One of my favorite pastimes is making beads from recycled glass and, guess what? We've got a studio project in the book to teach you just that! (Don't want to wait for the book to come out in June 2011? You can buy my tutorial, From Bottle to Bead, in my bead store, Stringythingy.)
Bottle glass, for those of you who have never worked with it, or even thought about doing something except throwing your empties in the bin, comes in many, many colors. Blues, khakis, greens, honey... I pick out the wine when we go shopping, and I choose it by the color of the bottle glass as much as by the other important things we all consider... taste, price, grape.... Just the other day I found a bottle that is so dark as to seem black. At the moment it's still filled with wine (we're slooooow drinkers) but in a few weeks, I'll light up the torch and indulge! It's time consuming to prepare, a bit tricky to introduce to the flame, and a joy to work with.
Many of my bottle beads (as I affectionately call them) are available in Stringythingy and you can make yourself a wonderful, eco-friendly necklace and celebrate the earth! At the moment, I've got a bottle bead necklace listed in my jewelry store, Jester Jewelry, and hope to add more soon.
I've created a collage of recent creations... enjoy!
Do you make bottle beads? Send me some photos and a bit about yourself and I'll be happy to feature you in my blog!
