This is another project Marc and I worked on while I stayed with him a few weeks ago, tiny snowmen in bottles.
Marc was in charge of the bottles (The Works – 6 for £1) ……..
……. wrapping a length of thread round the top, attaching a plastic snowflake charm and then gluing the charm to the bottom, as they had the habit of sticking up/out if left to their own devices.
On the cork Marc glued a silver spacer bead with a screw eye in the middle so that the bottles can be hung from the branches of a Christmas tree etc.
Above is my practice run bottle made at home, the purpose of which was to gauge the size of the snowmen I needed to make to fit in bottles and also to see what “snow” worked best, tiny polystyrene balls or glitter. In the end I went for the glitter as the balls tended to cling due to static electricity. I can’t remember the type of pen I used for the hat, face and buttons but it bleed, I put this down to not giving the air dough sufficient time to dry out thoroughly.
When I got to Marc’s I made more snowmen who had the tiniest of tiny Fimo noses, aghhhhhhh!
It was then Marc’s idea to give the snowmen arms using legs cut off plastic Halloween spiders, they were perfect and “gave a little” when a few of the snowmen were later carefully inserted into the bottles.
……….then after a day or two of drying came the task of giving adding their tiny eyes, buttons and a scarves using a single strand of red cotton yarn. Marc has so much patience with “the detail”
I spent a morning colouring in the hats with fine tipped red and green Sharpies and then the snowmen were all bottled up ready for me to add the snow when I got home.
However …….. the red ink from the pens continued to bleed into the snowmen, giving them a slightly pink hue around the gills, I admit to only giving them about three days to dry out ……. bum, I don’t think it was really long enough! I currently have a month old snowman that I have marked with the same pens to see it will bleed after that length of time. I know I am being a diva perfectionist, but if I was given one of these bottles, I know the first thing I would notice would be the pink seepage, I cant help it!
So, although Marc’s bottles were perfection, my impatience is questionable. I think I am going to make another set of snowmen, this time either using Fimo, adding a hat in another colour or trying air dough again, but giving it a good couple of weeks to settle before adding any colour. So watch this space …………