Goodbye 2012 – Hello 2013

The year 2012 is coming to an end and we all survived the big scare of the Mayan ‘End of the World’ prophecy.

This has been an amazing year for Nick and I! The ‘How to make a Bottle Lamp’ blog is now just over one year old and we are delighted with the amount of emails and comments we receive almost on a daily basis.

You don’t just send in photos of your finished bottles, which we love to see and share, but you also submit inquiries and suggestions.

The Number 1 question of 2012:
Where can I find the crystal fill you use inside some of your bottles?

We have bought bags of crystal fill, also called Acrylic Filler,  at our local JoAnn’s store, as well as online. On the Resources page is a link to JoAnn’s Online store.

Funniest question of 2012:
Do you empty your own bottles?

Lamp with Jack Daniels' bottleWe laugh every time we hear this question. Honestly, if we were to drink all that liquor ourselves we wouldn’t be able to function properly, let alone drill a straight hole.

Most of our bottles have been collected for us by family members and friends. We are also members of our local Elks Lodge and have received many high end bottles from them. Thank you! Your efforts are much appreciated.

2012 How To Video Series:
Our main ‘How to’ video titled “How to make bottle lights” has been watched over 120,000 times now. The success of this video has amazed us from the beginning.

The rest of the ‘How to’ videos have been created after receiving reader questions about specific steps used in the bottle lamp making process. We are thankful to have access to this medium. Making a short, few minute long video can explain a process so much better than trying to explain it in words. Besides, it’s a lot of fun. Take a look at the rest of our video here.

Travel Adventures in 2012:
Even though Nick and I both have full-time jobs, we still found time to travel this past year. We live frugal so we can afford to take these trips. We both love to travel!

Our brother in law runs marathons and Nick told him years ago “If you ever make it to Boston, I’ll be there to watch you.”. He qualified and off to Boston, MA, we went for a whirlwind weekend to cheer him on running the Boston Marathon.

The second trip of the year took us to Summerville, SC. This charming southern town caught our eye while researching the best places to retire in. No, we are by no means ready to retire, but we like to plan ahead and the cold Minnesota winters are starting to grate on us. We spent a very enjoyable week in South Carolina and loved the people, climate, hospitality and local cuisine.

My family lives in Germany and it’s been over two years since I last saw my parents and older brother. Nick and I made the trip to Germany in late September and we thoroughly enjoyed visiting family and friends. We were blessed with gorgeous Fall weather during our three week stay.

Nick lost his aim & shoot camera in South Carolina and we decided to purchase a high end camera in Germany. Take a look at some of the awesome shots we took on our personal JagerFoods blog: The Jagers Photo Gallery

Our plans for the year 2013

Nick has expressed an interest in finding the best way on ‘How to cut glass’. To be honest, he is getting a little bit tired of simply drilling holes and wants to expand his bottle craft horizon a little in the coming year. He has several ideas in the works and we will share them with you as these ideas mature into reality.

Just like the Recycled Glass Bottle Plant Holder series we created this past year we will try to come up with some fun recycled bottle projects in the new year as well.

With our children grown and off to school, we realized this is the perfect time to be moving. Our intend is to spend several years in Germany, to be close to my family, before settling down in South Carolina.

We will continue to write articles, make videos, share your pictures, answer your questions and try to keep the website up to date while in the midst of change.

On closing, we would like to Thank You, our readers, for making Bottle-Lamp.com for what it is. A community, blog or website is only as strong as the participants make it, and you have made this a very successful site.

Here’s to a healthy, prosperous and exciting

New Year 2013!

1 thought on “Goodbye 2012 – Hello 2013

  1. I have two bottles which are outstanding in color. Would like to put a bulb inside to glow through the colored bottle. I am not able to personally make these lamps. Can you help me get this project completed?
    THANKS

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