Martha Won

Bet you thought that I would never get anything creative posted again. Me too!! This is what I have been working on!

Remember the post where the wannabe Martha Stewart and the reality Erma Bombeck were fighting it out to see if a 3D project that wasn't working out would get done? Sigh.....Martha won. That woman just would NOT let me sleep until I got this stupid thing figured out. Soooo, for all my sleepless nights, you get a tutorial (if I can figure out how to post that many pictures that is!!)

Several months ago, I made a large baby bottle for a friend's shower that can be seen here. Well, two of the teacher's at my children's school are expecting within the next 6-12 weeks (they are due one month apart). The mom's at the school are throwing them a joint baby shower and that dang wannabe "Martha" opened her mouth and said that she would make party favor sized baby bottles. Piece of cake, right? NOPE. The smaller version just didn't work out like the larger version and I had to figure out how to make it work on the smaller scale. Here is what I came up with. Supplies Needed: 1 piece of 6 3/4" x 2 3/4" piece of transparency/acetate, 2 pieces of 3/4" x 7 1/4" strip of crimped paper, 2 circles with hand drawn 1/4" tabs, 1 circle with NO tabs, 2 hand-drawn baby bottle nipples, 24" piece of ribbon, an adjustable circle cutter or Spellbinder circle die, 1/4" anywhere circle punch, Exacto knife, red liner sticky tape and double sided tape.

Take your red liner and edge the short side of your transparency and make a tube. Figure out the diameter of the circle and using your adjustable circle cutter (or spellbinder die, if one is the right size) and cut out a template circle. Draw 5-6 angled tabs around the circle and cut out. Trace 2 onto desired colored card stock. Cut out non-tabbed circle on same colored cardstock.On one of the tabbed circles, place red sticky tape on BOTH sides of the tabs. Fold tabs around the circle. Remove the liner and position the circle tab around the bottom of the tube. Adhere (I use a pencil inside the tube to help). Remove the outside liner now and take on of your crimped strips and line it up along the bottom of the tube, covering the tabs. Use another piece of red liner to tape the end down.Ok....now using your double sided tape, adhere your two baby bottle nipples together (but just at the top, you want to be able to fold back the bottom part). I outline a "shadow" using copic markers on both side. Trace the length of the nipple on the INSIDE of the other tabbed circle (your red liner tape will be on the OUTSIDE) and cut out with an exacto knife. Insert the nipple into the slit and then adhere the tabs down with double sided tape. Then take your UNtabbed circle and place over the inside (to make it look nice and neat on the inside of the baby bottle lid)

Remove the liner on the OUTSIDE of the tabs and place the second crimped strip along the edge. Using your 1/4" punch, punch out an even number of circles along the crimped edged. Thread your ribbon thru and then tie your bow. I have been making my bows so that they cover the seam of the crimped edged, but you can place it where ever you like. And WAHLA!! You now have a baby bottle!! I fill these with white M&M's (still need to make a run for those. I really don't want to put them into the bottles until closer to the shower date (don't need to encourage any ants to move in). I hope that this tutorial was helpful. I will work on the asthetics of the tutorial layouts (HEY!! I'm pretty proud that I got this to work at all and only with a little bit of help!! I'm SOOOO not computer savy, so this is HUGE!!!) Now I need to finish off the last 10 bottles. Stay tuned for creativity on a MURAL scale!!