Project: Message in a Bottle

Project: Message in a Bottle

 Inspiration: I saw images like these online and really liked them. The idea of the "year anniversary" was cute, but I heard a couple heartbreaking stories about parents and grandparents who were sad to put things into bottles they thought would outlast their lives (e.g., a 50 year anniversary), and that made me sad, and I don't want any sadness! So I opted for a "leave any message" bottle, that we'll decide together when to open. Maybe after the honeymoon, maybe in one year. I wouldn't be surprised if we're unrolling notes on the plane ride to whatever honeymoon destination we choose.

Cost/Materials: Large bottle with a wide enough neck to let the notes in and out of it ($5 at Christmas Tree Shop), paper to print your note template on, some cardstock/heavy paper to reinforce the hole, a paper cutter to get even lines when you cut them up, a hole punch (or three hole punch) to put holes in the side, a 3/4" diameter circle punch (or just some circle reinforcement stickers), a tape runner, and string so that people can tie their notes up when they're done. (N.B., the string is important! Just because someone can roll a note up small enough to drop it in doesn't mean it will stay rolled up enough for you to be able to shake it back out of the bottle!). For the directions sign, I put mine in an acrylic 8'' x 10'' frame (<$2 at Christmas Tree Shop) and added other decor I had left from other projects (chevron paper, paper flower, etc.). You can do whatever you want to hold the note sheets in, but I purchased and stained a small wood tray (by ArtMinds Simply Surfaces at Michaels).

How I Did It: I made the note template in Microsoft Word, leaving some space in the left margin for where the hole would go. I tried a few different configurations/sayings, and my fiance helped me decide on the one I used ("Message for the bride & groom, from: _____". I used the "from" because sometimes I've seen at weddings activities like this and there's no direction to leave your name, but I'd love to know who the notes come from. They can always leave it blank if they want to share something anonymously, but I like the reminder to share who it's from. I printed these and cut them up, then it was time to add the string. To make the holes sufficiently strong, we (read: my mother) created reinforcements. As you can see in the picture, she punched out a bunch of yellow circles, then we used a tape runner to stick those to the note templates, then used the hole punch to put the hole right through the middle of the two. Then we added string, about 12 inches, to ensure people would have an easy enough time wrapping it around and tying it off. 12 might seem like a lot, so feel free to play around, but you'll find since it is automatically halved when you tie it on, then loses some as you wrap it around the note, it's really not all that much. For the "directions" sign, I made it in Microsoft Word using some fun fonts I got from dafont.com. I think picking a few fonts to use throughout the event/decor is a nice way to tie different types of decor together, and it helps it look a little fancier than if you're using good old Times New Roman.

The Outcome: Here it is!

 

Lessons Learned/Tips: The first time I tried making this, I didn't reinforce the holes where the string was. This resulted in the string tearing out when you went to tie up the note, because the paper wasn't quite strong enough to endure any pressure. This can be addressed one of two ways: (1) reinforce the holes, like I did above, or (2) print your template directly onto thicker paper/cardstock. Doing the latter would generally make this project cost more, but it can save you frustration!

Would I Do It Again: I'll have to re-evaluate this one after the wedding to see how successful it was, but overall I don't regret my efforts here. I might have printed the note sheets on cardstock to save the painstaking process of reinforcing all those hole punches, but what's done is done!