Empty bottles? Before you discard, check this out.

I received this gift from my friend, Eric, from Beijing.



It is a snuff bottle with a picture of my husband and son painted on it. I think this is a neat idea. Instead of throwing away the champagne bottle, you can find an artist to have your photo painted on it to commemorate the event you opened it in celebration.

Here are some useful "How-Tos" from wikiHow.

How to Create a Reverse Painting on Glass

How to Cut a Glass Bottle

See what other artists are doing with glass bottles and containers.

Ann Mitchell and Karen Mitchell

Love playing with sand? Then be inspired to create with it by Andrew Clemens' Sand Bottles Art. If you think that there is no prospect in this business then check out what collectors are paying for his work today.

Changed your mind? Here is an easy tutorial to start out with from KidsDomain. On this site, kids are taught to use Kool-Aid, artificially flavored drink and cocoa (hopefully from expired package) for colours.

So, now that we know that it works without sand, what else can we use to create this form of art? How about gratings from:

Plastic?
Glass?
Organic material like sugar cane or sawdust or wine stopper cork?

For other sources of natural dye, experiment with some flowers and plants. Here are some ideas to play with:

Onion peel (boil for 1 hour)
Redwood or red wine
Coffee or tea infusion
Expired health drinks like Spirulina and Chlorophyll