Message in a Bottle, Valentine's Day Pop Quiz

There is a running joke about Pinterest, that it is where you collect pretty images of things that you will never EVER make, do, try, buy, or wear. This may be true, but I see nothing wrong with surrounding yourself with aspirational and inspirational things that drive you to do better. Well, I pinned this sweet DIY message-in-a-bottle project awhile ago and decided that this year's Valentine's Day would be the perfect time to try making it.

Credit: Camille Styles

Here is how mine turned out. Of course one bottle was not enough so I decided to make ten for my boyfriend. The more the merrier, right?

To begin, you will need some mini glass bottles. They can be any size but the ones I ordered were 30mm x 50mm (not including the cork) from giftsDIY.

Cut strips of paper for your messages. Trying to be environmentally-conscious, I used the blank parts of old scratch paper widthwise (8.5") and cut them into 3/4" strips.

Originally, I was planning to write sweet messages of love to my main squeeze, JB. But I wanted something a bit more challenging. So, I decided that each strip would have a question related to our relationship that JB would have to answer. I forewent the easy questions like "when did I first say love you?" or "where was our first date?" and drafted a set of tough questions that would force JB to delve deep into the archives of our relationship.

I think JB will have a hard time answering some of these questions correctly! I only thought of some after combing through our old photos and reading through my notebook of all the sweet things JB has done for me over the years. Of course, what you write on yours is entirely up to you. I just thought a pop-quiz version would be more fun and a nice opportunity to take a stroll down memory lane.

After all the messages are written, roll up the strips as tightly as possible.

Wrap these rolls with thread (can be any color), looping about 16 times then knotting them. Trim so that there is about 3-5" of thread.

You can stop at one color, but I decided to frame the red with a contrasting blue so that they would have a touch of masculinity. I was inspired by beautiful thread-wrapped rings I saw in Seoul that had a similar look. Of course sticking to one color will make it easier for your recipient to unravel.

Thread the red string through the opposite side of the roll. This will help the hearts hang nicely, as you will see shortly.

Cut tiny hearts that are about a 3/8" wide. You can use a thick card stock that is a solid color or printed with a fun pattern. Since I had a lot of felt left over from my Pac Man Baby Mobile project, I opted to use that.

Thread the hearts and knot securely. As you can see, threading the red string to the other side of the roll enables each heart to hang more nicely.

To hang the messages, cut staples in half and hammer each gently into the center of the cork top's underside. Before you hammer completely down, loop the thread through the eye of the staple and triple-knot. Then continue hammering so the staples are securely inside the cork tops.

Close each glass bottle and your messages eagerly await to be read. In my case, each question awaits to be answered. This is an inexpensive yet uber sweet gift to make for your special someone - hope you are inspired to make them!