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So I bought all the stuff to make the Pretty Potions and Apothecary bottles by Laura Carsen from Alpha Stamps, but by the time I received all the supplies and made them it was Nov. 1st. (So much for Halloween!) So I made some Christmas ones that I was going to teach at the Stampeddler and by the time I had them ready and had all the supplies for the class I was too late once again. So the store owner (Margene) had the idea to do Love Potions for Valentines day and believe it or not I got them done in time. (Shew!) So here they are in all their glory as inspiration for everyone to create a bunch.
In case you are looking for the supplies I got most of my bottles from America Science and Surplus. It's a real quirky little on-line store that has all kinds of weird and wonderful stuff that they get really cheap from other places that have overstock. (Just type in glass bottles in the search box to get all they have available including the corks.) You can also get bottles from Save On Crafts but most of the bottles have to be bought in bulk.
The stickers are the kind that card makers love and they are normally called "outline stickers" or "thin line stickers" and come in silver or gold. I got a whole mess of different designs from Frantic Stamper.
I got most of the beads from Michael's. The bead caps which are the metal pieces you see surrounding the glass beads on the bottle top are from Vintage Jewelry Supplies.
I painted the corks with either a plain old metallic acrylic paint, Lumiere metallic paint or Inka Gold paste. You could also use any kind of metallic wax paste like Rub-N-Buff or Baroque Art Gilders Paste.
The labels I designed myself on my computer by using a bunch of Dover perfume label images that I then Photoshopped over certain parts to leave blank areas for the writing. (See below to download them.) You can also go to the left hand column of my blog here and scroll down to the labels and click on the ones that say "image collection- frames" and "image collection-labels".
The contents of the bottles are simply shower soap, body splashes or glass glitter colored with alcohol ink. (You can get all kinds of different colors of glass glitter from Meyer Imports.) I personally think the shower soaps are the most fun ones to use. Next time you are in the soap aisle at the grocery store look at all the glittery and shimmering shower soaps that are available.
I forgot to add yesterday how I adhered the labels to the bottles. I simply took a sheet of the "red-liner" tape and put it over the back of the label before I cut it out. (You can also just lay a bunch of tape strips next to each other until the back is covered.) Normally I would put it through my Xyron machine but I wasn't sure the adhesive would be strong enough to make the labels stay put.
The tops are made by "stringing" the bead and bead cap on a headpin and inserting it through the cork. (I push a hole through the cork using a heavy needle.) I then take a pair of round nose pliers and curl the end up tight to the underside of the cork. After the bottle is filled I glue the cork on with a 2 part epoxy that dries in about 5 minutes.
I forgot to add yesterday how I adhered the labels to the bottles. I simply took a sheet of the "red-liner" tape and put it over the back of the label before I cut it out. (You can also just lay a bunch of tape strips next to each other until the back is covered.) Normally I would put it through my Xyron machine but I wasn't sure the adhesive would be strong enough to make the labels stay put.
The tops are made by "stringing" the bead and bead cap on a headpin and inserting it through the cork. (I push a hole through the cork using a heavy needle.) I then take a pair of round nose pliers and curl the end up tight to the underside of the cork. After the bottle is filled I glue the cork on with a 2 part epoxy that dries in about 5 minutes.
To download click on the picture to get a full size image. Right click and "save to" your computer desktop or a folder of your choice.
