Modern Relic by Jane in San Diego
Design Team Leader

Here is a glass bottle that has been transformed into an Egyptian relic. You could use any glass vessel or an empty soda or glass water bottle.

The embossing sheets I used to decorate the vase are clear, flexible sheets used by some polymer clay artists. If you don't have them, a sheet of unmounted stamps with the desired theme in a bold design can be used instead. Just be sure to dust with baby powder or cornstarch as a release agent if you have problems with clay sticking to the rubber.

Supplies:
Glass bottle or vessel
Crayola Model Magic clay (or any air dry clay)
Scratch Art embossing sheet, Ethnic themes
Egyptian Times unmounted rubber stamp sheet (Hearts in Touch)
Ranger inks (Distress Walnut and Adirondack Caramel)
Wooden dowel (optional for smoothing clay)
Baby powder or cornstarch (as a release agent)

Directions:
1) Knead the clay to soften the texture and make it easier to form around the glass vessel. Flattening the clay in your hands, apply a rough, but fairly even layer of clay to the glass. You may or may not decide to cover the bottom of the bottle. The choice is yours. On this project, I left the bottom uncovered.

2) Smooth out the clay with your fingers or a wooden dowel. If you are trying to achieve an aged or stony effect, do not smooth out the clay to neatly.

3) Lightly dust the embossing sheet or rubber stamps with baby powder. Lift the clay covered glass carefully and impress the soft clay onto the sheet or rubber. Remove and repeat on other parts of the surface. At this point, you may also wish to create decorative tags out of clay and emboss them as well.

4) Let the clay air dry undisturbed.

5) Daub with desired colors of ink or acrylic paints and let dry. If you intend to use the bottle/vase with water, you will want to seal it with a spray varnish or sealer.

NOTE: If you are using Crayola Model Magic clay, resist the temptation to speed drying by using any type of heat other than direct sunlight. The clay will bubble up like a marshmallow.