Learn how to make a message in a bottle necklace with this easy tutorial. Bring a little bit of the beach with you wherever you go.
Years ago I was really into making jewelry with tiny craft bottles. And when I say I was really into it, I mean I was REALLY into it. I made quite the collection of necklaces that I filled with whatever I could fit in those little bottles, from glitter to beads to feathers and plenty of other things.
One of the early ideas I came up with was a tiny little rolled up message with some sand. It was so cute, but seemed like it was missing something. Then later when I got ahold of some tiny seashells, that ended up being the perfect addition.
I don’t make very many of these types of necklaces anymore. But since starting this blog, I figured I could share a few of my favorite projects that I’ve made. I’ll add the others here and there in between my other projects. But because it’s summer, I thought it would be a good idea to start with this one. Anything beach related is very summer-y after all.
I’m using the same sand and some of the same seashells that I used in my 3D Beach Canvas Art. So if you enjoy working with these little shells you might enjoy that one as well.
What You Will Need to Make a Message in a Bottle Necklace
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Multipurpose Glue (I recommend Beacon 527 or Aleene’s The Ultimate)
Paper
How to Make a Message in a Bottle Necklace
Step 1: Make Tiny Message
First let’s make the focal piece of the bottle: the tiny message. As far as the paper, you want something very thin so it will roll up easier. I would recommend just plain printer paper. It’s cheap and most people would already have some anyway.
If you want the paper to look a little more aged, this would be the time to do it. I tea stained mine by dabbing a wet teabag all over my paper, then left it to dry.
Then rip a very small rectangle of paper for your message. You could also cut the paper, but I think ripping it gives it a bit more character with the uneven edges.
How big this little paper needs to be will depend on the size of your bottle. My bottle is about an inch tall. So I made my message around a half inch tall. The length is about three inches wide.
At this point you could also write something on the inside of the paper. If you’re making the bottle for yourself it could be a secret message that only you’d know about. Or if you’re giving it as a gift, it could be a special message for the recipient. I chose to leave mine blank, but there are so many possibilities.
When you’re happy with how the paper looks, roll it up tightly. Then use a small piece of thread to keep everything in place. You can use just about any kind of thread you want, but I used button thread. It’s a bit thicker so it’s easier to see.
Before moving on, I like to pop my message into my bottle to make sure I’m happy with the size. Just keep in mind that after adding in the sand, it will stand a bit taller.
Step 2: Add Contents to Bottle
Now gather together everything else you want to put in the bottle. I have sand and some tiny shells in addition to the little message from Step 1.
The order you put these in the bottle doesn’t entirely matter, but I like to start by adding the sand first. You only need a tiny pinch. Then I add the seashells and tiny message.
Step 3: Glue Cork into Bottle
This next part is completely optional. When I make these kinds of bottle necklaces I don’t plan on opening them again. So I like to hold the cork down with a little glue to make sure it stays in place.
However I haven’t had any issues with even unglued corks coming out of the bottles as long as they were pushed in tightly enough. If you want to be able to open the bottle again, like if you wrote something special on the message, I would skip this part.
But if you do want your cork glued down, grab your glue and a toothpick. I’ve tried a few different glues in the past to seal my bottle necklaces. The two best ones I’ve found are both multipurpose glues. One is made by Beacon and the other is the Aleene’s brand. It’s the latter that I’m using here.
Both glues are a good consistency and dry completely clear. So you can’t even tell there’s glue on the bottle at all. But most importantly, it holds everything in place permanently.
Squeeze a small amount of glue all the way around the bottom edge of the cork. Don’t worry too much about the amount because any excess will be wiped away.
Then press it firmly into the bottle. Most likely you will have some glue coming up over the edge of the bottle like in the picture below.
Use the toothpick to wipe away any of this excess glue.
Once that’s done, set the bottle aside to dry. I would wait at least an hour or so. But most of these types of glues take 24 hours to fully cure. So if you want to be on the safe side, set it aside until the next day.
Step 4: Add Jump Ring and Necklace
Lastly, attach the bottle charm to the necklace with a jump ring. As long as it’s big enough, any size jump ring should be fine. I prefer to use heavy gauge jump rings for any kind of charm necklace. I’m much more confident that nothing will fall apart that way.
Remember to open up the jump ring by pulling one end either toward or away from you. Just don’t pull the ends apart or you will have a terrible time trying to get the ends to come together again. And in some cases, that would also weaken the metal and put it more at risk of breaking.
Add the bottle charm and necklace cord to the jump ring. Then close it by pulling it back in the opposite direction until the tips of the ring line up again.
Your message in a bottle necklace is now ready to wear or be given as a gift!
Additional Notes on Message in a Bottle Necklace
I kept this project simple, but there are plenty of ways to customize it. Of course the message inside can be the most personal touch. But if you have sand and shells from a particular beach, that would be a perfect way to carry a little bit of that around with you.
If you aren’t into the beach theme, you could also adjust the contents of the bottle a bit. If you wanted more of a forest theme, you can use dried moss or tiny pebbles instead of sand and shells.
You could also add a charm to the necklace cord as well to add a little something extra. Only after I finished my project did I think about doing this. So unfortunately mine was a bit more simple.
I hope that you enjoyed this tutorial and found it helpful. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them below. I’d love to hear from you! Thank you for stopping by and happy crafting!
If you liked this tutorial, don’t forget to pin it for later on Pinterest!
