Hi crafty friends. Today, I invite you to come along with me on a Voyage Beneath the Sea. We will be creating a home decor piece from a recycled wine bottle. Of course, we will be featuring papers from Graphic 45 on the bottle. The FotoBella online store has the Voyage Beneath the Sea Deluxe Collector’s Edition available for purchase. These papers are gorgeous shades of aqua, teal, and blue with splashes of orange and yellow. However, the steampunk images of mermaids, gears, and sea life are what makes these papers unique and special!
For this project, I am using fussy cut pieces from several sheets in the collection. First, I selected the mermaid from the sheet of journaling cards. Next, I cut several pieces from the “Neptune’s Adventures” sheet. Although I wasn’t sure which pieces I would use, I cut a the mermaid, octopus stamp, gears, and a few text blocks. From “Deep Blue Dreams,” I cut the border strip with coral and gears. This specific border strip will add some orange accents to my bottle. Finally, I fussy cut several pieces of coral from “Steampunk Splash.”
Voyage Beneath the Sea Coordinating Embellishments
One of the things I love about the Graphic 45 Voyage Beneath the Sea DCE is that it includes the coordinating chipboard pieces. These little elements are some of my favorite things to use on projects. I love the quality of them, and they’re perfect for adding dimension to any project. For my wine bottle, I will be using three pieces of the chipboard. First, I selected the seahorse and “Sea of Wonders” pieces as charms to dangle on the bottle neck. Then, I will be using the “The Sea is calling and I must go” piece on the top of the cork.
The Voyage Beneath the Sea DCE also includes two sticker sheets with beautiful images from the collection. However, I decided that I will not be using any of the on this project. Personally, I prefer to save my Graphic 45 stickers for making cards, scrapbook layouts, and decorating mini albums.
Mixed Media Products
Any mixed media project is best started with a good quality primer or gesso. FotoBella offers two types of primer and a gesso paste from Stamperia. To prepare the wine bottle, I first soaked off the labels and then applied a layer of gesso to the entire bottle. Once the gesso is dry, I added texture to the bottle using Stamperia Texture Sand Paste with stencils from my stash. This bubble stencil from Stamperia would be perfect for the Voyage Beneath the Sea collection. Try to add texture paste to only some areas of the bottle rather than covering the entire surface. The combination of smooth and textured areas will add interest and depth once painted.
Once the texture paste is dry, cover the texture paste with a layer of gesso or primer. Then, add a base layer of paint using Stamperia paint or Ranger paint. I selected a lighter shade that matches the Voyage Beneath the Sea papers. Next comes the fun part of any mixed media project - using sprays and inks to add color! I used Tim Holtz Distress Sprays in blue, green, and yellow from my stash. However, Stamperia offers similar colors in Sky Blue and Dark Green. This Carved Pumpkin color by Tim Holtz would match the papers perfectly. Spray one color at a time and use a heat gun to speed up drying time. Continue to add layers of color until you achieve the desired look. Bronze Distress Paint adds extra shine and highlights some of the textures in the background.
Adding Pieces from Voyage Beneath the Sea
After allowing the paint to dry completely, begin gluing the paper pieces to the bottle. I find it is easier to spray the paper lightly with water first to allow it to bend to the curve of the bottle. I used ModPodge to glue my pieces to the bottle. Starting with the main mermaid image, I selected the “front” of my bottle and applied the fussy cut piece. Next, I added the border strip to the bottom of the bottle and trimmed the leftover to add to the top. Then, I continued to add the other paper pieces around the bottle. Allow the glue to dry on the paper pieces before adding other embellishments.
A hot glue gun is the easiest way to adhere the embellishments to the bottle. I selected pearls, tiny seashells, and some sea glass I had in my stash. Carefully glue the embellishments around the bottle to compliment the design you created with texture paste and sprays. I glued a piece of burlap trim around the top of the bottle neck, with a piece of the border strip as decoration. For the bottle top, I am using a jute twine such as this thicker twine from Simple Stories. I wound the twine around the cork and glued it down. Once finished with this step, I used a high gloss spray sealant to cover the bottle and prevent chipping of the paint finish.
Final Touches
The final touches will add that extra little detail and finish off the project. First, I used a piece of the twine to add the chipboard pieces and tied it around the bottle neck. Then, I glued the third chipboard piece to a toothpick and stuck it into the wine cork. I added three stick pins from my stash to the top of the cork, too. The middle stick pin has a pearl on top which matches the pearls on my bottle. To bring out the yellows and oranges in the Voyage Beneath the Sea papers, I selected matching fibers and tied them to the pearl stick pin. The fibers will dangle down the side of the bottle and add a pop of orange and yellow to the top. The fibers also add another type of texture to the project.
I love the beach and ocean so the Voyage Beneath the Sea collection by Graphic 45 resonates with me. As soon as they released the DCE, I knew I had to buy the collection. These vibrant aqua and teal colors match the decor in my house so well. One-of-a-kind mixed media art is a wonderful way to add a personal touch to any room. I hope this post has inspired you to create your own mixed media masterpiece with the collection, or with any other collection that calls to you! Head over to the FotoBella online store today to look through all of the beautiful paper collections in stock from Graphic 45, Stamperia, Ciao Bella, and many more. There’s a collection (or two or three) in the store that will be sure to inspire you to create something beautiful.
Happy crafting!
~Kristine, Fotobella Design Team Member