When Jeannie left the first colorless gray season to start anew in vibrant, living color, she packed her little genie bags, and headed for a more colorful home in a new bottle. Not since the Dorothy’s house relocation from a black and white Kansas to a Technicolor Oz had a shift in real estate been so dramatically felt. The move to the new bottle left the old looking tired and lifeless, it’s magical powers stripped like Superman donning a kryptonite necklace. Jeannie’s original quarters became dull and stark when compared to her beautifully colored new digs.

But the question remained…. Could Jeannie click her hot pink slippers with the golden heels and go home again? Could the magic be brought back to the first season bottle?

I endeavored to try, and the results were both stunning and remarkable!

The golden vines bottle always lacked appeal to collectors for a critical reason. The first season design of gold vines was painted on a regular smoke Jim Beam bottle. While you could not tell from the way the bottle was shot on television, most people are disappointed to find that you can see right into the bottle if you are holding it in your hand. “Look Ma, No Genie!” This destroys some of the mystique for most. You can easily see that there is no Jeannie, no couch, no pillows, no framed photo of Major Nelson. Some artists have tried to overcome this unfortunate design choice by painting the bottle solid or translucent black, but for me this compromised the look of the original design. I was certain there must be a way around this design flaw without altering the original look of the bottle. Finally, after years of wrestling with ideas, I discovered a way.

I took an original 1964 Jim Beam whiskey bottle and etched the inside of the bottle so that the bottle was no longer clearly seen through. This frosted the inside and “smoked it up”, making it look not less like the original on the show, but actually more! The outside look of the bottle was intact, but the inside was obscured from direct view. Now when the vines were painted, the bottle looked just like you would remember it, and the effect was no longer ruined by a clear view inside!

This was a wonderful innovation, and had never been done before. I probably could have stopped there. But, like the Stained Glass Window bottle I wanted to add little extra “magic”. Everyone enjoyed the addition of the magic of light to the SGW bottle, so I wanted to create a lighted effect for this bottle as well. The etched inside of the bottle provided the perfect opportunity. If you try to put a “regular” first season bottle on a lighted base, the light travels right through and there is little if no effect. When I first put the frosted first season on a lighted base, the effect was fantastic! A subtle glow came from inside the bottle.

Jeannie had come home.

But anyone could place a bottle on a lighted base! This bottle deserved something more. I spent weeks searching for the perfect morphing light base that would change colors and add to the effect. The effect had to be subtle… not a “las vegas” or flashing effect, but a subtle rolling morph of light that would rumble softly in the bottom of the bottle. I finally found lights that would serve the purpose. Now for something else never seen before! Instead of just placing the bottle on a standard base, I was able to integrate the lights into my exclusive beach display base. Now, the first season bottle can sit gently cradled in a sparkling base of sand and shells, glowing gently inside and morphing from color to color.

At last, the magic had returned.

This bottle is the second in a series of special edition bottles known as the Magic Carpet Collection, currently being released one at time by Shannon The Bottle Genie. This bottle will go up for auction on eBay on Friday evening, July 3rd. The lucky winner of the auction will own a first season design bottle like no other before it, and a portion of the proceeds will benefit charity.   For more information about The Bottle Genie and her Magic Carpet Collection, go to www.TheBottleGenie.com