The Black Pearl

I don’t know why, but this particular vessel that I found at my favorite thrift store reminded me of pirate ships and bottles of rum. So, I found a nice pirate ship photo and decided to paint it onto the bottle. 

I taped the design onto the bottle so I could map out just where I wanted to etch the surface to remove the glaze and make the surface easier to accept paint.  Blue painters tape was applied to the surface and I removed the ship pattern.    As I always do, I made sure I added some extra blue painters tape around the design in case I got the Etchall Cream where I did not want it. 

I laid the bottle down and applied the Etchall etching cream and set my timer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes I used the black plastic squeegee to scrape off the etching cream and put it back in the jar. (YES, you can reuse this cream over and over, Even if the color has turned from white to Chocolate!) Then, I wiped the glass off with an unscented baby wipe, polished it with a paper towel and washed any remaining Etchall cream off the surface and made sure it was completely dry.  The Etchall Cream took the glaze off of the bottle and gave it some ‘tooth’ for me to apply color. 

I decided I wanted a light blue background for my Pirate Ship, so I mixed up some very light blue color, using Blue and white, and painted it onto the etched area and let it completely dry.

I again taped the ship pattern onto the bottle using blue painters tape at the top of the design. Then I put some transfer paper under the design so I could trace it onto the bottle. If you don’t have transfer or graphite paper, you can use carbon paper (now I’m showing my age!). Trace around the design with a stylus tracing tool or use a ball point pen. Because you put the tape at the top, you can lift the design up to make sure you have traced all the lines. Once you have all the lines traced onto the bottle, remove the design and the tracing paper. 

Now for the fun part. Paint all of the ship black. The sails, the lines, the body of the ship. Let it dry. The little round compass can be painted brown. I then made a mix of white and a little bit of black to make a grey paint and I painted some of the masts, just so they stood out. Then, the designs on the ship were painted with yellow (I would have used Gold, but I didn’t have any). If the yellow doesn’t show up, paint white first, let it dry, and then paint the yellow over the white. 

I also used the yellow to highlight the compass. Then I decided that the ship needed some water under it, so I painted some uneven blue under the ship to set it into the water. The Glass Paint can be baked in the oven OR just set aside for a couple of days to dry completely hard. I did not bake the paint. I set it aside and let it cure on its own

So Me Hardies. Yo Ho Ho and a bottle of rum. You now have a beautiful Pirate Ship of your own. This ship does remind me of the Black Pearl and Pirates of the Caribbean. Did you know that I am a portrait and pet painter.  I painted this portrait of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow and it is one of my favorites. The Rum Bottle can sit right in front of this painting. 

Remember to always use Etchall etching cream in your projects. It was voted the BEST by crafters. 

You can click below to order from the Etchall site and I will get a small stipend that will help me to keep giving you these free tutorials.

 Thanks.

I hope you enjoy this project. Always remember to “Have A Colorful Day”

Kathie Camara, 

Etchall Designer & Fused Glass Artist