Bottle of Hope House

Bottle of Hope House by Patricia Krauchune

Note - Here is a bit more information about what Bottles of Hope are - Makin's Clay® is proud to have our designers supporting this worthy effort through the creation of Bottles of Hope featuring Makin's Clay®.  

Bottles of Hope are small glass bottles covered with polymer clay and given to cancer patients. They symbolize a wish and a hope for health.  This project was started in 1999 by a Rhode Island cancer survivor and has spread internationally. Bottles are made by artists, students, survivors, seniors and many more who volunteer their time and love.   Learn more about this worthwhile project, see a gallery of many creative bottles and more here on their website. 

Here's my Makin's Clay® project for January. We were asked to make a Bottle of Hope. Makin's Clay® is proud to support this cause, as am I, a polymer clay artist. 

Supply List:

Makin's Clay® - Black & White

Small Bottle

Krazy® Glue

Small Gear & Small Turnkey

Jump Ring

Diamond Glaze™

Beacon Adhesives Tacky Glue™

Beacon Fast Finish Decopauge™

Krylon® 18k Gold Leafing Pen

DecoArt® Dazzling Metallics Splendid Gold, Yellow paint, Patio Paint™ - Pinecone Brown, Metallic Lustre™ Silver Spark

Gold Head Pin

Recommended Makin's® Tools:

Makin's Professional®

• Ultimate Clay Extruder™ - Disc Set C - Disc #3
• Ultimate Clay Machine™

Makin's®

• Cutting Mat
• Texture Sheet Set A  - Brick

Instructions:

This Bottle of Hope started with a small bottle from my dogs insulin. I rolled out some black Makin's Clay® on the # 2 setting.  Some Beacon's™ Tacky Glue was smeared on the bottle, then the clay was wrapped around the bottle. You can use either a small plastic rod or knitting needle to form the clay around the bottle neck.  I had a copper pipe connecter that was the right size to cut out a circle to cover the bottle bottom which I then glued in place with the Tacky Glue. I placed the bottle onto my Brick pattern Texture Sheet and rolled it to impress the image onto the bottle. Set aside to dry overnight.  Next I used a small square of clay to cover the rubber stopper for the bottle again using the Tacky Glue. I placed a small gear on the top of the stopper then inserted a small turnkey into the stopper. A little dab of Krazy® Glue was applied to the turnkey to insure it stayed in place. I also textured the outside edge of the stopper.    I extruded some white clay using the Ultimate Clay Extruder® and the Set "C" #3 Disc. Cut a small piece of the extruded clay and paint it Gold with DecoArt® Dazzling Metallics Splendid Gold Paint.  Shape the extruded clay piece to form the door of the house and glue it to a small piece of black clay using the Krazy® Glue. Trim around outside edge with your craft knife. Score the inside of the door to resemble planks of wood. Attach to bottle with Tacky Glue.  At this point you can decorate your bottle house to your liking. The door was painted with Patio Paint™ Pinecone Brown. I used a gold head pin for the door knob. A jump ring was used to make the window, with clay inside the middle of the jump ring. The window was then painted yellow and topped with Diamond Glaze™. I also used some dry scrap clay to form little hinges which I colored with Krylon® 18k Gold Leafing. DecoArt™ Metallic Lustre™ in Radiant Red was smeared over the "bricks" and then a few small dabs of DecoArt™ Metallic Lustre™ in Silver Spark highlighted the "bricks". The final application was that of Beacon's Fast Finish Decoupage to seal the bottle house.  This Bottle of Hope is going to a friend who just had a bone marrow transplant.