A new Treasure Bottle bead

I have been making more of my treasure bottle focal beads. They take so long to make that I stagger away from the flame...but I love making them! This one is an inch and a half tall
 (c 4cm) - the pictures show both sides of one bead. They are really hard to photograph and come to life in the hand as is often the case with glass. See my post in May last year for the story behind these.

Treasure bottles

 I made a series of four decorative ocean-themed bottle shaped focals at this time last year and thought I'd make another batch now that summer is on the way (supposedly!). These four are the latest ones and this is the story behind them: 


"Could these bottles have been thrown overboard by a drunken pirate centuries ago, sinking to the ocean bed where they gathered barnacles, seaweed, netting, sand, anemones, and were then washed up onto a sandy shore? Well if they were, mermaids must have magically miniaturised them, which is lucky for jewellery fans..."









I've loved making these - each one is different, and the possibilities are probably endless. I'm keeping the last one for now - I just adore this tealy green glass and I'm not sure if I can get any more. I'd love to see what other jewellery makers do with these. 






 



Oh, I kept another one of the
prototypes and quickly 
wire-wrapped it with one of my 
soldered rings. I can dream of the sea!