Votives Made from Repurposed Jars

Feline Votives made from repurposed condiment jars.

Feline Votives made from repurposed condiment jars.

I see things others might recycle or throw away as creative possibilities. I save jars and use a fair number around the house for storage and for projects in my studio and recycle the rest. For years I’ve considered ways to make votives with my artwork just like the ones I’ve received as gifts and began saving the more interesting small jars I had for a someday project, including jars from relish and mustard, jelly and preserves, olives, jalapeños and other pickled items, salsa and other sauces, and more. Each one has its own unique quality and inspiration for me.

When summer came along and I set up my deck with all my varied votives I knew I’d found the project for those jars. I knew I wanted to both etch the glass and paint a design on it somehow, and found alcohol inks, which adhere to glass. On some jars I etched the entire outside of the jar to better diffuse the light from the candle, painted the inside of the jar with the color patterned background, then painted a figure or design on the outside. On others I etched the inside and painted my design on the outside, and on some I’ve done a combination of both. These are the first I’ve finished.

Peaceful Nap Feline Votive

This glass votive is etched, embellished and painted by hand and patterned after one of my daily cat sketches, “Peaceful Nap”. It’s made from a repurposed jalapeño jar 3” round and 4″ tall and comes with an LED tea light. Price includes shipping.

[ss_product id=’530b17fc-793f-11e7-a0a2-002590785994′ ]Handmade Feline Votive, “Peaceful Nap”[/ss_product]

Peaceful Nap feline votive.

Peaceful Nap feline votive.

On this jar I etched the entire outside of the jar to better diffuse the light from the candle, spattered the inside of the jar for the color patterned background, then painted the cat figure on the outside.

I used alcohol ink on the inside and I’ve found it can be easily wiped but not scrubbed, and I’m not sure how it would react to an actual flame. For this reason I am selling these with an LED tea light so you won’t need to worry about scrubbing off wax or blackening from the candle.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

“Peaceful Nap”, pastel, 5″ x 7″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

“Peaceful Nap”, pastel, 5″ x 7″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

I had this sketch idea in mind for some time, but this drawing was encouraged by art exhibits I saw at several galleries. What I had in mind was just a faintly colored backdrop with a fair amount of neutral, and a small black cat in the lower right corner doing something catlike. In my visualization, the cat was bathing. Here, she is curled to sleep but alert. It is actually Mimi on my lap.

Some of the alcohol inks would not mute down to pastel so I couldn’t quite use all the colors and ended up with just blue and green.

The Daily Chase Feline Votive

This glass votive is etched, embellished and painted by hand and patterned after one of my daily cat sketches, “The Daily Chase”. It’s made from a repurposed stuffed olive jar 2” round and 6″ tall and comes with an LED tea light. Price includes shipping.

[ss_product id=’115c0fa0-793f-11e7-97fa-002590785994′ ]Handmade Feline Votive, “The Daily Chase”[/ss_product]

The Daily Chase Feline Votive

The Daily Chase Feline Votive

On this jar I etched the entire outside of the jar to better diffuse the light from the candle, brushed the inside of the jar for the striped background, then painted the cat figures on the outside.

I used alcohol ink on the inside and I’ve found it can be easily wiped but not scrubbed, and I’m not sure how it would react to an actual flame. For this reason I am selling these with an LED tea light so you won’t need to worry about scrubbing off wax or blackening from the candle.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

“The Daily Chase”, pastel on textured paper, 5″ x 6″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

“The Daily Chase”, pastel on textured paper, 5″ x 6″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

This is Basil and Bella in their daily chase around the house when they were still kittens. Working in my studio I heard the thundering of little black paws coming up the steps, saw two blurs run across the landing into the bathroom and thump around in the tub, then run across the landing to the bedroom and bounce on the bed, Bella in the lead at one point, Basil at the next. Not sure where the colors came from but that they are happy and I like them.

Sunfall Feline Votive

This glass votive is etched, embellished and painted by hand and patterned after one of my daily cat sketches, “Sunfall”. It’s made from a repurposed marmalade jar 2.5” square and 4″ tall and comes with an LED tea light. Price includes shipping.

[ss_product id=’694e18c0-793f-11e7-9f89-002590785994′ ]Handmade Feline Votive, “Sunfall”[/ss_product]

Sunfall Feline Votive

Sunfall Feline Votive

On this jar I etched the entire outside of the jar to better diffuse the light from the candle, brushed and spattered the inside of the jar for the background, then painted the cat figures on the outside.

I used alcohol ink on the inside and I’ve found it can be easily wiped but not scrubbed, and I’m not sure how it would react to an actual flame. For this reason I am selling these with an LED tea light so you won’t need to worry about scrubbing off wax or blackening from the candle.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

“Sunfall”, pastel on yellow textured paper, 5″ x 7″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

“Sunfall”, pastel on yellow textured paper, 5″ x 7″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

When I created this little sketch I called it “Sunfall”, yet when I first posted it I called it “Quiet Morning”. I like both titles, but I think I’m going to go with “Sunfall” from now on! Looks like it might be a nice card too!

The weather has cooled a bit and Mr. Sunshine and Jelly Bean sat quietly on the landing in the late morning as the sun came in the window and fell on them, as you see. The landing is so small and the ceilings are high, the window is a tall narrow casement and the sun comes in at an angle to cast on the round antique mirror making the light very interesting. Because of the trees outside and the objects inside the light on the landing takes on an interesting yellow-green cast with tints from the pine wardrobe, transitioning to bluish shadows near the floor. Of course, the felines are in silhouette in light like that.

Find other votives featuring cats, butterflies, flowers, nature and wildlife in my Handmade Gifts Gallery or search “votives”.

Other items with the same art or design To find all items on this site with the same art or design, use the search box for the name of the artwork and you'll find all that's available.

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