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!