Hey Sailor: Message in a bottle

Valentine message in a bottle

Guys usually don't care for fussy gifts and honestly, they can be real stinkers to shop for.   If your guy is like mine, finding just the right gift can seem virtually impossible at times, especially when you have been married as long as I have.  Thankfully every once in a while I do run across one that is perfect, one that says "Honey I love you".  This idea from Rusty Crafts and Chic Decor that I found on Pinterest, a message in a bottle, was it for me...only mine was more like "I'm still nuts about you!"...complete with peanuts.

He really was a sailor and still loves boats

To make the heart I used white core card stock in red which I tore into the heart shape and a black Sharpie marker.  Be sure to test which way the paper tears to reveal those white edges so it looks the way you want it to.  The note in the bottle is made of a nautical theme scrapbook paper.  I tore the note along it's edges to give it a little more character, wrote "I'm still nuts about you." inside, rolled it up and secured it with a little piece of tape to keep it from unrolling in the bottle.

A little tape and a length of thread

To make it easy to lift the note from the bottle I laced thread down through and back up the outside the rolled up paper, tying a knot in the thread at the top so it formed a secure loop.  I made sure there was enough extra thread at the top that it could be taped to the back of the heart (About 3 inches) leaving the note to hang in the bottle with the heart dangling outside.  Thread was perfect because it was thin enough it did not hinder the lid clamp.  Now to finish up the package.

Look Ma...no glue!

To create the label I used more of the same scrapbook paper, hand wrote the sentiment, wrapped it around the bottle taping it closed at the back.  No glue, nothing fancy, it took less than twenty minutes to pull together and the whole thing cost me less than seven dollars.  And HE LIKED IT!

Waiting for the postman...tee hee

When my husband got home from work the bottle was sitting on the end table next to where he always sits.  He said "Who is this for?" I smirked and told him it was for the postman.  You should have seen the look on his face...really, did he think it was for the postman? (No kidding this really happened.)  Finally he sat down, pulled out the note, chuckled after reading it and mumbled something about he wasn't expecting to get anything and then dove into the peanuts! Oh well, what was I expecting, to be swept off my feet with a "Honey you shouldn't have."?  He got the message and feasted on his peanuts, so my mission was a success.