craftgrrl | hocus pocus, i've caught spirits in bottles! (Reply)

it's weird how i got the inspiration for this, but i've been collecting materials for months and finally sat down last week and started putting it all together.

basically, i etched little spirits on glass bottles with etching cream and stencils and then created magical charms out of polymer clay and strung them on a ribbon with some pretty vintage glass beads and swarovski crystals and wrapped the ribbons around the bottles' necks.

it was a ton of fun. i LOVE polymer clay and beads. i made five bottles total, each one with a different color scheme: blue, green, orange, purple & red. i've included the descriptions i put on etsy cos i had a lot of fun writing those.

i would really appreciate you darlings' opinions.

TIA & LOV.

	blue spirit bottle #1 who could it be, summoned from beyond the grave and charmed into this bottle? nameless and faceless, this spirit drifts silently inside, held in place by a sheer black ribbon and carefully selected charms. the charms number 5, a very magical number: a bird skull, delicate as mist; mystical moonstone; a chicken foot, long known for it's use in voodoo; iridescent star beads; and a bright blue eye for vigilance. is the spirit watching you or is eye watching our imprisoned acquaintance? we're still not sure.
	blue spirit bottle #2 close up of the charms: bird skull, chicken foot, moonstone drop, glass star beads, eyeball
	blue bottle spirit #3 better view of the bird skull
	green spirit bottle #1 close up of the lil spirito
	green spirit bottle #2 a disembodied hand or a herald of something terrible to come? caught in the act of crossing between this world and the world of the ethereal, our spirit manifests as a reaching hand. straining for help, for a better grasp on our world or stretching to pull you across the grey veil? a selection of five charms hold whomever the hand belongs to within the bottle: a green lizard's tail, for capturing the uncapturable; a skull, death's head; a shimmering crystal, a symbol of the grey veil; a bleached bone, for things long left to themselves; and a severed finger, a reminder of the severing of the spirit from the body.
	green spirit bottle #3
	green spirit bottle #4 close up of the charms: lizard tail, skull, crystal, bone & finger
	orange spirit bottle #1 a lady from centuries past floats gracefully within this slender bottle. a soft haze surrounds her. was she a kind woman who spoke softly but surely, or did she terrify the town with her vitriolic speech? she won't say. perhaps it's an effect of the 5 magical charms used to hold her within her glass prison: a tongue, for secrets kept and secrets revealed; a smoky glass bead, for things kept unclear; a chicken foot, a taste of the dark and exotic; an amber glass bead, reflecting many colors; and a skull, for her long years beyond life.
	orange spirit bottle #2 close up of the spirit
	orange spirit bottle #3 close up of the charms: tongue, chicken foot, skull, glass beads
	purple spirit bottle #1 animal spirits are rare. most animal spirits are small and quick and their shapelessness makes them difficult to identify. there's also the problem with communication. all those obstacles mean that a lot of will has to be worked into the summoning spell. at least that's what we've been told. we're not sure what kind of animal it is- they don't hold their earthly shapes behind the veil- but the five magical charms holding it within the bottle may offer a clue: a bird skull, a batwing, a black cat's paw, a royal purple crystal and a leg bone. we suspect a dragon which would mean this was a very, very old spirit.
	purple spirit bottle #2 close up of the charms: bone, black cat's paw, batwing, crystal & bird skull
	red spirit bottle #1 to be all alone for ever, what a sad fate. this formerly female spirit was summoned from her centuries of pining and chose to manifest herself with her heart missing. did she and her lover die entwined hoping to reunite in the hereafter or did a broken heart steal her life force? either way, she is a very, very sad spirit. imagine dying and waiting hundreds of years to see the person you love again. the five magical charms that hold her within the bottle may also be working to reunite the lovers: a smoky glass bead, for making the immaterial tangible; a tongue, for speaking words of devotion; a red glass bead and crystal, for love's glittering embrace; a dark brown eye, symbolizing her watchful waiting; and a finger, for those things that should never be parted.
	red spirit bottle #2 close up of the spirit
	red spirit bottle #3 close up of the charms: glass beads, crystal, tongue, eyeball & finger