Crackle Apothecary Bottles!

Hi everyone!
I hope you guys have been having a great summer! I know it feels so soon, but I've already been getting into the swing of fall! It will be here before we know it! Plus I love fall crafts, so I'm actually pretty excited about this change of pace. Today's craft is apothecary jars! Ben Franklin just got in some more really cute bottles and jars, and I wanted to really transform them into aged and crackled ingredient bottles!

Supplies: 
3 glass bottles of assorted sizes
spray paint in black, and gold
crackle gel
paint brush
acrylic paints in gray, charcoal, and gecko green
jute
black cardstock
white pen
hole punch
scissors
optional: gloss sealer spray (to keep them from chipping)


First, you'll need to wipe down your bottles. Then spray one by one with your black and gold. Let sit to dry for 15-30 mins.

Once they are dry to the touch, using your brush, apply a generous coat of the clear crackle gel to the entire visible surface of your bottle. (There's no real need to do the bottom.)

 

Next, wait about 5 minutes for the gel to dry enough to feel "tacky" instead of "wet". 
Then will a clean brush, one color at a time, lay strokes of paint over the gel. Be careful to not mix the gel and top layer of paint. The key is to lay the paint right on top. The thicker your paint, the thicker the cracks will become. The thinner the paint, the smaller and finer the cracks will become. It's perfectly fine to have a mixture of thicknesses! I think it adds more dimension and variety to the crackle. After all, when things age, they don't age and wear down in exactly the same way in all places!

The direction of your strokes also really matters. You want to stay consistent and brush in all the same angles:
-all up and down
-all side to side
This technique will create an organized look about your piece. Like wood grain. 

 You can really tell in the paint stroke direction in this picture! The green bottle I went up and down, and the gray one I went side to side. Also the gray one had thicker paint strokes, so you can really see the cracks more visibly!

For the tags, I cut out squares from black card stock, hole punched the tops, and hand wrote the creepy crawly ingredients! I also drew a white border around the edges of the paper, and then I tied them on with Jute!

Have fun with your crackle paint!
It's available at any local House Mart Ben Franklin.
Happy crafting!

Bethany @Enchanted Lake

Halloween Apothecary Jar

     Are you ready for some frightful fun?  Halloween is next month, and it's about time for us crafters to get started on our spooky decor for the holiday.  Today, I have the perfect project lined up so that you will be ready for some ghoulish fun... A Halloween Apothecary Jar!  

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Let's get started!

You will need

Glass jar

Black Chalky Finish

Acrylic Paint (Assorted Colors) 

Brown Paint or Distress Ink

Brown or Black Paint Marker or Felt Pen

Scissors

Glue Gun

Cardstock

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Step 1: Take the top off your jar if it comes with one. Squirt some hot glue onto the rim of the jar and let it run down the sides.  Don't let it run too much!

Step 2(not pictured): After your glue is dry, paint the entire jar with the black chalky finish.  It doesn't have to be perfect!  Remember, it's old and distressed.  Unless you want to sand it later, let your dry brush to all the work.  Leave some pockets of glass visible.  Streaks?  Who cares! Also, keep in mind that you want to leave the glue gun "leaks" on the rim of your jar as clear as you can.

Step 3: Draw/write your label onto your cardstock and cut it out.  I recommend using a brown or black pen to stick to the vintage look. 

Step 4: Crumble up your label.  Yup.  Do it.  This will make it look more old and distressed because of the added texture.

 

Step 5: Now you want to unfold your label again and then weather your label with some brown paint.  Use a dry brush and very little paint.  Mod Podge this label onto your jar and let dry.

Step 6: Distress your jar even further by using your dry brush and some green paint to add more detail to the leaks. You can make it more dimensional by adding gold to your leaks.  I decided to streak just a little bit of the green and gold onto the rest of the jar as well.  It's okay if you go over the label a little bit too, as long as you stick to the borders.

 Step 7: This part is optional, but hot-gluing some moss onto the sides and top of your jar will add a really creepy and Witch-y look.

Also, if you have a cork that fits your jar, or if you're lucky and your jar already cam with one, you can make it look dingier by lightly staining it brown to make it darker.  After that, hot glue bits of moss onto it and glue it back onto your jar!

     All you Potterheads out there, make some noise!  Apothecary jars are that perfect mix of creepy, dark, mysterious, magical and fascinating.  What's cooler feeling like you have all the different ingredients around you to make a potion or conduct a spell?  Now, you can!  Create your own apothecary and potion jars this Halloween for some magical decor!  Then, you can invite friends and family to "Come sit for a spell.." (Ba dum TSS!)  

As always, have FUN and see you next week!

Erika @ PC