Altered Seashell Bottles

What to do on a HOT, HOT day in July?? Drag your hubby off to find bottles! I found these small bottles while visiting our local antique mall. My husband and I scoured the booths hunting high and low for little clear bottles that were not too expensive. I wanted a nice shape (and condition) and tried to keep the price under two dollars per bottle. I cleaned the bottles and allowed drying time before starting my project. I selected shells that were not too deep and had enough space for Paper Whimsy images. I used images Sheet 220, Sheet 085, and Sheet 183

Apply a coat of gel medium on the inside of the shell and allow time to dry. Trim the images and find pieces of text from old books to add under each photo. Add more gel medium to the interior of each shell and gently add your image. You may have to patiently press down your brush to allow the image to attach to the shell. When the image is secure, add a bit of text or word art from old books to the bottom of each image. When the text and image are dry, add another coat of gel medium along the outer edge of the shell and sprinkle with ultra fine white glitter.

When the shells are dry, select the bottle you wish to attach the seashell to and add a bit of E6000 glue. It is best to lay the bottle down and allow the shell time to dry overnight (this way it won’t slip off your bottle.) To decorate the bottle top, I used bits of old antique lace glued on with E6000. Once the lace is dry, I wrapped jewelry wire around the bottle top adding beads and small charms. I finished off the bottle by tying a piece of vintage seam binding ribbon.

I wanted to keep my bottles fairly simple and the glass clear. The glass could be colored using tissue paper, alcohol inks, patterned paper napkins, or bits of pattern paper. You can also fill the bottles with old buttons, tiny seashells, tulle, and lace, or anything your little heart desires.

Nancy