Message On a Bottle

Whenever I went to the beach as a kid I always looked for bottles as I jumped through the waves.  I thought it would be amazing to find a message tucked away in a bottle.  It never happened, in case you were wondering.

This project is really simple:  dress up an old bottle and use it to send messages to people in your home.  It's not quite as romantic as finding a message in a bottle that has washed up on the shore.  But, it can achieve the same purpose of romance with your spouse, encouragement to your kids, or words of inspiration and welcome to guests.

Supplies:
-an old bottle (mine was from my cream sherry that ran out--need to get some more!)
-scrap piece of burlap
-hot glue gun
-scissors
-ribbon or other item(s) for embellishing

Lay the bottle on the piece of burlap and wrap burlap around the bottle to desired size (leave a bit of an overhang to fold over for a nice finish).

Place a strip of hot glue and attach one end of burlap, being careful not to burn your fingers as the glue will come through the fabric. 

Put another strip of glue, little by little, to attach the other end of the burlap.  Pull tightly on the burlap as you glue so there are no bumps around the bottle.

Fold this end over and glue again, leaving a finished edge.

This is what it will look like when the burlap is glued on

I wanted the majority of my bottle covered, so I cut my burlap a bit long.  I like the frayed edges.

Find  a piece of paper to use for your message.  I didn't have a hole punch, so used a push pin to make a hole in the paper to slip the ribbon through.

Embellish the bottle as you like.  I was 'sending' a  message to my husband so I made it pretty simple with just a black ribbon.  I can picture scrap fabrics, rosettes, all kinds of things--be creative!

Place your message where your desired recipient will find it easily.  I wanted my husband to see it when he went to bed, so I left it on his nightstand.  He loved it and said that it really encouraged him!  Mission accomplished.

One of the nice things about this bottle is that your husband could easily reciprocate by writing and attaching his own message.  Perhaps, he might even leave a single rose in the bottle for an added touch.  This is just a small way to express your love, but it might have a great impact.