DIY Beach Bottles

Hi Friends,
Last week while perusing Pintrest, I came across this pic.  Click the word this to go to the Pin on Pintrest, or the picture to go to the original place it was pinned from (Elizabeth Matthews Gallery on Picasa).

DIY Beach glass????  I had to try it.  Whenever I am at the beach I am always looking for some little beach glass treasure.  So the idea of creating my own beachy treasure, was very exciting.

I had this bottle that I decided to try it out on.  I got it from Pier 1 a couple of years ago to serve homemade lemonade in (which was a perfect use at the time) and haven't really used it since then.  

  

The pin on Pintrest says "DIY faux beach glass- Elmer's Glue poured into a cup and then added small amounts of Wilton's Food Coloring until I liked the color Then I used a soft paint brush . You don't need a sealer."

I didn't have any Elmer's Glue so I decided to try it with Modpodge.  I used the food coloring that I had on hand and mixed it into the modpodge.  I wanted a kind of olive-y green so I added some green and a bit of yellow.  It was a little hard to tell what the color would be when it dried, since the glue is white.  So, I just made it a little darker than I wanted it to turn out.  

Then I painted the mixture right onto the bottle.  

I let it dry completely between coats.  I applied three coats.  I was experimenting with layers to try to get rid of the little lines that were caused by my paint brush.  I wasn't able to completely get rid of them, but I did learn to live with them because I liked the final look.

I tried a turquoise color on a Jack Daniel's bottle that I scored recently at a wedding.  I couldn't resist the cool shape so I asked if I could have the empty bottle.  You can see the brush lines a little more on the turquoise bottle.  I'm not sure if it's the color or because the bottle was smoother.  But, I love my little beach bottle collection.  I have them sitting on the counter in my kitchen and they make me smile.

 Hope you enjoy them too!