I'm travelling into a new way of working, a new country, a new language, and a new hobby which I'm passionate about. Come with me for some of the journey...

Friday 1 January 2016

Roll Out The Bottles

Hello all, and welcome to 2016!  After last night's festivities and a huge post here yesterday (What do you wish for? - an altered book, full of good wishes for you all) I'm going to keep it short and sweet today.

It's the first of the month (in case you hadn't noticed) so we're straight in with a new theme at Country View Challenges and the wonderful Brenda is hoping we'll be Inspired by Bottles.  Well, I hope you weren't too inspired by bottles at midnight last night (whenever your midnight was), and that your glass recycling isn't too full of these today!


Regulars will know that I'm often inspired by bottles -  I alter the real thing (sometimes very wackily), I make them out of leftover acetate packaging (sometimes with extra frosting!) or out of MDF, or layers of crackle over die-cuts, and I've got a whole Pinterest board pretty much full of the things.  You might say I'm not so much inspired by them as obsessed by them, so I was very happy to see this theme come up!  You'll find lots of inspiration from my lovely team-mates over at Country View Challenges, and as always we'll be serving up more throughout the month so do pop back and visit us regularly.






For my first offering I've kept it very simple - an ATC, one of the wonderful PaperArtsy bottle stamps, and some of my favourite translucent Fresco paints, some Glossy Accents and that's really about it.












The Fresco colours are Glass Blue, Blueberry and Limelight, applied in watery washes and blends.  Then there's a thick coat of Glossy Accents which I allowed to dry overnight...












... before adding some delicate stamping to a Distress Ink spritz and flick background...














... some puddles of shadow - each bottle casting its shadow according to the colour of the glass it's made of...













... and a couple of words of wisdom in the form of Remnant Rubs.















No regrets, I think, is a pretty good resolution.  Since there are already adventurous travel plans in place thanks to work, I'm ready for adventure this year too.







And I will continue to work in whatever ways I can for a fairer, more compassionate society, that has something other than money as its beating heart.  I hope that 2016 will bring light and peace... we need it in these increasingly fraught times.  Happy New Year to you all.

Let our New Year's resolution be this: we will be there for one another as fellow members of humanity, in the finest sense of the word.
Goran Persson

38 comments:

Valerie-Jael said...

Nice theme, and a happy new year 2016, hugs, Valerie

Kirsten said...

Gorgeous ATC.

froebelsternchen said...

A beautiful piece - AMAZING dear Alison!
I love the 3 d effect on the vottles ..just gorgeous!
Wishing you a healthy and lucky 2016!
Thank you for being such a lovely blogfriend!
oxo
Susi

chrissie said...

Stunning project and a great idea for the resolution both on the artwork and in the words.
Have a great 2016. It sounds exciting for you already

Love Chrissie xx

Helen said...

Great sentiments and I love the atc - wishing you a happy and exciting new year. looking forward to joining you on some of your travels I hope!

Monika Gulyas said...

Amazing project and the coloring is just fantastic! Happy New Year! xxx

Amanda said...

Great ATC and a fab start for 2016. Happy New Year to you.
Love
Amanda x

Neet said...

Lovely! I wondered how you had achieved this real glass look - fantastic - now all I have to do is remember how you did it. I adore these bottles.
Hugs, Neet xx

Nan G said...

Fabulous bottles, butterfly! Always love your bottles, no matter what they're made of. Have a wonderful start to the New Year! Hugs

sarascloset said...

Wow, Alison! So much beautiful artwork and techniques on one tiny space! This has got to be an all time favorite of yours for me! Your bottles look like the real McCoy sitting so pretty in the sunlight. Love the details of the shadows and your colors are lovely! I too, am a lover of bottles, but rarely include bottles in my work. Happy New Year!

cathylynn said...

Another work of magic! Love your ATC card with the delightful colors and design. I wish you a very Happy and Blessed New Year! Sending warm hugs, Cathy-Lynn

Unknown said...

Super gorgeous bottles, love how you work greens and blues xx

hazel said...

Happy New Year Alison, I love your ATC, the bottles are fabulous.
xxx Hazel.

craftytrog said...

Great shading on the bottles Alison!
Happy New Year!
Alison xx

Dorthe said...

Happy New Year dear Alison, suc true and beautiful words, to end this post, I so hope for the same as you do. Thank you for the qoute, too.
Your bottles are amazing, you made them look like real glass, and the shading is wonderfully done.
All the best for your 2016 - Dorthe, xx

Mary W said...

Most inspiring bottles I've ever seen. They are gorgeous and makes my fingers itchy to get busy making some. Thanks so much and for your good words.

catherine said...

A fabulous piece for this months challenge theme Alison. Wishing you a happy new year and all the best
x catherine

Jenny Marples said...

A fantastic little collection of very realistic bottles Alison. Love those blue and green glossy gems caught beautifully by your clever photography. Happy New Year! Jenny x

maj. said...

Fantastic ATC Alison!
Happy New Year!

rachel said...

Happy New year Alison - your bottles look stunning - fabulous work! Hugs rachel xx

Princess Judy Palmer said...

OH my, truly a short and sweet post! Love those bottles, so translucent and wonderful. I just had to squeal at the "no regrets" tagline. I wonder how many folks are looking at a pile of bottles today and having regrets?

Redanne said...

Sadly, no bottle inspiration last night but your bottle ATC is enough to inspire anyone! The colours are fantastic and the glass looks so realistic... Happy New Year! Anne xx

Lauren Hatwell said...

Words to live by. Sounds like you've got an exciting year ahead, which I feel sure means we all have an exciting year watching how that filters into your work. I can hardly wait. A very happy New Year to you. Wishing you ealth, happiness and success in all you do. Lx

Margik said...

A great ATC, Alison. The bottles look fabulous and the colours are super as always.
Happy New Year!
Mar xx

Hettie said...

Happy New Year to you Alison!! I hope we get to finally meet up this year!!
Great ATC there. I have no regrets about opening the Penderyn Whiskey last night. It was gorgeous!! I have a sneaky little Merlyn tonight too - just to carry on the Welsh theme!! I will save a glass for you!!
Hugs
xx

Jackie PN said...

I swear,no one does the bottles quite like you Alison!! Your bottles are always gorgeous! They are so realistic!
Happy new year my friend- wishing you all good things in 2016 and beyond!!
love,Jackie

Deborah Wainwright said...

I love your bottles Alison, you do them so well. You've created a fab translucent look to your bottles making them look real. Fabulous!xxx

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

This made me belly laugh!!! LOVE the sentiment and love those textured and colored bottles!

Nikki Acton said...

Wonderful and artistic! CHA hasn't started and I already want new stuff. Love those stamps and the translucent colours - or maybe it's just what you do with them!
Wonderful words to end your post today, thank you xxx

Cheryl said...

Such a magnificent obsession to have with bottles. This piece is lovely. Happy New Year to you.

pearshapedcrafting said...

Beautiful! These bottles have such a lovely sheen to them! Hugs, Chrisx

Julia Aston said...

I love your beautiful row of pretty bottles Alison! Julia xx

Julie Lee said...

A definite 'hear hear' to working for a society that has something other than the quest for material gain at its heart. I always love your projects that include bottles. Wonderful colours on this one and - yes - No Regrets is a great motto! I can just hear Piaf's incredible voice reverberating now! xx

Kjersti said...

Wow! Love this one! Beautiful design and some words of visdom!
Happy New Year!
Hugs Kjersti:)

SewPaperPaint said...

Wow, I have seen this peek for a couple of days and hadn't had a chance to visit. I really thought these were the art glasses, smooshed glasses. So excited to see that you've used glossy accents to create this cool effect! Love this piece, so inspiring! Hugs, Autumn

experiments in paper said...

Simple but so effective,Alison. I really love your magnificent coloring, and those shadows..... Happy New Year to you, safe travels through the year, and hoping that your lovely wish does come true. xxx Lynn

Cocofolies said...

Really lovely ATC Alison, simple but gorgeous!!! Hugs again, Coco xx

Deb said...

Amazing ATC Alison, I thought for sure you had die cut these bottles from acetate and coloured them with alcohol inks, the depth of colour and shine you achieved with the Fresco paints and Glossy Accents is wonderful! Deb xo