“It’s hott’a under the wat’a- under the sea!” Hey, all. Welcome to another craft. I was walking thru the aisles at the craft store wondering what I should make. There was a giant wall full of glass bottles and vases of all different shapes and sizes and I spotted this bottle right in the middle and immediately thought of Ariel’s grotto. So I made this little scene and it was really fun to create. This was my first time working with resin and honestly, it’s the perfect project if you’re just starting out because you don’t have to worry about bubbles since the end result is the ocean.
| Supplies List: | Tools List: |
|---|---|
| Glass Bottle | Silicone Measuring Cups and Sticks (for resin) |
| Sand | Long Tweezers |
| Crushed Shells | Non-latex gloves |
| Black and Grey Rocks | |
| Sea Themed Beads | |
| Miniature Props | |
| Glitter and Sparkly Beads | |
| Resin Kit |
Part of Your World
To start, I gathered beads I had leftover from my Ariel Bracelet project and I purchased some new ones including these little clam shells, conch shells, and the big blue beads. I also used extra bits from my Pieces of Eight Keychain as little treasures for the grotto.
It was so nice outside and the only work surface I had was my glass table. Sorry if it’s distracting!
The bottle I found is round and has flat sides. Maybe 1.5″ thick, so I knew I had to select my fillings carefully so they’d fit thru the hole. Using rocks from my Cafe Orleans Terrarium and shells from a separate project, I filled the bottom layer of the bottle.
To fills in the cracks, I used black sand and variety of purple and green beads. I even added a few pearls beads.
I used my long tweezer to arrange the shells and rocks. There were some really pretty abalone-like shells and I wanted to make sure they were seen on the sides.
I added a single grey rock on top along with a few miniatures that Ariel could have found roaming the ocean…
…including a globe, a small ship, and a crown and scepter. I also added a pinch of the glitter mixture I used in the Princess Picture Frame project.
After a lot of fenagling and negotiating the miniatures and beads, I read the instructions for pouring my resin and got to work starting with a small amount. I used silicone measuring cups and stir sticks which made clean up the day after fairly easy.
The second round of resin, I let it sit for 20ish minutes and added some tiny holographic glitters before pouring it in. I mixed and poured a little more resin to top it off. In total, I used 160mls of resin mix. The glass did get pretty hot while the resin was curing. Reading and following instructions is definitely a must.
I let it cure overnight and in the morning, I found some interesting things that happened like a giant bubble thing in the corner, dried resin drips, and floating glitters that I didn’t know were there. It made the scene more dynamic and lively so I was fine with those unexpected happenings.
Up Where they Walk
Thanks for joining me on this project! I had a lot of fun creating this chaotic and sparkly treasure collection. I used a lot of leftover supplies from previous projects and that makes me happy. It kind of goes along with Ariel’s actual grotto: giving old things new purpose. This project is totally customizable to the things you have in your craft closet or whatever you find at the craft store. I hope you’re inspired to make your own grotto in a bottle.
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