Potion Bottles

Bitter bottles

The 'treasure' (or more accurately trinkets) I am sharing today are a collection of small bottles I have accumulated over the past several years at various rummage sales.  I love the sparkle of colored glass, and I don't resist buying a pretty bottle when I run across one.

Yellow Bitter bottles

I decided to make this post in honor of the last Harry Potter movie (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2)  which was released this month.  These little bottles would make great 'potion' containers. 

Purple bitter bottle bottles

A purple bottle with a bird claw grabbing it - a Harry Potter potion seems to be the appropriate contents.

Blue bottles for ink and bitters

The real purpose of many of these bottles were bitters, (whatever they are), or in the case of the squarish blue bottle above, ink.  (For Harry Potter, magic ink.)  The bottle to the left of the ink has a horseshoe shape surrounding a horse head.  A lucky potion, perhaps?  Or will it make you as fast as a horse? 

Green bitter bottles

Many of these bottles were reproduced, and probably most of the bottles I own are reproductions.  I really haven't been inspired to research bitter bottles much.  Sometimes you just want to enjoy an item without knowing all about it.  I enjoy finding bottles here and there and adding them to my window sill collection.  

Jenny Lind and Cape May red bitter bottles

The bitter bottles in particular have fun and different designs - faces of people and presidents, horses and grapes and fish appear pressed into the bottles designs.  Maybe the red Jenny Lind potion makes you sing well, and the lighthouse potion makes you see well at night.

Tree of Life Bitter Bottle

The little green bottle above has "The Tree of Life" on it, and is probably one of my favorite bottles. It is 3.25 inches tall (about 8.3cm).  A long life potion, I'm guessing. 

Orange chicken candy dish

I don't own any orange bottles, so when I saw this little chicken container in intense orange shades, I bought it to make a better rainbow of glass.   Perhaps herbology herbs stored in this container made the chickens lay golden eggs.

Half of my window sill collection

I didn't take any photos to show the scale of the bottles, but all of these bottles are under 4 inches (10 cm) tall.  Most of the bottles are 3 inches tall. 

The other half of my collection

  

I love the different shades of glass

I am still looking for a pink bottle.  I know pink bitter bottles exist, (on Ebay), but I prefer the rummage sale prices.

Some comments have been left asking me how I clean these small bottles.  I soak them (w/ detergent) and rinse them, sometimes for days.  Sometimes I use vinegar, and/or salt.  A bottle brush can be used on some bottles.  A baby store sometimes has baby bottle brushes, and there is a tiny brush for cleaning the rubber baby bottle nipples.  (Ouch, I hate to say it here, but there is a baby nipple brush.  That sounds bad.),  Pipe cleaners might also work.  You can also take a strip of cloth, or paper towel, push one end into the bottle, and twist more of the strip into the bottle.  (Does that make sense to anyone besides me?)  Eventually you have a wad of material pushing on the inside of the bottle with each twist.  Be careful to untwist the material to remove it.  Ending up with a wad of paper towel in a bottle is a pain, then you need tweezers to extract the paper towel...  Cloth is easier in some ways, because it won't tear.  However, if the bottle is acid etched (after a time, you will begin to know what that is), and or scratched, the above won't help as much. 

OMG, it is so funny that I am writing in a post how to clean anything.  Cleaning is really not a favorite task...   But the results are worth it.  


Click on an image to see it larger.



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I am linking to these parties:
Brambleberry Cottage: Time Travel Thur 54 (Entry 20 of 51). 
Col Lady: Vintage Thingies Thur (Entry 8 of 29).  
Bloggeritaville: Thrifty Thur 123, (Entry 20 of 83). 
Shabby Chic: Transformation Thur, (Entry 130 of 358.) 
Strut your Stuff (Entry 164 of 536.)
Charm of Home: Home Sweet Home 24 (Entry 2 of 74.)
French Inspiration (Entry 5 of 12).
Thrifty Grove: Thrifty Things Fri 17 (Entry 3 of 38).
French Country: Feather Nest Fri (Entry 1 of 216).
* Common Ground: Vint Inspiration 47 (Entry 5 of 126.)
* Romantic Home: Show and Tell (Entry 104 of 308.)
Chic: Flaunt it Friday 63 (Entry 160 of 254.)  
Shabby Nest: Frugal Friday (Entry 106 of 437.)
Picket Fence: Inspiration Fri 24 (Entry 38 of 214.) 
Tatertots: Weekend Wrap Up (Entry 449 of 738.)
Addicted to Decorating 15 (Entry 43 of 64.) 

Funky Junk: Sat Night Special 91 (Entry 62 of 183.)

Be Diff: Show and Tell Sat (Entry 18 of 304.)
Pink Postcard: Transform and Treasure (Entry 44 of 47.)

Cherished Treasure: Sun Blog Love (Entry 15 of 47.)

Under the Table: Sunday Showcase (Entry 53 of 376.)

The Tablescaper: Seasonal Sunday 59 (Entry 3 of 40.)
I Heart Naptime: Sundae Scoop (Entry 55 of 439.)

Library Adventure: Flea Market Finds (Entry 2  of 71.)

Mod Vintage: Mod Mix Mon 9 (Entry 13 of 31.)
Roses: Show off your Cottage Mon (2 d)
Boogie Board: Masterpiece Mon 30 (Entry 16 of 103.)
Dittle Dattle: Amaze Me Mon 34 (Entry 14 of 273.)
Running with Glitter Mon 19 (Entry 5 of 189.)
BNOTP: Metamorphis Monday (Entry 56 of 254.)
Making the World Cuter (Entry 173 of 312.)

Coastal Charm: Nifty Thrifty Tues  (Entry 38 of 197.)

Southern Hosp: Thrifty Treasures (Entry 61 of 77.)
* Stroll Life: Table Top Tues (Entry 31 of 93.) 
* House of Grace: Twice Owned Tues (Entry 7 of 85.) 
Saasy Sites: Trash to Treasure Tues (Entry 39 of 59.) 
Diamond: Time to Shine Tues 28 (Entry 53 of 82.) 
Family: Once Upon a Weekend 2 (Entry 26 of 29.)
Lines: Cure for Common Mon 1 (Entry 29 of 50.)
Type A: Anything Goes 27 (Entry 44 of 102.)
Ginger: Wow Me Wednesday 9 (Entry 249 of 252.) 
Savvy Style: Wow Us Wed (Entry 79 of 247.)
Trendy Tree: Creative Share Wed (Entry 6 of 178.)
Beach Cottage: Good Life Wed (Entry 39 of 143.)
Very Merry Vint: Share the Love Wed (Entry 6 of 39.) 

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