Fun in a Bottle

OK, got your attention with that title, nope not talking alcohol. I have sent a couple of these bottles out to Ms. Jen's darling little boys and she has posted them on her blog and as such I was asked if I would do a tutorial on them. They are fun to create and kids and even adults get a kick out of them. The best part is watching them stare at the bottle and wonder how you got "the stuff" in there. I never tell my secret, just let them figure it out on their own. I have made two bottles one for boys and one for girls. You can make these for all occassions and holidays. I have made golf, graduation, birthday, halloween, valentine, if you can think of it then put it in a bottle. LOL These are stuffed with goodies for Christmas. I went shopping at the $ store and Target $ spot, one of my two favorites places to find goodies for the bottles.

These two bottles are 2 litre soda bottles, but you can use anything. All you need is the bottle you are going to use a craft kinfe, and if you don't have that use one of those EXPENSIVE steak knives that is always fun and some adhesive remover.

Sometimes you are lucky and the label will come off quite easily, sometimes you have to soak it and then gently peel it. I use my goo-be-gone, to remove the adhesive from the bottle, give it a thorough wash inside and out and let it dry, if you can't wait once you open up the bottle you can use paper towels to dry the inside

Next make a cut in the shape of [ (large C) or ] or U, big enough for you to get the goodies in the bottle. I placed the craft knife inside the bottle so you should be able to get an idea of the size of the cut that I made, I went with the Capital C approach. OK, pretty much this is it, now the fun part begins. The picture below on the right also has the craft knife sticking out, this is to show you the opening, I don't normally just stick it inside the bottle.

I put in some confetti or any kind of gift packing material, I bought the goodies for both the bottles and the packing at the $ store, love the $ store.

Add some confetti then some goodies, some more confetti and then some more goodies, it goes on like this until you have stuffed everything you possible can into the bottle.

I use clear packing tape to tape over the opening I have made. I have two address labels, one from the computer with clip art and one that I have stamped, you can use stickers, anything you want. Make sure your label is big enough to cover the opening you made and then tape this baby on. You can either hot glue the top of the bottle on or use some of the packing tape, me I had the tape out, the hot glue gun was in the closet, it was a no brainer for me.

I send mine through the Post Office just as you seen them, Priority Mail, I have never tried the regular mail but sure you could also send that way.

The bottle that I made for the girls is being hand delivered so I put some bracelets and candy canes on the outside, even if you are not mailing you do need to put a label on the bottle as this will conceal the opening.

In case you are wondering about the labels on the bottles in the top photo, to protect the innocent and not spoil the surprise real names were not used on the bottles. Hope you enjoyed this little tutorial and go make one for someone special in your life, it will put a smile on their face and in their heart.

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND, WILL CATCH UP WITH YA ON SCRAPBOOK SUNDAY.

I HAD A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS ON THESE BOTTLES

1. How do the little ones get the things out?
Once they finally figure out that the bottle is cut and the opening is under the label they just remove the tape and remove the items through the opening.

2. How much is the mail for one (roughly)?
The shipping costs depend on the weight and how it is shipped, I like to send priority but the bottles can also be shipped first class.

3. how big can you make the cut without compromising the bottle.
On a 2 litre bottle I usually make my cuts between 2 1/2 to 3 inches.