For my son’s Milk & Cookies party, I really wanted glass milk bottles. I adored all the cute parties from my inspiration board, but when I looked into buying some I was not so excited about the price + shipping. I figured there must be an alternative. I wanted enough glass bottles for all the guests without breaking the bank.
I decided to turn to the grocery store for options. I found the Starbucks Frappuccino bottles were closest to the look I was after. The store brand was a little bit cheaper, but the bottles were round and did not have the square milk bottle look. The Starbucks bottles were $5.99 for 4. Since I bought them local there was no shipping. Each bottle cost about a $1.50 and came filled with frappuccino :)
I bought one pack to experiment with. I wanted to make sure I could remove all the labels, the goo, and any other markings. I was so happy they came out perfectly clean. I went back and bought 3 more packs. I now have a set of 16 milk bottles in my party stash. They were a wonderful novelty for the milk and cookies party, but I know they will be great for future parties too. I also kept all the lids in case I want to paint them to use for a future party.
You are probably wondering what we did with all the Frappuccino…we drank it, sort of. We actually poured it out into another container and then served it at the milk and cookies party in a beverage dispenser. The adults loved the caffeine option. After the party we moved the beverage dispenser into the fridge and had frappuccino on tap for a week :)
So this is super simple, but here is how to turn Starbucks bottles into glass milk bottles:
- Drink or pour out the frappuccino.
- Soak the bottles in hot, soapy water for about 30 minutes.
- Peel the labels off the front and back of the bottles. They should come off easily, but some residue may be left behind from the adhesive. We’ll get to that in the next step.
- Use a scour brush (I used a Scotch-brite Dish Brush) to scrub off any remaining residue from the labels.
- The last step is to remove the Use By date printed directly on the bottle. Use a little elbow grease and the scour brush to scrub the date off. For any stubborn spots you could use a razor blade to scrape (I did not have to do this).
- Display your new glass milk bottles with cute paper straws (found mine at Sweet Lulu). No one will ever know they started out as Starbucks bottles.
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I recently did this, too! Love the look of glass :)
I love this idea! So cute! :)
I love looking at the store for interesting bottles and think you scored a perfect solution.
Super cute party idea! I save all of those bottles. I love them!
GREAT idea!! Another one of those why-didn’t-I-think-of-that party solutions. So precious.
No elbow grease is necessary to remove all that adhesive. It comes right off (along with the date) with some 100% acetone nail polish remover from the dollar store. I use it all the time! My Frap bottles are now doing storage duty for my homemade sauces and salad dressings! I love ‘em to pieces!
you don’t have to soak them…just run under hot water & the labels pull right off. you can then use the labels under the running water to dab off any excess stickness. i used acetone to take the laser printing off.
then i put them in the dishwasher caps and all.
now i’ve been trying to figure out some good ideas for the holidays to use these…
Love it, love it, love it! My daughter is having her daughter’s birthday party in November. We are ordering the paper straws and she also wanted the milk bottles but they are too pricey. We may try this! Thanks for the inspiration!
Hi There!
I made these for my baby’s blessing brunch a few weeks ago. The directions you gave were so easy to follow!
I blogged about your idea and gave your website address on my blog today. Here is the link: http://pojofitness.blogspot.com/2011/10/pinterest-recreation-linky-party.html
Thanks for saving me some money and for the great idea!
Liz,
Thanks for sharing, The brunch turned out beautiful!
Can’t wait to do this for my little girls first birthday!!
They remind me of the milk bottles from my primary school back in the 1990s – only larger as the school ones were 189ml. I have a collection of them at home.
Great idea and awesome website! I love this idea! Thanks for the hints!
I discovered our local Asian grocery store has a yogurt drink in glass milk bottles for $1! And I’ve gotten the label goo off pretty well using a magic eraser!
I’m going to be using them for a Valentine’s Day tea party :)
Such a great idea! Thank you for sharing. I will definitely be doing this for my daughter’s birthday!
Seriously… Brilliant!
OMG! This is such a great and simple idea! Thank you so much for this post!!!!! I am throwing a tea party birthday party next month and until then, I plan on being super productive while chugging my starbucks hehe :) Love this!! and thanks again! :)
You’re a genius! I vae been wanting these for my daughter’s fairy party but was finding it hard to cough up about $45.00 for glass jars that I will likely only use once. Thanks so much!
Where did you get the bottles that are holding the different flavors of milk? I am wanting to use this idea for my daughters birthday also.
The carafes with the blue lids are from Target. I believe they were $5 each. I preferred these carafes, because they are lightweight plastic.
Awesome idea. I used this at a recent party. We had a few toddlers there so I had my hubby punch a straw hole in some the lids, screwed them on and didn’t have to worry about any tip-overs :)
Great idea! I’ve repurposed other bottles, but I never though of making “milk bottles”. So cute for a children’s birthday party.
hi, this is such a cute idea. where did you get the straws? ive seen them before and for some reason cannot remember where!
Vicki,
I got yellow and grey striped straws online at Sweet Lulu.
thanks so much never heard of this website but im officially obsessed! loved everything on here!!!!
Etsy is another option for finding straws. I have purchased the paper straws a number of times.
this is a great idea – my teenage sons love this with “bendy” straws. go figure- easy way to get exp. date off is with Goof Off – comes right off – No elbow grease involved. Just be sure to turn on fan and open a window.
Does anyone know were I can get the beverage container she used for the milk and frap?
Kelley, the plastic carafes and white beverage dispenser are from Target. The yellow tub was from Walmart.
Jackie, I jazzed up some of the Starbucks bottles with a little Scrapbook paper and hot glue. It comes off fairly easy and then I’ll save them for another party. I also made a hole in the lid for the straw. Here’s a picture http://pinterest.com/pin/172825704420003219/
Lesley, they look so cute! I will be sharing in my next reader roundup!
I did this for my nephew’s 6th party (thanks for the idea) and after experimenting several different ways of cleaning, I put them in the dishwasher with the labels on. After going through the cycle, the labels came off with no residue what so ever. I used a scrubbie to take the date off the bottle. It was so quick and easy.
I was going to actually order and pay for these bottles. So glad I came across your site. You just saved me some $$$! Thanks :)
I’ve wanted to do this for some time. Thanks for posting the tutorial! BTW – where did you get the milk carafes that you put on ice?
The milk carafes are from Target. I always see them on the end caps with seasonal stuff near the dishes. They are plastic and only $5 each.
FYI – you can get 12 Frappacino drinks in a pack at Sam’s Club for $11.88. So this project can be done for under a buck a bottle!
I found your site on a search of inexpensive milk bottles (which apparently don’t exist.) This is a great solution, now to find someone who drinks frappuchinos and steal their bottles.
i believe a little rubbing alcohol would take the “use by” date off with a lot less effort.
A white eraser will get all the goo and printing off in just seconds! :)
I have been using these bottles to send milk and juice in my husbands lunch for several years. I clean and dry the inside of the lids, and paint them with clear nail polish. This prevents rust from building up inside.
FYI: Goo Gone gets off ANY kind of adhesive. Almost not elbow grease needed. I use it all the time.
An easier way to take off the printed use by date is to use rubbing alcohol (personally, I used 70%. Not sure if it comes in any other percentages). It takes the ink off easily. However, it doesn’t make the adhesive come off any easier.
Just wanted to say thanks – just got done clearing off 50 of these bottles for an upcoming bridal shower. With your instructions, I didn’t have ONE problem. Thank you so much!! :)
Great idea to use the Starbucks Frappuccino bottles. I plan to use this idea for my baby shower! FYI, you can also purchase the bottles by the case (12) at Costco for like $17. Thanks again for the tip!