Ceramic Olive Oil Bottle

There's a great craft studio in Longmont, Colorado called Crackpots. When I was a kid we would go there for birthday parties and family outings. They offer projects like mosaics and glass fusing, however their big seller is ceramics painting. They charge an $8 studio fee, and then the cost of whatever ceramics you choose to do. I think you can do up to 3 for each fee.  I've promised myself that some day I would try something new at Crackpots, however I always end up painting. It's just so fun and therapeutic. While I would love to invest in a kiln or some ceramic paints to save money over time (it would take 100 years to pay itself off) in order to do my art whenever I like, I love going to the studio for the great experience. 

The first thing you do when you get there is you pick a ceramic project out of the hundreds of options they have. You can see the growlers, tea pots, and mugs behind Alex in this picture, but they also have things like clocks, dog bowls, plates, bowls, cups, statues, piggy banks, lanterns, and more! The hardest part of the whole experience is picking the project. Alex always picks an animal to paint. This time he chose a Chihuahua like our puppy Bug!

I picked an olive oil bottle. I painted the top of the neck a yellow color. Always do three coats for a solid color. I recommend getting a turntable when you go. These are great because you don't have to touch your project. I don't know how many times I would put black finger prints on the handle of a purple mug or smudge a design that I had labored over for hours before I learned about the turn table. Now I use it every time. 

I painted the rest of the bottle a tan color. They have an amazing color selection, and they make sure to show you how the color will look after baking. You can mix your own colors, but there's no guarantee what it will look like in the end. 

In an earlier post I said that Alex was not very creative when it comes to arts and crafts--well he came along to prove me wrong. His statue of Bug is coming along nicely. Maybe he is good at art and crafts....

I wanted to do screen printing to get the design I wanted on my bottle. The first step is picking a color. I got an olive color (for olive oil) and put a little bit on my palette. Then you pour a thickening agent on the top. I'm not sure what the thickening agent is called, but they will give it to you if you ask for it. 

Use your finger or a brush to mix the agent into the paint so that it is a thick paste. As a side note, they have the most adorable palettes! 

After you have picked the design that you want to transfer, select where you want to place it. You are going to want to tape the design to the bottle. Because the paint is wet, you have to get creative when taping the design. You can't stick the tape to the paint so you have to stick the tape to itself by wrapping the tape completely around the bottle. 

Once the design is secured you can apply the paste to it. Rub the paint in with a little bit of force. What you are doing is pressing the paint paste through small little holes in the design. It's like a stencil with a screen in the blank spots, so the paste has to be fine enough to fit through.If the paste is too thick, then you can wet your finger and rub into the design with a little force. Make sure you get on all of the lines and cover the entire thing so that the design on the bottle is identical to the design you have picked. 

This is the bottle after the screen is removed. If there are any places that were not completely filled in, like the tip of the leaf on my bottle, you can use the mosquito paints to fill it in. They have mosquito paints in most colors, and can help you if you need one in a different color. Use the mosquito to make thin lines to fill in the places that were missed.

Repeat the process with any other designs you want to use. 

This was the design I used on the other two sides. 

You can add any embellishments you like. I added berries to the leaves. But you can leave it plain if you want. 

I added berries and twigs to this leaf.

And I made the other side a little different so it wasn't boring. 

Use a small brush to fill in any paint specks of the wrong color. Also, hold the turntable to avoid spinning.

Alex and I used the same color to do Bug's fur and the top of my bottle. He chose to only do two coats for a more gingersnap look. I did three to make it more golden.

I had to put my finger inside the bottle to hold it steady when doing fine lines. When doing areas near other colors, like the top of the bottle, use a fine brush at the place where the colors meet to avoid slips. Then you can use a bigger brush to fill in the rest. 

I used the mosquito to write Olive Oil on the bottle. I did it in black, but I think brown would have looked cool too.

This is how the other side looks. When it dries the sides will be all one color. The paint can be very deceptive when wet. Wait until it dries before making any big decisions. 

This is Alex's finished product. He did such a good job! He put a lot of work into the eyes so that you could see the pupils against the black eyes. 

She looks like the real deal!

In the back you can see the other projects waiting to cook. It's fun to look and see what other people did to get ideas. 

I think we did a great job. We get to see the finished product on Monday. I'll post how it looks after baking when we get them back! We had such a good time and I highly recommend Crackpots for your next girls night or party. It's so much fun and you don't have to spend a fortune on materials. Have fun creating and stay tuned for the next project of the day!

Wood Burned Picture Frame

I was at Michael's a few months ago and they had wooden frames on sale for twenty cents each. Needless to say I bought quite a few. I had bought a wood burning tool recently and I was dying to try it out. Wood  burning is now probably my favorite craft. I love the smell of the burnt wood and it gives pieces such a unique look. It's also mess free up to the last step, which is purely optional. This craft is great for busy lives, you can stop and start again easily. The art is called pyrography. Some people create amazing drawings with shading and such, but

This is a wood burning tool. Plug it in about 10 minutes before you are ready to start. Note the rounded tip that I use. I find it's the best one for drawing projects because it glides easily over the wood without hardly any abrupt stops. Now keep in mind this is a Walmart wood burner that I got for about $10. If you have a bigger budget, I recommend this one because it has a temperature gauge. When I get really good, I'm going to save up for this set which is way more intense and expensive.

Begin by stenciling on your design. If you have graphite paper you can do much more intricate designs. 

This was how my final tracing looked. I did the letters free-hand. That's why they're sloppy :)

Start burning by gently touching the pen to the wood and slowly moving it across the surface. Don't hold in one place too long because it will make a pit. It happens though, so don't feel too bad. 

There are two burning techniques. The first is just to fill in the letters or shapes top to bottom.

The second is to outline the letters and shapes and then fill them in. This is my preferred method. 

Experiment with patterns. Do every other shape or do them all. It's your project. (The place where the tips screw in is very close to the tip. You may accidentally touch it to the wood. Try not to--that's why my E looks terrible!)

This was how my burning turned out. 

You can end here if you wish, but I prefer a more unique finish. However for a day of gift or if you are short on time, this is beautiful as is.

Sand the frame to give it a softer look. It's not required, though. I used an average grain of sandpaper here. If you have it on hand, though, use the fine grained stuff that looks like a nail file. It's all black and only $3 at Home Depot. It is much less aggressive.

I got this stain from Home Depot. It's a beautiful color, but I recommend testing it on a piece of scrap wood. If you used maple, test on maple. If you use pine, test on pine. The colors look different on different wood. I've also experimented with a number of brushes. I like the sponge brush because of the way it makes the grain of the wood look. You'll see in the next picture. 

Apply the stain in an even coat. I typically think one coat is enough, but use your judgement. Try and start and finish off the wood to avoid stop breaks like I have on the bottom. As you can see, this color really brings out the grain which was hidden before. 

 Let it dry and then put your picture in! 

Let me know how your art turns out, and remember to stay tuned for the next project of the day!

Fizzy Bath Salts

Fizzy Bath Salts with a Message in the Bottle

For birthdays I tend to give lovely ladies homemade bath gifts. It's great because every woman deserves to pamper herself. My bath gifts are always non-toxic and completely edible. While I don't recommend eating them, I do this because I want my dogs (or someones children) to be safe in case they get a hold of something. I also use essential oils with specific qualities for specific people. Some people ask that I put positive intentions or prayers into their bath gifts so that they will feel the positive energy when they are used. These are all the benefits of making your own bath gifts--you can make them the way you want!

How cute!

I saw these cute bottles when I was shopping at Michael's yesterday. I had a coupon so I only paid $1 for each of them. They made me think of the kind of bottle one would find filled with sand and a love note. So I figured instead of sand I would make bath salts. However, the woman I'm making these for is still working her way through my last batch of bath salts, so I decided to make these ones with some fizz.
Fizzy bath salts are like a mix between bath bombs and bath salts. You can pour as much as you want and they exfoliate your skin like bath salts and they fizz in the bath and actually are able to soften the water like a bath bomb.

These are the ingredients for the base. Corn starch, citric acid, Epsom salts, and baking soda. I get citric acid when it's on sale in the canning section at Walmart, but usually it's cheapest at Sprouts or Whole Foods in the bulk spices section. 

Mix 1/8 cup of citric acid, 1/4 cup of baking soda, 1/4 cup of corn starch, and about 1/2 cup of Epsom salts. You can add more or less salt based on the texture you prefer.

Little clumps in the mixture can be pressed out against the wall of the bowl. You can also crush them with the spoon. We don't want any clumps.

Pick an essential oil. I chose sweet orange because I was going for a beach theme. Also, get some soap grade color. Food coloring can stain your bath tub. I got mine at Michael's for about $5 for three colors. Add the fragrance to a strength of your liking to the mixture in random places. I used 7 or 8 drops and I made a star pattern with them. The pattern doesn't really matter just as long as the drops are well spaced. 

Add the coloring of your choice to a spoon. I used ten drops of yellow and two drops of red. I recommend using a plastic spoon because you can see how the color will really look. I've used metal spoons before and it turned out okay, the color just looked different than I expected.

Use the spoon as a mixing bowl and combine the colors with a toothpick. If you don't like the color, add more one drop at a time. You can always add color, you can't take it out.

Dump the color in. It will fizz--don't be surprised. The color may look different once it is mixed in. If you don't like it, go ahead and mix another batch in the plastic spoon. Work in small batches so you don't get too dark. Use the same ratio of colors if you like the color so far. If you want to change it, do so slowly.

This is how the bath salts will look when you are done. At this point you can put them in whatever vessel you want. I recommend something see through so you can show off how pretty they are. I use jars for most of my gifts.

I used a funnel to fill the bottles about 1/4 of the way. If you don't want to include the message in the bottle, fill them to the top. 

To make the messages I cut a pretty sheet of card stock into 3"x2.25" rectangles. Choose a pattern that looks almost old and rustic so it looks like it belongs in the bottle. If you use bigger bottles, use bigger pieces of paper. 

To make my paper look aged and give it an antique feel, I sanded it on both sides. Be careful of the pattern side. On the white side you can be very aggressive. When you are done the paper should feel like leather and it should roll very easily.

I wrote a couple of different messages. Have fun and write your own message in a bottle. If you are making this for a lover, write something romantic. You can say something sweet for mom or a girlfriend. Or you can write a pirate joke if you want the recipient to get a good laugh. 

Roll up the papers so that the long end remains straight. The short side is the side being rolled, Roll them tightly so they can fit on the inside of the bottle. 

Put your message in the bottle. Use the salts at the bottom to help you position it the way you want. I wanted mine slanted, but they also look cool standing straight up. 

Top off the bottle. I made just enough to fill four bottles to just about the neck. Make sure the message is visible. If it's not, pour some out. When you have them all filled, go around the inside of the neck with a dry cloth to clean up any dust particles. This makes it easier to see through the neck. 

If you want, you can stop there and leave them how they are. I wanted to paint mine, so I wet a paper towel with rubbing alcohol and cleaned the outside of the bottles. Do this any time you paint glass. Then let dry. 

I always use Martha Stewart brand paints from Michael's for about $3/Bottle. I prefer them because they are the best in the dishwasher. Their metallic colors are also very stunning. The tips are very fine, so if you want to use them to paint straight on the bottle they work great. For the glitter one, I put some on a palette and used a brush to paint the bottle. 

Go ahead and paint. For small objects like these I keep a cap full of rubbing alcohol and Q-tips handy to clean off any mistakes. 

If I were to do this project again I wouldn't put glitter on the neck of the orange and green bottles because it makes it hard to see the message inside. However they are still beautiful, so I'm satisfied. Four of my friends are going to love their message in a bottle!!!

Fizzy Bath Salts
Fills four small bottles or makes just over one cup
time: 10 minutes

• 1/8 cup of citric acid 
• 1/4 cup of baking soda 
• 1/4 cup of corn starch 
• 1/2 cup of Epsom salts (You can add more or less salt based on the texture you prefer.)
• Essential oils and soap colors

1.  Mix together the citric acid, baking soda, corn starch, and Epsom salts, breaking down any clumps in the way
2.  Add drops of oils to the mixture in a well spaced fashion
3. Mix together the desired colors and add to the mixture
4.  Mix well to combine all ingredients
5. Transfer to a dry storage location
6.  To Use: Add preferred amount to bath or soak. Salts will fizz.

I hope you enjoy this practical project. I would love any questions or comments you may have. Keep creating and stay tuned for the next project of the day!