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

Fairy Dust In a Bottle

Today we're going to make a fairy dust in a bottle. It's fast and simple to make. It's great for party make and takes, gifts, jewelry and much more. Let's get started.

Supplies:
Glass Bottle with cork (any size)
Funnel
Glitters (your choice)
E-6000 (optional)

First gather your supplies.

Get your glass bottle and your funnel.  Take your cork off the bottle and place your funnel into the opening.  If your funnel doesn't fit the opening hold the funnel in place.

Start adding in your glitter choices and fill it to the bottom of the curve.  Don't fill it to the top.

 

This part is optional.  You can add E-6000 glue to the bottom of the cork to secure the cork in place.  Once you have added the glue, place the cork into the glass bottle opening and push into place.  Let the glue dry 24 hours before handling.

Glitter mixture should look like this..

If you want to blend the colors just shake your bottle until its blended..

And you're done! 

*If you want to turn this into a charm just screw in an eye screw (add a dab of glue before twisting it onto the cork).  Add jewelry cording to turn it into a necklace or a ball chain if you want a bag charm.*

Have a Craftastic Day!
Julie @ Enchanted Lake

I Twine All the Time

You know what I love? TWINE! Yes, twine, because twine is so versatile. You can use it to hang things or string things, or even to cover things. That's what we did today, see?

Yep, we just started carrying this 100 yard spool of twine at our stores. That's a lot of twine! We used it to wrap around these bottles and jars, AND a large ornament, AND had some left over. Do this with twine, it's so easy, and you'll have some lovely decor pieces when you're done.

Puna @ Enchanted Lake

Uncontainable Fun

Because Ben Franklin just got in a ton of fantastic jars, bottles, and other containers, I thought I would share a couple of ideas on how you can use them as whimsical decor pieces. They are food-safe containers, but that doesn't mean that you only need to fill them with food.

 

For my two lovely examples, I used pieces of washi tape to decorate the outside of the containers, cutting out basic shapes to make pennants and a fence. For the jar, I decided to insert a pretty little birdie, a branch, and some moss to create a small, dreamy, summertime scene.

There will be more container ideas coming up soon.

Thanks for reading!

Puna @ Enchanted Lake

Crankin’ Out Crafts: Episode 152 - Inked Poison Bottle (Alcohol Inks)

Puna is back again today for this week’s last Crankin’ Out Crafts episode. She’s going to show you how to make some cute and spooky Halloween themed bottles.

Crafted Inked Poison Bottles make a great Halloween decoration!

Watch the segment here: Crankin' Out Crafts: Episode 152 - Inked Poison Bottle

Supplies:

Glass bottle with cork stopper

Alcohol Inks

Alcohol ink applicator

Chalkboard cardstock

Scissors

Baker’s twine

1/8” hole punch

Stickers or chalk for tag embellishment

You can easily make a beautiful and eye catching centerpiece with these poison bottles by arranging them on your mantle or end table for Halloween.

*Scroll down and read today's earlier post on Shell Drilling by Lynn from the Mapunapuna Bead Shoppe.