Fizzy Jelly Fish

    Over at Altered Eclectics you can enter the challenge with mixed media, journaling and recycled projects, anything BUT a card or ATC. I like to recycle as much a s possible so when I saw how to do these I raided the recycle bin and set to work.

     The bottle should have a shaped bottom to make the head of the jellyfish more interesting. After a long study in my local supermarket I discovered that it's fizzy drink bottles that have the best shaped bottom.
     I found a video on You Tube for making these, here's the link. Cut the bottom off just above where it goes smooth for the label to sit, then cut the top off just below the shaping for the neck (this bit makes a good funnel).
      The bottom is gently smoothed off by holding it on a craft iron to melt it slightly, the heat makes the edges curl in a little.

     The centre of the bottle should be cut into a fringed collar, cut up to within an inch or so from the top all the way round the bottle, this will form the tentacles.
     To get then to curl hold them over a candle flame, they will bend in the heat, try not to hold them too close or they will get black soot marks on them. Once curled cut the solid ring at the top once to make a strip that can then be rolled up and secured either with hot glue or with strong clear tape.
     Once you have the tentacles rolled up you are ready to glue them into the head. Using hot glue stick the tentacle roll in the middle of the head with a large drop of glue and hold until it's set.

 
   
     To hang your jellyfish you can add fishing line to the top of the head with another spot of hot glue, if you use fishing line it can't be seen so easily so they look like they are swimming trough the air.
     Small ones can be added to a large clear container of water so the do actually swim around, you can find more detail on this in the video.
   

     Having made some clear jellyfish I wanted to make a neon green one, so back to the shop for some more research.  Mountain Dew comes in a lovely bright neon green bottle, not keen on the taste but it was necessary for my art!
     Now I look at fizzy drink bottles in every shop and garage I go to, you never know when you might find something different.
     Did you know that a collection of jellyfish is called a bloom, smack or swarm?

You can join our challenge at Altered Eclectics with your own recycled projects or mixed media, it's open all month, we'd love to see what you make.