I have a collection of empty wine bottles in my home. They sit on our very lengthy windowsill. I've been hoarding them since I've been married hoping that one day I will use them to decorate our place. Sadly, spiders have found more use of them then I have.
A couple of months ago, I wrote an article for artist Leslie Shewring for the Spring 2012 issue of Somerset Life titled Transformed Bottle Décor. She transformed empty bottles into unique collaged vases for her fresh flowers. I loved how she embellished the bottles with Washi tape and other bits as well (acreativemint.typepad.com/a_creative_mint/2011/06/summer-raspberry-peach-and-mint.html ).
One night, I decided I wanted to paint one of my empty wine bottles. After soaking it in hot water and soap, I peeled off the label and started to work. But after painting a couple layers of white acrylic paint and coating it with Mod Podge, I was stuck. I didn't want to copy exactly what Leslie did; I wanted to add my personality to it. And with moving and all, I didn't want to create a bigger mess by opening my arts and crafts bins.
I eventually brought it to work because there was no place to put it at home. For a couple of days, it sat on my desk. At first, I was just going to leave it as it was: a painted wine bottle. But then I realized it was an excuse for my laziness. I looked through my desk drawers to see if I could find anything. I ran into a roll of mustard-yellow Washi tape, twine, corrugated cardboard, old book text, patterned paper, and millinery flowers. Perfect.
I was happy with the results. And I feel a little bit more confident in my arts and crafts skills. Practice makes perfect, right?
Thank you Leslie Shewring for your creativity. To view more of her art, visit her blog at http://www.acreativemint.typepad.com/.
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