← All Workshop guides

1. Give an empty bottle another job

I wash out empty 16–20 oz plastic soda, juice, or water bottles, cut off the bottoms, and repurpose them as disposable paint bowls. It is a simple way to get another use out of something that would otherwise be discarded. The real benefit comes afterward: there is no bowl to scrub clean, especially when the paint has been allowed to dry.

2. Wash and dry

Rinse out any remaining drink, wash the bottle with dish soap and water, and rinse thoroughly. Let it dry completely before adding paint. Juice and soda residue should be removed, and leftover rinse water can thin a paint mixture unintentionally.

3. Cut a shallow bowl

Mark a line around the bottle roughly an inch above the bottom. Cut along the line with sturdy scissors. If a starter opening is needed, make it carefully with a craft knife on a cutting mat, keeping fingers clear of the blade, then continue with scissors. Trim away sharp points and cover any rough edge with tape. Set the finished bowl on a flat surface and check that it stands steadily.

4. Add weight if needed

These bowls are light, so a small piece of modeling clay stuck to the outside of the bottom can help keep them from sliding or tipping. Flatten the clay so the bowl sits level on the work surface, and keep it separate from the paint inside.

5. Put it to work

Add a small amount of water-based acrylic paint. These bowls are useful for mixing terrain colors, preparing washes, or holding paint during a batch of miniature painting. A separate bowl for each mixture keeps the colors apart. Add more paint as needed rather than filling a bowl and wasting the surplus.

6. Reuse when convenient, discard when finished

A bowl can be rinsed and used again while the paint is still wet. However, once paint has dried inside it, the whole point is to avoid a lengthy cleanup. Let leftover acrylic paint dry and dispose of the used bowl according to local waste guidance. Keep paint-contaminated plastic out of household recycling unless the local service accepts it.