Sparkle, shine and a "little bit" of wine

My bit of sparkle sits on my counter

Through the gray days of winter in New England, we all need a bit of sparkle in our lives.  Mine sits on the kitchen counter and plugged in daily brightens my world and curves my lips into a smile.  What can this beacon of sparkle possibly be?

Well, drink up that large bottle of Pinot Grigio, grab a strand of 30 Christmas lights and you are on your way to creating your own little "bit of sparkle." I saw something similar on Pinterest a couple of years ago. When I followed the link to the source, I read how to drill into a wine bottle so the cord would come out the bottom.  Hmmm - I don't know about you but the whole idea of a drill applied to glass gives me the heebie-jeebies. So I found this alternative DIY posted somewhere and it fits the bill. (Sorry, it was so long ago I've forgotten where, and I do not claim to be the originator of this idea.) 

So let's get started. Find yourself a large empty clear glass wine bottle (how it becomes empty is up to you). Wash the bottle and remove the label. I've found soaking the bottle in hot water to be the easiest way to loosen labels and sometimes they will even float off. If any residue remains on the outside of the bottle, take out a trusty razor blade or scouring pad and have at it.

Let the bottle dry thoroughly and grab your little box of 30 lights - I used lights with green wire.  Feed the strand of lights in, one bulb at a time, from the end opposite the plug (that part should be self-evident :-).  Plug into the wall and voila! Add a bow for a festive look and a fabulous tag if giving as a gift, which is what I did with the clear light sparkler. Note that the green cord is hardly visible. So go forth and make one for yourself.  Add some sparkle to your day!

Clear lights in glass ready for gifting

The beautiful tray in the background was painted by my mother many years ago. The leaves and flowers are gold leaf - which came packaged in 4"x4" sheets in a little cardboard envelope to prevent folding,  creasing or breaking apart. If I recall correctly, the gold leaf was applied to varnish that had been applied over red-painted shapes and allowed to dry to a certain degree of tackiness. The thin sheet of gold was floated down over the shape and a soft paintbrush used to smooth and sweep away the gold that landed outside the tacky shape. Left to dry and then after several coats of varnish, the lines on the leaves and flowers were drawn in with India ink using a pen with a nib.  (Think Ben Franklin dipping his pen into an inkwell.)  Such painstakingly time consuming and intricate work . . .  I continue to be impressed.

Cheers!