New spin on an old wine bottle

Ok, so I saw these "green lanterns" at a craft fair and I have been DYING to make one since. They are awesome, and they are beautiful, and if you have the supplies...they are free.

Before my ADD kicks in...here is what I made:

So I had been researching how to cut the bottles, since that is obviously the most difficult part. There were so many different conflicting tips, and then I saw....

At AC Moore. Price tag: $34.99. Being frugal (ahem, broke) I decided to wait until I got another fifty percent off coupon. Then I got one on Friday that was good for today ONLY. So I went in today, grabbed the box, and headed for the counter. I hand the girl the coupon. She says, "You can't use this." I say, "WHY?" She says, "It's on clearance, that will be $5.31." WOOOHHOOO

Then I think...it must not work that well if they are giving them away.

Yes, pieces. I get frustrated, so I head to my husband. HE says..."Where are the screws?"

What screws? Oh, the screws I dropped in the bag in the car without a second glance because I was so excited to see what was in the box.
OOPSIE!

SO, after we tried it on three beer bottles, I decided to try it on a wine bottle. Did I mention that the beer bottle cutting was unsuccessful? Ok, so I had to modify the directions in order to make sure it worked. I drew inspiration from other people that I had read previous to seeing this device.

First step: Use either a glass scoring wheel or this lovely device to score the bottle. Note: this device at least gives you a straight, consistent line. I tried the regular glass wheel before (they are only three dollars) and I was all over the place. I, for the record, had not had the wine from the bottle prior to cutting.

Second Step: After scoring, set up a deep enough bucket of ice water. Then, heat the scored line over a candle until it is hot. Dunk it in the ice water. If you don't hear a cracking noise, dry the bottle off and heat it up again. Repeat the dunking. It should crack away.

This is not mentioned in the directions with the kit...they give you a "tapping rod" which gave me the urge to smash the bottle off of the front steps...

Third Step:
Sand the edges. I opted to not cut the bottom off, because I was afraid the project would become shards...as had my previous attempts with the beer bottles. I used my rotary tool to sand, and also used 100 grit sandpaper.

Fifth step: You can paint, decoupage or...of course...I choose the more difficult, never done by me before option. I etch. I choose a stencil that is supposed to be used with the sand blasting glass etching kit at AC MOORE (very BIG pricetag) and decide to try my hand at using the rotary tool. So I put (I mean my husband put) the grinding stone attachment on. I duck taped (pretty purple) on the stencil. NOTE: Your stencil will never be the same...so don't use one you ever want to see again.

Sixth Step: I had at it with the grinding stone. I tried to avoid blowing out the plastic, and just "wung it." Overall, I think it looks rather nice. However, look at the poor stencil. RIP sunflower stencil I bought for 10 cents...

Seventh Step: Wait, you are done!! Just add a candle and enjoy!! I'm warning you...bottle cutter is currently my enemy and I would've returned it if it had been more than $5. I know, like everything, I will get better at this. I am pretty happy with my first shot!!

Check out the wonderful "neighborly" writeup by Christina at The Tattered Tag.
She was my first follower...and she has become a great blog friend:)