Mt. Rainier and Lenticular Clouds - Dec. 2008 copyright: JMM

June 3, 2015

Glass & Candles

One of my fellow crafty pals picked up a load of free glassware at our local dump's swap shop for me recently, so I decided to try and do some glass painting with the pieces.  I made a ginormous mess in the kitchen that lasted for days, to the point where I was reduced to eating cheese & crackers for dinner because I couldn't fix a decent meal.  

The glass painting was extremely slow going and to be honest I'm not terribly excited about the final results.  Not my best work at all.  I encountered some issues with the alcohol ink that bummed me out.  They dried cloudy for some reason which was distressing.  I cleaned the glass with rubbing alcohol like you are supposed to but it didn't come out right.  


While I was waiting for stuff to dry, I made these beachy candles.  I'd gone down to the beach near my house that morning to get sand and stones.  The shells are mostly from Florida, brought back for me by friends.  The glass is, of course, purchased. 

For the large one, I glued a tall candle already in glass in the center before I filled the sides.  Then added the rope to the top. 


I have a craft show coming up on June 13 here in Buzzards Bay, so I wanted to burn one of the treasure candles to make sure that the wax didn't leak out of the bottom like it did when they were poured.  I wasn't going to sell these if they leaked and this one didn't.  

It took about 2 hours to uncover the glass.  If you fish it out quickly enough and wipe it off, the liquid wax comes right off.  Same with the shells.


I also made these for my craft fair.  Mini bottles with beach glass chips on chains.

Another good friend of mine posted a link to a tutorial on how to turn old bottles into picture frames. HERE is the link.  She also provided me with a bunch of empty wine bottles for me to use too!  I decided to use a wedding picture since I had a spare copy of it on hand.  First I poured in a bunch of sand, then rolled up the pic and dropped it down.  This is where I kind of ran into a problem.  The pic did stay against the glass because I kept the bottle angled when the pic was put in.  But it's also below the curved part so there's nothing you can use to push it into the sand.  All I could do was pour more sand in, then start dropping rocks, shells and glass behind the picture to keep it upright.  I found the purple thing (which is on elastic stretch cord) on clearance at Michael's, added the top bead to the cork and I had a string of strung glass pearls in a bead box.  

Back showing the glass and stuff.

I'm not sure how much else I will be able to do before the show next week.  Life has become extremely busy, stressful and complicated in our little world with a lot of family issues so there hasn't been a lot of time to devote to preparation, or time to devote to taking walks, beachcombing or day trips for that matter.  This year is going by just way, way too fast.

20 comments:

  1. Anonymous7:31 AM

    I LOVE the beach! But, I guess you know that already.

    Those mini bottles are simply adorable. And, the treasure candles - what a fantastic and fun idea for people to have. I'd never think of something like that. But, that's why you do crafting and not me. Best of luck at your show! I think you're going to do very well.

    Elsie

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    1. Thanks Elsie. I hope so. As of last night, the organizer only had 4 confirmed vendors which is more than disheartening. And I'm not sure how much promotion there is either.

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  2. You certainly have lots of new things to sell at the craft show. Hope it does well. You have to have a lot of patience to do the things you do. I know what you mean about this year going too fast. Everybody seems to be saying the same thing. It is just whizzing by.

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    1. I was hoping to make some more steampunk keys but I just don't think I'm going to have time. Life's gotten too crazy. lol And it's funny....the only patience I do have is for crafts. Put me on line at the grocery store and I'm a stress case.

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  3. Hey JoJo
    Cool blog! And what a craftsperson you are, what patience. Plus I love the name 😊. Wish I could see these candles in person. Hope you can make it back to the Northwest some day for at least a visit. Cheers,jill

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    1. Thank you Jill. I hope someday I can go back up there. There's a lot I didn't get to do or see because I thought I'd never leave.

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  4. BTW, absolutely stunning shot of Rainier with those clouds!

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    1. Thank you so much! I broke a whole bunch of traffic laws trying to get home to get my camera. I was working in Fircrest and I was probably doing 70 down River Road in Puyallup, rolling through red lights, etc. Luckily I didn't get killed and was able to get the shots.

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  5. I love what you did with the bottles, sand, beach glass, and candles. They are awesome!

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    1. Thanks Kathy. I really had to force myself though. I am still not feeling motivated to do anything.

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  6. That's a very special picture frame. I love it.
    Shell candles are really neat too.
    I wish I lived closer to you. It'd be a lot of fun to peruse all your projects. I bet your home is filled with them.

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    1. Thank you Robyn! Yes, my house is chock full of projects and prototypes and whatnot. There really isn't room for one more tchotchke or picture on the wall. As it is, I had to wander around trying to find a place for that bottle picture and I finally had to move some stuff in the bedroom. I literally have no room.

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  7. You have great ideas and are very creative. I like what you are doing with all those bottles. I hope you have a great craft show.

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    1. Thank you so much Nancy, that's very kind of you to say. I hope I do well too but I have a bad feeling no one is going to show up.

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  8. Hey JoJo,

    Your talent never ceases to amaze me. The things you can do with bottles....I think you are one of the craftiest people I know :) Did that sound right?

    Try and have some chill-out time, JoJo. A peaceful weekend, your way.

    Gary

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    1. Thank you so much Gary! My creative muse has been on extended leave this year. But I had to do something for the craft show next week!

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  9. You are so full of ideas. I would like just ONE good idea!

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    1. Thanks Val. My 'idea well' ran pretty dry these past few months. I hope that's coming to an end.

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  10. Some great crafts there JoJo... love the candles with the sand and beachy goodies. Sorry to hear life is a bit crazy for you right now; hope things get better soon.

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    1. Thanks Maureen....I hope things calm down too....We do seem to have the worst behind us right now, but time will tell.

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