Kinda Worldless Wednesday: Safari Bottle Lamp

My readers know I have a hard time getting my, erm, fingers? to stay quiet. I know, it's supposed to be Wordless Wednesday, but this is my space on the web and I'm going to be me and narrate! You may recall my Upcycling Old Bottles Into Lamps post from a few months back. Well, over the past month I have been working on a special gift for an interesting friend.

It is amazing the people who cross our paths in life, right? I have a 'drink' socially *maybe* three times a year, but it turns out our local family restaurant has the best service *at* the bar. So Jay and I began coming into our local hangout on select nights just to be served our dinner by a very special bartender with a big personality. As bartenders go, he is great at taking interest in his customers, even those who aren't drinking. I could tell you about his entire life, but just believe me it's fairly fascinating. So, when we recently learned that he would be leaving us in July to accept his dream job working as a zookeeper in Central Park, we were sad but all together thrilled for him.

Since he collects Cobalt glass, and has generally been my 'bottle supplier,' I knew this Vodka bottle was destined for him the moment he handed it to me. What better way to seamlessly commemorate his time as a bartender transitioning into a zookeeper than with a safari themed lamp made from a liquor bottle? We chose his favorite animals (rhino, hippo, and walrus) and hunted them down as silver charms on eBay and I carefully wire-wrapped them to the frame for the final touch. I have to say that this lamp is meaningful to me, and hopefully to him. What do you think?