So... you got your bottles, but you know, they are a little big to work with directly. So, get yourself a box and a set of glasses and dust mask and a good metal hammer. Head outside. Put your bottle into the box, slip on your dust mask and glasses, and give that bottle a couple of good taps. I actually set my bottle into the box, and cover most of it with the box flaps. I leave just enough to see what I'm up to. You want some shards that are about 4."
Grab those shards - throw the rest of the box away. Its full of glass dust. Remember, the edges are really sharp!
Throw those shards into a kiln and ramp it up. I work at 950, and I just ramp up at full, but if you are worried about the shards cracking, you can ramp it up at a slower rate.
Once the shards are at full temperature, you'll pull them out with tweezers (or hemostats) and attach them to a punty. I use a 1/8" mandrel. You'll need to heat the punty to glow and also the shard.
You can actually make a bead directly from this shard, and lots of times I do, but its sometimes easier to do detailed shapes when its in a cane.
