bit of realism and so I spray-painted my bottles and glasses in high gloss spray paint for a more realistic glass look.  Also, be careful when removing your bottles from the stands so that you have a nice, clean cut.  If the bottles still don't stand up by themselves, gently sand the bottoms with fine grit sand (600-1000 grit range).  Now just glue your labels and you will have lovely little bottles for your mini scenes!