Thursday, March 21, 2013

Pop Bottle Paint Problems


You know that art project that looks so simple that even a Kindergartner can make it look good? In fact, you know that art project tutorial that was done by a Kindergartner that looks phenomenal and super easy? Well, it's not. We've all discovered these. One that we've seen once before on this blog (and you'll see it once again today) is this one:

The Original Pin
http://alphamom.com/family-fun/holidays/cherry-blossom-art-from-a-recycled-soda-bottle/

Do remember how the previous Pinstrosity turned out? No?! Let me remind you:

Gravity and a disappointing shape...not so great. And how about the other project you ask? I'll show you that to (since that's kinda what we are all about here):

The Pinstrosity:
http://trialanderrorcreativity.blogspot.com/2013/03/pinterest-fail-cherry-blossoms-out-of.html
Abby said, "I had a feeling this one was too good to be true.  You could just tell from the original picture that those perfect flowers did not really come from that paint-soaked bottle.  But I had to try it out anyway. I did everything the tutorial said to the T."


"So, for this gem, you dip the bottom of a liter bottle of soda into paint, and proceed to make cherry blossom stamps. Since canvases were $2 a pop at Michaels, I decided to get real fancy with this project."



"Now, I was expecting a huge mess. What I got instead were little circles. No matter what I tried, or how much paint I used."


"I even tried it on a harder surface than the canvas to see if that was the variable that was screwing everything else. And still -- little circles."


"However, this is one failed project that I was able to save pretty easily. Using those little circles as a base, I simply painted in the rest of the "flower" -- probably what the original poster did, to be honest."


"Even though it's not an authentic "soda bottle bottom cherry blossom", it's still quite pretty. I added "cherry blossom" in Japanese Nanji because -- hey, why not? A little something to make it mine."

Finding a soda bottle with just the right shape is key here. Some of them just have the 5 little points, while some actually have that little flower shaped bottom. You may just have to go down the soda aisle checking the bottoms of the bottles for just the right look. When people ask what you are doing tell them you're looking for the prize on the bottom of the bottle, and then leave the aisle. Peek through a crack in the shelves and then watch them try to surreptitiously check for prizes on the bottoms of their bottles. Then if you don't end up finding the right shape of bottle, you'll at least get some good entertainment. 

So that seems like overly simple advise...because it is. I like that Abby didn't let the lack of shape perfection deter her from her goals. If nothing else, that provided a nice little guide to get the spacing for the petals all even. It seems like this would work well on a squishy canvas that you could press the bottle down into...but I've never seen a squishy canvas...someone should make that. Anyone? 

8 comments:

  1. I did this but I painted the paint onto the bottom of the pop bottle instead of dipping. My results weren't too bad except that the paint was thicker on the edges of the petals than in the center of them, but that made an interesting texture. I used buttons for the middle of the flowers instead of paint. It was worth a try but I wouldn't do it again.

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  2. I tried this last year for Mother's Day cards. The result did not look like the original, but looked mostly flower-ish and was still cute. I had my then 2 and 6 yr olds do it themselves, which accounts for at least some of the difference in results, although I tried one or two "flowers" myself with only slightly better results. We also tried the celery flower trick - cutting the bottom of a celery bunch off, keeping it together and dipping in paint, to yield a flower pattern, and dipping a single trimmed stalk in green as the leaves. Also mildly resembling a flower, but still cute.

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  3. I've been really wanting to try this one! The girls have an old book shelf that I tried to repaint (poorly I might add) about 9 years ago and I think it's time for an update though I will be sure to lay it on it's side and let it dry and have a few paint brushes on hand just in case.

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  4. The author of the original pin said she used a Dr. Pepper bottle. Think the bottom could make a difference?

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  5. It looks like the original pin used a 2 liter. There's a HUGE difference between a 2 liter bottle bottom and the bottom of a personal bottle.

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  6. We did this at the daycare where I work with the Early Childhood class (so 3 year olds) and we used a two liter bottle. I would try that! It worked great for us!

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  7. I tried this using a 2 liter bottle and it just turned into a mess. we kept getting globs in the center of the flowers (not the dainty little circle the original pin had) and the petals were just a mess, I found it easier just to paint the flowers myself.

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  8. If you read the comments of the original post, she said she used leftover wall paint she had from painting her daughter's room. So it sounds like this paint is much thicker than poster paint and may account for the different result.

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