Recycling Project #1

As some people know, I hate to throw things away (I'm trying DH, really I am! Yes, Rhonda & Trisha, I know you'll GLADLY come raid my art room and take things off my hands.) On Saturday, I was changing my art room trash like a good little girl (as opposed to letting it overflow and the dog chewing it up.) Sitting on the table was my dd's Sobe bottle and I went to throw it in the trash but then thought 'Hey, I wonder what I can do with that?!'

I thought I might pull the stickers off the Sobe bottle and try to do something with it. I altered a bottle recently and liked how it came out. Have you ever used alcohol inks on glass? I'm sure I have at one point or another but not on a bottle. I found this article on the subject and liked it. Kelli Perkins did a fabulous job on a glass bottle project for Cloth Paper Scissors. Craft-Dabbler (on flickr) made these bottles with alcohol inks outside, and acrylic paints inside. Not sure how the paint will fare inside when you use it as a vase with water but maybe I can put a varnish in there? Who knows.

1. I pulled stickers off the bottle and washed it.



2. I was going to take a pic of the first layer of alcohol inks but since it was so faint and hard to see, I waited until I swirled aqua paint inside. I suggest thinning the paint down in a cup (I used an empty pill bottle) and pouring it all in and swirling the bottle around. I let the excess paint drip out into a cup that had water in the bottom so the paint wouldn't stick to the cup. After it was pretty dry inside, I sat down to play with the outside. Layered on more cranberry, stream and red pepper inks. However, after playing a bit, I didn't like how light it was so I dripped stream on it.



3. Still needed something more so I added cranberry & red pepper inks. Now its brighter, like my personality. I also swabbed a bit of gold alcohol ink on parts of the bottle.



4. Another fun thing to do with glass is to stamp it (make sure to use a permanent ink pad like Stazon.) Here I used an unmounted French script rubber stamp. See how having stamps unmounted comes in handy? I was able to wrap it around the bottle easily (although it does smear a bit, being words.) Also used a diamond stamp around the neck.



5. Here is where you find out we all have missteps. I originally stamped a set of wings on the bottle. Looked okay. I tried to find an image of a girl I liked but none went well enough with the wings. And since I used Stazon, it wasn't coming off of course. So, I improvised. I grabbed a leftover piece from last week's bottle project, stamped some dots, added rubons, stamped words, added an Altered Pages image, then glued it on OVER the wings. You would never have known they were there if I hadn't told you huh!



6. Final touch; initially I was going to add ribbons, fibers and vintage lace to the neck of the bottle to give it some 'flair'. But just tying that stuff around the neck looked blahhh. I tried out this wire flower type garland I have. I 'think' I like it. It's a different blue so maybe I need to dab it with aqua paint? Not sure yet. Not sure it doesn't look too (french?) italian-circusesque for my taste. But it might grow on me. I think it will make a great flower vase on my mantel to go with the big painting I'm working on, for above the fireplace. Before I use the vase though, I'll get some varnish or whatever you use for paint to make it waterproof. Does something like that exist?! lol



** Found another giveaway today, ends June 30th. Win gorgeous print/s of shoes drawings! The Cookie Sheet **

Did you enter yesterday's giveaway?! You're missing out! Go enter!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all the fathers out there! My DH and father included.

Tomorrow: Creative Therapy piece. Hint: its bright!