This year Christmas passed in a great blur of commotion, between all the shopping and the dinner and family time. (I hope you had a good holiday, too!)

So I’m returning to my first realistic oil painting project. Between the end of high school senior year and the start of Mason Gross, this has been put off again and again. But I hope to finish it up soon.

The post-Christmas doldrums shorten my attention span; I typically work for 4-6 hours. Instead, in a two hour session I developed the red ceramic designs on the Georgian-style wine bottle. In the close-ups, you can see how the 3 layers of paint on the ceramic pale in comparison to 4 layers of paint on the rest of the bottle. It’s amazing to observe the vibrancy come out of the painting with each new layer.

I paint wet-on-wet to develop the ceramic; I fill the area I’m working on with its base colors and tones (imagine squinting at an object and seeing its shades/colors simplified), then build up lighter layers of tones (working on highlights last) to create contrast.

I paint what I see in my reference photo, not what I remember the ceramic looks like. I read somewhere that Realist artists are actually Abstractionists- they don’t paint the apple, they paint the undertones and the shades and tints and color of the apple. I don’t concentrate on making the ceramic seem… ‘ceramicky,’ at first. However, I did go back and add highlights to the lower area of ceramic to give it a 3d feel that my reference photo lacked.

I’ll be updating soon…

Christmas dinner (lunch, really) was a three-course affair. Soup and toasted pastries for the entrée, a mix of meats and vegetables for the main course, and a chocolate-hazelnut dessert, all accompanied by a nice bottle of Saumur. This is the table before we began our coma-inducing meal.

Paris Ve.

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As much as I dreaded having a commercial photography class this last semester, I must admit I did learn quite a bit. I also hate to admit it, but I sort of liked it too.

Yes, working in the studio can be quite frustrating, especially for someone like myself. I prefer ambient light. I just find the studio lights give me a head ache. But once I got use to them and understood how to properly set up for shoots in the studio, my opinion changed. I sucked the pain, popped an advil and got to work.

There is so much more to studio work than I ever imagined. I learned many different techniques on how to photograph various objects/products. A lot of working in the studio I found was trial an error. Sometime the normal/typical set up isn’t the best choice. Sometimes you need to play around with where to place the lights and/or reflectors.

So, as part of our class we obviously had a number of studio shots to do: Cereal box, watch, silverware, glassware, pouring, wine bottle, and a bonus product (anything goes). I would have to say that by far my favourite shoot was the bonus product, simply because it was free reign. We could do anything we wanted. The other were very frustrating to do. Although the  wine bottle wasn’t too terrible difficult…..but nonetheless, I loved my bonus product.

Now, for your viewing pleasure I present you with some commercial work by me!

From a trendy round up of snazzy wine bottles, this has got to be the most inventive.  A tasty shiraz complete with a small wardrobe for the retro pin-up girl shown above. Made by Some Young Punks out of Australia.

You can buy it online here for now.

Will you judge this wine by it’s label?  Or is it what’s inside that counts?

Earlier this week, I spent some time making felt gift bags. It wasn’t until much later this week that it dawned on me. What if the gift was a bottle? Yes, a felt bag would work too, but there had to be something more – something that would frame that beautiful bottle of Dom or that really funky berry balsamic vinegar.

But what could that be?

Well, I puzzled and pondered. And just when I was trying my hand at some paper sculpture, a little ‘happy accident’ answered my musings.

You see, I was supposed to be creating this really neat holiday paper sculpture for my dining room sideboard. Unfortunately, things really didn’t go as I had planned. The resulting shape was not at all what I had hoped for… until someone suggested that I put a bottle in it (which was fortuitous because I had already been pondering the bottle wrapping problem).

So, I did. And this little ‘happy accident’ has turned out to be a really great bottle-gift-display-wrap. Add the bottle (of whatever) a little cellophane and a ribbon, and this is a beautiful and personal gift (especially if the colours you choose to make the paper bottle wrap are your recipients faves and you give them a bottle of something they love – like chocolate syrup!!!). (Sorry the picture doesn’t include cellophane wrapping – leave it to me to run out just when I need it.)

Wanna know how to do this yourself? Really, truly all you need to do is rip paper and brush on glue… wanna try???

Okay – so you start by picking your shape and size – you need a bowl, bottle, or something that size and shape to work on. I picked something the same shape but just a little larger than a bottle of wine (so the bottle would come in and out of it easily), but anything goes so make the size and shape of your bottle wrap match your gift bottle. You need 2 colours of paper (it is nice if one is a lighter paper like a rice paper and the other is heavier like a watercolour paper, but this is entirely up to you). One colour will be the outside and the second colour is the inside.

1. Using plastic wrap and tape, wrap the bowl, bottle, etc. (whatever shape you have chosen), making sure that all areas you are working on are covered.
2. Rip the paper you selected for the inside of the vessel into smaller pieces. Lightly soak them in water until they are soft.
3. Lay the pieces one at a time over your shape – making sure that the right side of your paper is facing in – overlapping each piece a bit and lightly brushing glue (white glue) on where the pieces of paper overlap. Continue until the whole shape is covered as you desire.
4. Overbrush the paper form with glue.
5. Let dry.
6. Repeat from step #2 with the paper for the outside of your shape, making sure that the right side of the paper is facing out.
7. As soon as both the layers are dry, trim up the edges with scissors. At this point, you can embellish as you wish with ribbon or trim the edge with specially shaped scissors – the choice is yours.
8. To finish, add 3 coats of high gloss indoor varnish.

Done and Christmas gift idea # 18 will leave your gifts-of-bottles looking fabulously styled and festive this holiday season.

For all of you wine extraordinaires out there, this is the centerpiece for you! We found this great idea on marthastewartweddings.com and we think it is so fun!

Have wine bottles double as table numbers. Cover-weight paper printed with large, graphic numerals can be adhered over existing labels with double-sided tape for a clean, contemporary look. Pick whatever type of wine that you would like, add the new label, and place on the tables! It’s a cute touch that can go a long way. If there is wine left over you can give it to your guests or take it for yourself!

i need to learn how to master this craft. for some strange reason, even though this seems like some drunk action – it seems completely doable and it must be learnt for future parties without wine openers.

How to open a bottle of wine when you don’t have a corkscrew at hand?

Most people rush of to a supermarket or other shop to buy a corkscrew. The good news is, you don’t actually need one!

Have a look at this YouTube clip on how to open a bottle of wine without a corkscrew : with a shoe!

Of course, most shoes will do for this lifehack. Barefoot? Ok, take some clothes instead and create a similar buffer between the bottle and the wall.

Oh, by the way, this Genius Shortcut also works if you are having a picknick in the woods. Just slam the bottle against a tree with a decent bark. Be careful not to break the bottle

And yes, I know, you wouldn’t do this with a Château Pétrus. And of course, this Genius Shortcut is in no way intended to inspire you to drink more than what is good for you. Or to put in the words of JumboJoke.com : The consumption of alcohol may cause you to think you can sing or may lead you to think people are laughing with you.

Cheers! A votre santé! Schol! Jambo! Salud! Prost! Kampai!

(via BoingBoing)

Please click here for FREE Weekly Wine Information!

OK, we’ll not talk about *all* shapes of wine bottles.
What we’re comparing in this post are just Burgundy and Bordeaux bottles

Now, Burgundy bottle is used for – obviously, red and white Burgundies, which are Pinot Noir (red) and Gamay (red), and Chardonnay (white) wines. Therefore, in the New World, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines are bottled in traditional Burgundy shape bottles.

Bordeaux bottles are used for Bordeaux wines (both Left and Right Banks), and wines of (major) Bordeaux grapes, which are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot.

To Your Wine-fulfilled Life!

Happy Sunday folks! It is suddenly starting to feel like fall around here, it makes me want to curl up beside the fire with a good book and a glass of Pinot Noir, speaking of wine, have you seen the “Bon Appetit” stamp set from The Rubber Cafe? It is fabulous, here is a couple of cards I whipped up last night with it:

Stamps: The Rubber Cafe, Cardstock: Co'ordinations, DCWV, other: clear ink, markers, embossing powder

I used my Cricut and SCAL software to make the cards, you can grab my free template and cutting flies below. The purple bottle is cut from Co’ordanations cardstock with the lighter side on the inside so your writing will show up The green bottle is textured cardstock from Die Cuts With a View. I used the Fleuradidy 2 stamp and clear ink to stamp directly on the textured cardstock (these stamps are so deeply etched and wonderful that they even stamp well on textured cardstock!) then I heat embossed it with gold powder. I smooshed the clear pad on the bottle top and embossed it to look like the foil seal that champagne bottles have, easy, quick,  clever! On the inside I did tone on tone stamping with the pretty leaf stamp, it just gives you a little extra flair i think

here is the inside of the card

To stamp the wine label I inked up the stamp in caramel then used tombow (use any water based marker for this, tombow happens to be my favorite) brush markers to add green, red and purple to the grapes, breath on the stamp to moisten the ink and stamp on cream cardstock, cut out and adhere to card.

Using markers to add multi colors to a rubber stamp is quick, easy and fun!

Download my wine bottle card svg file to cut with your cricut if you have SCAL software.

Here is a printable template.

Don’t forget you have 2 days left to save 10% on SCAL software with the coupon code: 1847253 You will get the latest version of scal (SCAL v.2) with all the new bells and whistles such as converting images to cut and layers, it is so cool!

Have a great Sunday folks and till next time happy crafting!

Who doesn’t love candlelight? I mean, everyone looks good by it and it saves on electricity, so what’s not to love? I especially love candlelight outdoors, particularly on summer nights with a cool cocktail and some good friends. Which is why you must, must, must check out this DIY project from gerardot & co., via design sponge. It’s an outdoor, recycled wine bottle torch and it’s way more hip and stylish than any tiki torch I’ve ever seen! And now my drinking habit can have an afterlife. Bonus!

Husband, if you’re reading this, this is next on your honey-do list.

every once in a “wine,” you get some bottles that deserve being given a second chance. i love the shades of green and yellow of wine bottles, especially when the sun glows through the colored glass. i started saving some bottles, trying to pick my brain for potential repurposing ideas.

these bottles took a luxurious bubble bath in the sink, compliments of joy dish liquid (rumor has it that it leaves the skin silky smooth). it also allows the labels to peel off oh-so-simply:

the bottles fit perfectly in this wire basket, which now sits proudly as a centerpiece for our autumn outdoor dining. we also found some outdoor pillows at world market for 10 bucks a piece, with rustic oranges, yellows, and browns, that help pull together the autumn harvest look. i know, i know, it’s technically still summer and i should hang on to every last tank-top-wearing, flip-flop-flipping, and swimming-pool-swimming, hazy lazy days of summer; however, the fact of the matter is that school is starting tuesday, which means fall is here for me. end of story.

wine bottle centerpiece

autumn outdoor dining

i always feel a little shudder of excitement when the new pottery barn catalog finds its way into my mailbox. the fall 2009 catalog features a distinguished vintage, traditional, and warm feeling that is very comfy cozy. a few things caught my eye:

quilts: truly an american art. who knew that these country staples would appear in a national magazine cover?

the use of wood in its most natural, raw state is really “in” right now in many stores, including pottery barn. check out this antique console bar, which was inspired by a workman’s bench.

red country apples, a rooster, and a red coffee table has never looked so chic and put-together, eh?

and there it was: a wine bottle chandelier….who knew pottery barn was also into wine bottle repurposing?
wine bottle chandelier; pottery barn fall 2009

for all of you with an extra 400 smackaroos who want to add an artsy vintage wine flair to your room:

how have you repurposed your wine bottles? did you put some taper candles into the tops to make candelabras? throw them into the blue recycling box and hope for the best? turn them into a hummingbird feeder? melt them down into a cheese tray? making homemade pie crust and used a wine bottle for a rolling pin? decorate with used corks? let us know what all of you creative folks are doing with your vino…….

Gerry S. was wondering, “the purpose of different bottle shapes for different wines!? like the deeply concave base for red wine?”

Wine bottles come in all sorts of sizes and shapes.  The shape of the bottle usually communicates which region the wine is from and the grape varieties used.  This holds mostly true with wines from France, where each region by tradition uses a different style of bottle.  There are roughly 6-7  examples of wine bottle shapes, but I will only discuss the most popular and most used.  There are three parts of the bottle one must also be familiar with: the neck, shoulder and punt.  The neck, I hope doesn’t need an explanation, the shoulders are litterally the part below the neck and the punt is the bottom underside of the bottle.

We’ll start with one of the most common bottle shapes, the “bordeaux” style. In Bordeaux,France, these bottles denote the use of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec.  White wines which use this shape are made from Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle.  Bordeaux wines are usually long lived  which is why the shape came into being. After long periods of cellaring, these wines will produce a lot of sediment.  The steepness and height of the shoulders are able to catch the sediment when the wine is being poured.  The flat sides also allow the wines to stack and cellar comfortably.  This bottle shape is also used a lot in America and in Italy as well.

This shape, with a slightly wider base, sturdier frame  and gently sloping shoulders hails from Burgundy.  Bottles like this are filled with Pinot Noir (red) and Chardonnay(white).   These bottles shapes seems very elegant to me.   They don’t have sharp edges,  they look gracefull and seem to have a more feminine quality about them.  Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines  are very elegant and round yet, can still deliver through a full body and an intense depth of  flavor.

Ok Gerry,  this is where the punt of the bottle comes into play.  The punt is the concave base at the bottom of the bottle.  Champagne bottles use the thickest glass and have the largest punts.  The pressure in Champagne bottles is between 70 and 90 pounds per square inch.  That is about 2-3 times the pressure in your cars tires and about equal to the pressure in the tires of a double decker bus! The glass for this wine must be thicker, the base wider and the punt deeper.  The punt adds much needed stregnth to the bottle, this is the reason  why some bottles have bigger punts than others.  Here’s a good way to make money off of your friends.  Bet you friend that you can drink from a wine bottle with out opening it.  Now all you have to do is find a bottle with a large punt, pour water into it, drink and collect your money. Thanks Stephanie for teaching me this joke.  This picture also shows the range of sizes fr Champagne and other wine bottles.  The second one from the left is the standard .750mL.

Here is the last classic example of a wine bottle shape.  This shape comes from Alsace, France and parts of Germany and Austria. There is wide variety of wines that use this bottle and all of them are white and can range from totally dry to totally sweet. Pinot Gris, Riesling, Gerwurtraminer(GWT), Muscat, and Pinot Blanc are some of the common varieties.  This shape is longer, almost flat shoulders, sexier, and usually has a smaller punt.  This shape reminds me of a tall sexy girl with gentle curves and an essence of classiness, reminiscent of the wines in these bottles.

Sometimes the quality of a particular bottle of wine can be denoted from the the quality of glass used, but this is not true 100% percent of the time.  If you have no idea what you are looking for in a wine store do three things: first contact me, then ask your wine dude at the store, and lastly pick up and feel the bottle.  If the bottle feels heavy, has thick glass and a big punt you may have found a good bottle of wine.  Of course this is just superficial and a bottle like that could be pretty bad.  So there ya go, a nice little primer on wine bottle shapes.  Thanks Gerry!

However, this time I don’t think his poker face worked because my mother looked at me and winked as if to let me know that she knew what we had been up to, but she did it in such a subtle way so that my father wouldn’t notice in order to protect my father’s ego.

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If you would like to check out some of my music, or if you are studying French and would like some listening practice, click on the link below:

www.frenchdashmusic.blogspot.com

When we came back from the wine shop, she was on the porch reading; my mother loved to read and whenever she had a free moment she would relax in her favorite chair on the porch and delve into one of her many books that she was reading at the moment.

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If you would like to check out some of my music, or if you are studying French and would like some listening practice, click on the link below:

www.frenchdashmusic.blogspot.com

It was as if she held some mystic power endowed to her by the gods allowing her to see, hear and know all at all times.

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If you would like to check out some of my music, or if you are studying French and would like some listening practice, click on the link below:

www.frenchdashmusic.blogspot.com

My mother always seemed to be able to find out about everything, and I often wondered how she did it, even asking my father on several occasions, but to no avail.

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If you would like to check out some of my music, or if you are studying French and would like some listening practice, click on the link below:

www.frenchdashmusic.blogspot.com

“Wine is bottled poetry.”  ~Robert Louis Stevenson

Following the comments I received yesterday (on the Beach Glass post) about searching for messages in bottles on the beach, I realised that I don’t really find that many bottles washed up as flotsam. Most bottles have been left by picnickers and beach party goers. There were certainly more bottles and cans on Rhossili beach last week than I have ever seen in forty odd years of visiting the place. I know I do photograph rubbish but not usually that sort of rubbish.

I have come across a couple of interesting bottles that were genuine flotsam on the strandline. The photograph above shows a green glass bottle with a unique kind of stopper in the neck – a living Common Winkle.

The picture immediately below shows a bottle on which Stalked or Goose Barnacles have settled – demonstrating clearly that it has been floating in the sea for some time.

While the final picture shows the more typical find on the seashore – left after some late night partying.

Whatever the origin of the glass, its fate is to break, and it all ends up as beach glass, and reduces down to the size of grains of sand to merge with the beach sediments.

© Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog, 2009. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material, including both text and photographs, without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 Photographs in this blog are copyright property of Jessica Winder with all rights reserved

Plant Nanny products were developed to make plants healthier; most plants thrive when their roots are consistently moist. Watering globes support hardier root growth by slowly releasing water through a special Ceramic stake as the soil begins to dry.  They are revolutionary due to the fact that the Ceramic stake stays in the soil.  No clogging!  And it releases water throughout the entire stake, not just one tiny area.

Plant Nanny Stakes come in several varieties, to match anyone’s taste.

Hand-blown glass watering globes are a simple solution to keeping your plants healthy. Most plants thrive with consistent watering. Since the stake remains in the soil the plant roots will actually grow around the stake and use water more efficiently. The water level is visible through the globe even at a distance, so you’ll know exactly when to add water.  There are the Clear Glass Globe, The Swirl (in 3 decorative colors) and the Globe with Finial (a gorgeous addition to any planter, in 2 colors).  Just remove the Globe, leaving the  stake in the soil, and refill with water,  you can even add fertilizer if you choose!  They are so easy to use!

For the wine lover and anyone who likes to be GREEN, recycled wine bottles & Wine Bottle Plant Nanny Stakes work together to water your plants. Made from a specially-engineered ceramic, our 7.5 inch Plant Nanny^® Stakes are designed so that a wine bottle rests securely inside, providing a ready supply of water. Designed to water a larger container plant, these can be used indoors or on a deck or porch. Any long neck glass bottle will work, so you don’t have to love wine to love this product.  They work well outside, to keep your summer planters from drying out.  And the size of the wine bottle means you wont have to refill everyday and the water won’t reach boiling temperatures in the sun.

The Add-a-bottle Nanny and the Vacation Nanny are great for any planter as well.  They have the same great stake, only you use your recycled water or soda bottles instead.  They are a great way to make use of water bottles and easily care for your plants.  Decorate your bottles for a one of a kind look.

The Plant Nanny’s are also great in the ground!  Use them to water newly transplanted shrubs or perennials!  This will help to reduce transplant shock.

All in all the Plant Nanny has revolutionized the Watering Globe.  By utilizing a stake that stays in the soil, they eliminate clogging of the globe and disruption of the plants roots.  Your plants will grow healthier for it!

Check out this link for all the Plant Nanny products:

Plant Nanny Watering Stakes

Illustration Friday theme: craving

When the weather gets warmer I start craving “wine o’clock” with my family, at the lake in Saskatchewan. When is wine o’clock? Whenever you want it to be.

Homemade. Cooking. Arthur. Friends. Rolling pin. Wine bottle. Fantastic. Together.