Butterflies & Bulbs Bottles of Hope

Butterflies & Bulbs Bottles of Hope by Steph Ackerman

Hi everyone, Steph Ackerman here today with some new Bottles of Hope to share.

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. 

Supplies:

Makin's® Clay - Earth Tones, Yellow, White, Green, Red

Makin's®

• Roller and Cutters set
• Clay Tool set
• Clay Cutters - Stars, Suns, Butterflies
• Texture Sheets - Set H

Makin's Professional®

• Cutting Mat

Beacon Adhesives - 3-in-1 Adhesive
Sizzix® Dies & Big Shot™ Machine
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists

Instructions:

I found these cute little light bulb bottles and knew they'd be perfect for the Bottles of Hope.  I wrapped them with white clay working the clay around the bottles and sealing the edges together.  Don't worry about the imperfections because those imperfections give the bottles character.  Use the mallet from the Tool Set to finish the edges around the light bulb.

I let the clay dry approximately 48 hours then added color with assorted Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists.

I wanted a base for each bottle, so I die cut hardened red clay using a Sizzix die (see my earlier post on how I prepared the clay).  I often die cut fresh clay, but I wanted to use clay I had already prepared.   I used Beacon Adhesives to adhere the die cuts to the base.

Next I selected an assortment of clay cutters.

Using the Roller, I rolled out yellow clay and the lightest color of clay in the Earth Tones collection.  Using one of the Texture sheets from Set H, I used the Roller to embed the design into the clay.

From the textured clay, I cut small butterflies.

Cut enough suns from yellow clay and enough stars from green clay to wrap around the bottles and adhere them with Beacon Adhesive.

Add butterflies randomly about the bottles.

And you now have some sweet bottles to give away to brighten the day of someone facing cancer.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Steph