My Most Memorable Gift

It is time for the last challenge of 2017 at Frilly and Funkie and Suzz, our hostess is calling it Most Memorable Gift.  Here is how she describes it:

December for many of us is a time where we give and receive. That had me thinking about the most memorable gifts I have received over the years. These including a signed book from one of my favorite authors, handwritten notes from my children, a singing hot dog condiment stand and the first gift my husband gave me when we were dating. Since this is the season of giving I want you to be inspired by a memorable gift and use that to create a vintage or shabby chic project that captures the inspiration from that gift. You can make a card, a tag, share a journal entry or any kind of project you desire. Just be sure to mention the memorable gift and how it inspired your creation.

My most memorable gift was one my husband gave me for Christmas when we were first dating.   Now I was never one to shake presents but for some reason I shook this one a few days before Christmas and all I could hear was what sounded like broken glass and I was instantly panic-stricken.  He had flown out west to be with his parents for the holidays and I went north to be with mine so I just kept that information to myself.  Then on Christmas day I opened the gift with great fear and inside was a bottle of very good cognac wrapped in rubber along with a little tiny bottle with two screws in it.  SNEAKY!!!

When I read the challenge theme I could not figure out how I was going to come up with a project to depict that story until I was relating the story to Jenny Marples and she immediately suggested that I alter a bottle.  That is one reason I love her, she is so creative and she is always willing to share.

I dug out a fancy bottle I was saving intending to alter it and then I remembered this tiny little mason jar.  This is just 3" tall and it came in a six-pack of flavoured moonshine that my husband picked up last year on a visit to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.  I decided to make a simple little ornament out of it and since I love the way it turned out, I want some more for the tree so he better start drinking.

Except for this next one, there are no process photos because I discovered after it was all put together that when I changed to different bulbs in my lamps, I should have changed some settings in the camera, which explains why I didn't go into photography for a career.

I had my husband drill a couple holes in the lid for me and then I altered the colour of it with Poppyfield and Gold Mixative Alcphol Ink (Tim Holtz).  I added a hanger of gold beading wire through the holes and twisted the ends together underneath.

Next I added some Glossy Accents to the bottom of each leg of the teeny deer and glued it into the bottle bottom.  Tip:  Put the bottle on its side to do this step because it will give you more control and prevent the glue from grabbing onto the side of the bottle.

Next I added some tiny red gems to a small bottle brush tree (Tim Holtz) and then glued it into the bottle.

I wanted to add some snow so I scraped a styrofoam ball to get bits and then mixed some clear silver-lined seed beads in with my "snow" before I added it to the bottle.

Once that was done I put the lid on and realized how pale the inside looked so I decided to add a tie around the neck of the deer but since it was already set in I needed to come up with a work-around.  I created a little noose with some burlap string and using tweezers, I tied it around his neck.  It worked - whew!!!

To decorate the top I cut some "greenery" from the Holiday Greens die (Tim Holtz) and some gold Kraft Core Shattered Collection (Tim Holtz).  It needed a bit of sparkle so I sprayed it with Tarnished Brass Distress Spray Stain (Tim Holtz).  After I added it to the top of the lid, I piled on some berries and beads from my stash.

There you go, a simply created ornament to depict my story with many similarities - a little bottle, something inside it, alcohol is involved and so is my husband - LOL.