Altered Bottle {with Eclectica³ LB and I&D stamps by Lucy Edmondson}

Hi everyone, Lucy here. 

I started crafting about ten years ago, like many of us with card making and paper-crafting. 
I don’t make many cards now as I prefer to make tactile, dimensional objects using mixed media, and particularly love up-cycling otherwise thrown away items. 

Today I am altering a bottle which can be used as a vase or home décor item, concentrating on using Fresco paints to custom-colour clay to make Lin Brown Eclectica tulips.

Any bottle will do, but round flat fronted bottles such as Rosé wine bottles work well for this design. Paint the bottle with three parts Snowflake to one part Vanilla so it isn’t a stark white. The beauty of the chalky finish of the Frescos is that they work so well directly onto glass so I didn’t sand the bottle first. The cut n dry foam and the opaques I used give a lovely finish which doesn’t scratch off.

Cut two pieces of tissue paper roughly the size of each side of the bottle and stamp with a selection of background stamps using StazOn colours. I used the stamps from the following sets:

MN26

Ink & the Dog: Words (Plate 2)

Vintage Ink & the Dog (Plate 07)

Eclectica³ : Lin Brown (Plate 02)

Apply the tissue paper to the bottle with Matte Glaze and dry with a heat tool. 

Take two balls of oven bake clay and add some Tango to one, and Yellow Submarine to the other, until you are happy with the colour. The beauty of this is you can have clay in any colour of the Fresco range! Roll out the clay to a quarter of an inch thickness. Apply Tango and Yellow Submarine to the head of the tulip from LB 02 and press firmly into the Tango clay. Repeat with the small tulip from LB 03 using Zesty Zing and the Yellow Submarine clay. Cut out with scissors or a craft knife leaving a narrow border from that the raised edges are intact, and bake according to the pack instructions.

I like oven bake clay because it is so resilient once baked. I use Sculpey or Fimo. It’s easy to use but you can condition it a little in the warmth of your hands so you have a smooth ball with no cracks. You can use a rolling pin to roll it out or just a bottle. Roll the clay on a non-stick surface such as a silicone craft mat. You can use cookie cutters but we don’t need them for this project. You can cut it with scissors or a craft knife as I mentioned. I picked it up and cut it with scissors. If you have any rough edges you can sand them with an emery board after baking. I baked mine for 15 minutes in a low oven as stated on the pack of clay. If you use too high a heat or leave them in too long they may go a little brown, like over-cooked biscuits and even less tasty! I use a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper or baking parchment. Make sure you wash your stamps straight away after using paint on them.

I also made some up with the small tulip from LB 03. It will be great to have some spares for other projects. At this stage you can add some highlights and shading with London Bus and Autumn Fire using a small brush. I then painted the tulips all over with Fresco Metallic Glaze, and then with Gloss Glaze. I used the glaze to make them shiny but to be honest I did it to add in an additional Fresco product. They looked pretty just with the metallic glaze. They definitely don’t need sealing in any way.

Stamp the tulip stems from Eclectica Lin Brown 03 onto canvas paper using a mixture of Guacamole, Toad Hall, and Hey Pesto, and cut out leaving a small border.I wanted another medium, and some more texture and interest. Decide on the positioning of your stems and cut them off at the bottom to fit before gluing them in place. Then add your tulip heads, using a very strong glue or a heavy gel medium. As a final touch, use your finger to add plenty of Treasure Gold in White Fire around the bottle neck.

 I would be absolutely delighted if you are inspired to join in with the challenge this week and make an altered bottle or some clay flowers – the Lin Brown Eclectica flowers work just perfectly! Lucy. 

A huge thank you to Lucy from PaperArtsy HQ. It is fantastic to see Frescos used on a different substrate, and those clay flowers are just a genius idea. You managed to combine so many interesting elements to make this really stunning and unique bottle. 

If you would like to join in our weekly challenge with any of this week's guests who have blogged since Sunday night, then join in to link up your creativity HERE you will go in the draw to win PA stamps of your choice! You need to link your entry by17:00 (London time) Sunday 23rd Feb 2014