My Altered Butterfly Wine Bottle

Well, I wasn't going to bother with a blog post, but the pictures turned out so much better than I'd even expected. The black backdrop really made a big difference. So now I'll have a record for prosperity. 

This is a plain green wine bottle. We learned to create a great crackle finish in 

Christine Ramirez-Campbell's class last Saturday at the Prairie Stamper's Retreat. What a great technique and terrific lady.

Having said that, you'll have to take one of her classes to learn it!!!

I did add some glazes over the crackle to create an aged look.

I knew what I wanted to create, so I made some embellishments with Iron Orchid Designs moulds and paper clay, and let them dry before I went. 

The beaded topper was amazingly easy to create, and Christine had the BEST beads to pick from. 

I had already made the chain/charm piece years ago and had no place to put it, so this really worked out great. It's using Vintaj jewelry pieces and a vintage photo. 

The Grungy Butterfly is from Finnabair as well as the Vintage Snowflake with a rhinestone center. I used a mixture of glass glitter and micro beads around the outside.

All the paints are Metalliques from Finnabair as well as the micro beads and glitter, and it's glued in place with 3D Matte Gel....great stuff, and Soft Gloss Gel for the tiny stuff.

I tried several different colors before I finally found the combination that I liked. The red was too red; the silver didn't stand out enough; the gold alone was too washed out; added some turquoise;  then some amber - soooooo just keep playing until you get what you like.

I used two pieces of rhinestone/pearls trim at the top, and some fabric trim along the bottom. Add some paint to the fabric to create some contrast.

Last thing, hit the high points with Metallic Waxes. You'll love them.

Now I'm on the prowl for some of the cool beads and the wire to make the stoppers. This is my new obsession.....

So empty out that wine bottle and put it to good use for decoration!

Your Friend in ART,

Linda