How-to: Make a Message in a Bottle Party Invitation out of Upcycled Materials

DIY Party Invitations

message in a bottle party invitations

A message in a bottle makes a fun invitation for a pirate- or ocean-themed party. You can make this invitation almost entirely out of upcycled materials, and yes–you can mail it!

coffee stain the invitations to antique them

There are several components to this project that make it special, so start working on it on a Saturday with plans to mail it on Monday.

 1. Prepare the glass bottles. Any color glass bottle will work, but the labels and sticky glue must be removed. Use my tutorial on removing labels from glass jars to get off every trace of paper and glue, and to clean out the insides of the bottles at the same time. Allow plenty of time for the glass bottles to dry completely, up to an entire day in the sun. And if you’re planning on mailing these, go ahead and skip down to the final paragraph of my tutorial real quick to see if you might rather use plastic bottles instead of glass.

char the edges of the invitation with a lit candle

2. Antique the paper invitations. Age your invitations using my tutorial on coffee staining paper; the paper for the invitations is the only component of this project that isn’t upcycled, but with some creativity, you could certainly figure out a way to make even this part recycled!

3. Char the edges of the paper. Char a few selected spots along the edges of the invitation exactly how you’d expect to–by holding it up to a lit candle! Warning: the paper will burn like…well, paper!…so as soon as it begins to char, be ready to blow out the flame and thump the charred edge with a very slightly damp cloth to put out all the hot spots. If you’re afraid of fire but not afraid of chemicals, you can also char paper using ammonium chloride and a heat gun.

(And yes, one of my kiddos made this rolled beeswax candle–she thinks that green and pink are just lovely together!)

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2 thoughts on “How-to: Make a Message in a Bottle Party Invitation out of Upcycled Materials”

  1. Pingback: A Whimsical Under the Sea Birthday Party Idea

  2. Pingback: Mermaid Theme Birthday Party Ideas

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