Bottles....

Another short post because I'm triflin.  I have been making jewelry lately, but found myself in a creative slump so I thought I would play with some bottles.  I love containers.   I have repurposed tin cans, cigar boxes, paper mache drink holders from Wendy's, I have boxes and jars and bottles of all sorts holding everything from pens and brushes to bead-soup and linseed oil.  I think you get the picture.  Anyhoo, here are two bottles I've been working on and staring at respectively...

This first one is a ginger ale bottle that I just liked the shape and color of.  I covered it with slices from various types of polymer clay canes.  The largest tile that you see in the middles is fun technique called a Natasha bead or a Rorschach bead.  You squish some different colors together, form a loaf of sorts and slice down the middle, opening the loaf up like a book causing a mirror image to appear.  Several years back I did an in-depth tutorial on this technique and will gladly clue you in, if you are interested.

It only took me several hours to make the tiles, press them on the glass (no glue required) and cure in a dedicated toaster oven.  To stabilize the bottle, I gently placed it on a bed of polymer stuffing. Yes, its the same kind you stuff pillows and dolls with and it does not melt in the toaster oven while it provides a cushy little bed for the bottle to relax on while it bakes.  When you click in on this shot you should be able to get a closer view of the bottle stopper that I created out of clay.  That was fun.

This next bottle is a vinegar bottle that, once again attracted me because of the shape.  I soaked and soaked, but couldn't get the entire label off of the neck.  To hide this problem, I glued cotton clothesline around the neck of the bottle.  I showed this bottle to a friend and she suggested making a stopper for it, but I'm not sure what else it needs.

There are so many things that you can do with bottles when it comes to crafts.  I am also yearning to use glue on the outside of a bottle and write something in cursive and then spray paint the bottle for a really decorative look, maybe something like this...

I don't have wine bottles, but I think it would work on other types of  bottles.  I'm thinking of spraying mine off white or even silver for a more formal look (everyone knows how formal I am, y'all)

Any way, that is what I'm thinking about this week (when I'm not thinking about my upcoming cataract surgery).  I mentioned to my friend Karin that I'm working on a crochet elephant cap for a newborn, so as soon as that's done,  I'll post the picture of it.  It is going to be so cute.

Well, that's it for today.  It's almost the weekend, kids.  Remember to brush and floss or you will be subjected to super sonic scraping at the dentist when you are actually expecting flowery compliments.

Later for ya...