"Filled with Hope" Bottle of Hope by Candice Windham

"FILLED WITH HOPE" BOTTLE OF HOPE

Designed by Candice Windham

The Bottles of Hope 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.  For more information, click here.

I had so much fun making this bottle. The base came from Goodwill, my go-to place for project beginnings. It’s filled with Bible verses, all about hope, and comes equipped with a set of tweezers for pulling a verse out when a little hope will help cheer anyone up.

Here’s how I did it:

Supplies:

Makin’s® Ultimate Clay Machine™ ((#35054)

Makin’s Clay®, Grape Leaf, 60 grams (#34009)

Makin’® Texture Sheet, Lace, Set C (#38003) 

Makin’s® Professional™ Cutting Mat  (#35203)

Makin’s® Tool Kit, round tip tool and handle with curvy edge attachment from the

  Makin’s® Professional™ Clay Tools Set (35060) 

Makin’s® Clay Cutters, Alphabet (#37001)  and small heart (#36007) 

Makin’s® Clay Mixing Ruler™ (#35003) 

Mica Watercolors (Art Craft)

Laser cut heart  (Kaiser Craft)

Twine, about 24”

Beacon® Quick Grip Adhesive

Tweezers

Sponge makeup applicator, craft knife, toothpick

Instructions:

Measure the circumference of your bottle and roll the clay out on the #2 setting on the clay machine. Make sure you have about ½” more clay than the circumference.

Use the texture sheet to impress the clay, then measure the width to fit your bottle and cut the edges using the curvy edge tool.

Find the center of the strip and mark the spot. Place the Clay Mixing Ruler along the bottom edge of the clay, about ¼” from the bottom, to help keep your words straight. Cut the first HOPE, centering the word on the mark. Cut a small heart on each side, being sure to leave about ¼” between the cuts and the word. Cut the second and third HOPE on either side of the first word and repeat until you fill the strip, cutting hearts between each word.

Lift the strip from the cutting mat and wrap it round the bottle, overlapping the ends. Use the craft knife to cut a line from top to bottom on the double layer of clay. Remove the excess and use the round-tip tool from the Makin’s Professional Clay Tools Set to press the clay together to hide the seam. Use the Lace texture sheet if necessary to add more texture.

Use the toothpick to insert tiny bits of Quick Grip Adhesive under the clay and to attach the centers of the O and P.

Mist the Mica watercolors with water and use the sponge tip applicator to paint the high texture points on the label with copper paint. Add blue, green, rose and lavender as desired.

Paint the laser cut heart with blue, green and copper mica watercolors. Loop the heart onto the twine and wrap the twine around the bottleneck, tying it off in a double knot.

Print out verses of hope from a bible website. Cut the verses apart, fold and insert into the bottle. Place the tweezers in the bottle to make removing the verses easy.

That’s it. This would make a great gift for anyone going through a rough time or anyone who just needs a little encouragement.

What will you do with your Bottle of Hope?

Easter Box & Frame by Candice Windham - DIY WCK Video

Makin's Clay® is a sponsor of the When Creativity Knocks All-Star Designers Winter Series and in this episode Design Team Member Candice Windham shares these beautifully detailed Easter gift projects featuring shimmering Makin's Clay® embellishments. 

Pocket Watch Keepsake Triptych Memory Frame by Candice Windham

Makin’s Clay® Pocket Watch Keepsake Triptych

Designed by Candice Windham

We all have small keepsakes around the house: mother’s ring, dad’s cufflinks, a  baby’s first rattle.

The Makin’s Clay Memory Frame Kits make displaying these small items easy and help keep them safe and dust-free. You can include several things in each section or focus on one item, as I did with my father-in-law’s pocket watch. It had been stored in a drawer for most of our 45-year marriage, only coming out when a relative was visiting and wanted to see it.

We wanted to include it in our keepsakes on display, both as a reminder of him and because it is so beautiful. The fact that I had this sweet photo of him with my hubby as a baby only made it better.

Here’s how I did it:

Supplies:

Makin’s Clay® Memory Frame Kit, Triple Frame

Makin’s Clay® Roller

Makin’s Clay® texture Plates: Cobblestone (Set A, # 38001) and Woodgrain (Set D, #38004

Makin’s Clay® Mixing Ruler

Patterned card stock, cut to fit the center square

Patterned card stock to print the title block and phrase

Solid card stock scrap for phrase backing

Burnt Sienna Acrylic Paint (Golden)

Dye Ink, Vintage Photo (Tim Holtz Distress Ink for Ranger, Inc.)

Craft Knife

Pencil

Plastic or vinyl gloves

Instructions:

Put on the gloves to protect your hands from the paint and mix about 2 teaspoons of burnt sienna paint into the package of white clay included in the kit. Blend until the paint is well absorbed. Add additional paint if you want a darker color. You can leave the color mottled for a wood grain look or blend it completely smooth.

Divide the clay from the in half. Roll out one piece of the clay and press the wood grain texture plate onto the surface, Roll with the Makin’s Clay Roller to impress the entire sheet, then cut out a square ½” smaller all around than the center opening. Set aside.

Roll the remaining clay and impress with the cobblestone texture plate.

Flip the clay over and use the frame from the kit to trace the mat shape.

Using the Clay Mixing Ruler, trim the frame edges and opening with

a craft knife. Repeat for the second frame and allow both, along with the background square, to dry overnight.

Tip: To speed up drying, I place the pieces in front of a fan and turn them over every couple of hours so they dry evenly.

If you want the clay pieces darker or the texture to show more, apply brown dye ink with a sponge.

 

Assembly

Print the photo and trim to fit inside the top box. Print the phrases on patterned card stock . Trim the title to fit the lower opening.  Trim and mount the photo caption to solid card stock square.

Apply heavy-duty double stick tape to the back of all the clay

pieces. Attach the frames to the photo and title block and the background piece to the card stock. Mount the background piece into the center opening with heavy-duty double stick tape.

Screw two small cup hooks into the top of the center square. Hang the watch chain on the hooks and allow the excess chain to pile on the base of the square.

Slip the framed pieces into the top and bottom openings, then add the cover to protect it all.

"At the Beach" Mixed-Media Canvas by Cindi McGee

Makin's Clay® is currently attending CHA in Anaheim, CA.  On Sunday morning, we offered a workshop taught by Cindi McGee and Candice Windham.   Participants had a great time while they explored the wonderful world of Makin’s Clay® creating a beautiful mixed media home décor canvas depicting the relaxing lifestyle enjoyed at the beach. They learned various tips and techniques for using Makin’s Clay®, and gained experience using Makin’s Professional® tools, and Makin’s® Push Molds and Texture Sheets.   

For those who missed the workshop, we wanted to share the instructions for this project here on our blog! 

 2016 CHA Workshop

At the Beach 

Mixed-Media Canvas 

Designed by Cindi McGee

Sponsored by:

Makin’s Clay® - Booth #1421

www.Makins-USA.com

Instructors:

Cindi McGee - CindiMcGeeBehindTheseEyes.blogspot.com

Candice Windham - CandiceWindhamDesignStudio.blogspot.com 

Materials:

Thanks to the following manufacturers who generously donated product for our workshop -

Booth #828  JudiKins™ - Diamond Glaze™, Clear Glass Micro Beads 

Booth #701  Beacon™ - 3-in-1 Adhesive 

Booth #1701 DecoArt® - Americana Decor™ Chalky Finish Paints, Metallic Lustre™ 

Booth #2551  Loew-Cornell™ - Paint brushes 

Craft Attitude™ Printable Craft Film 

Additional Required Materials: 

Booth #1421  Makin’s Clay® - Earth Tones, Concord Blue, Olive, Grape Leaf, Natural -Makin’s® Seashell Push Mold 

Makin’s® Waves, Sand Texture Sheets 

Makin’s® Clay Tools 

Makin’s® Ultimate Clay Extruder™ - Discs #7, #12

Makin’s® Ultimate Clay Machine™

Burlap Canvas Panels 

Clear drying glue stick 

Scissors 

Booth #631   Sizzix® Big Shot™ Machine

Sizzix® Bigz Die - Sand & Sea 

Instructions:

Print verse onto Craft Attitude™ film.  Trim around verse.  *Note - when printing text on Craft Attitude, it is important to REVERSE the text before printing.   

Roll selected shade of clay from Earth Tones set to #5 on Ultimate Clay Machine™; if hand

rolling, roll to about 1/16” thick.  Place sand texture sheet over clay and press gently to transfer texture to clay.  Let dry 24 hours.  

Use Sizzix® Big Shot™ and seahorse die to cut seahorse from textured, dry clay.  

Apply Chalky Finish Paints to burlap canvas panel as desired to create background.  Let dry. 

Apply glue stick to back of verse sheet, mount to canvas on  bottom half over painted area.  

For seashell embellishments, mix selected shades from Earth tones set with Natural clay to marbleize.  Create assorted shells using Seashell push mold.  Apply Metallic Lustre to seashells.  

Roll Concord Blue clay in Ultimate Clay Machine™ to setting #5.  Place waves texture sheet over clay and press gently to transfer texture to clay.  Use cutting tool to cut thin wavy pieces of clay for “water”.   Mount to bottom of canvas using 3-in-1 Adhesive.  

  

Arrange seashells as desired beneath verse, allowing some shells to overlap.  Mount with 3-in-1 Adhesive.  

Place Grape Leaf clay in Ultimate Clay Extruder™ with multi-hole disc (Disc #7).  Extrude. 

Place Olive clay in Ultimate Clay Extruder™ with flat rectangular disc (Disc #12).   Extrude.  Add Metallic Lustre to both styles of sea weed.  Arrange as desired on left side of verse, extending from bottom upward.  Glue in place.  

Apply Metallic Lustre to die cut clay seahorse, mount intertwined with sea weed. 

For the finishing touch we are using a technique created by Candice Windham -  Apply JudiKins™ Diamond Glaze around seashells in areas where they overlap, etc.  While still wet, sprinkle in clear glass beads.   The result is what looks a lot like seawater with a touch of sea foam.