I Love You Because... Message in a Bottle Key Ring

by ShrimpSaladCircus

88K69662

Intro: I Love You Because... Message in a Bottle Key Ring

Here it is - the handmade gift personalized by you for the special guy in your life! Of course, this would make a great women's necklace as well, but you know how hard those guys are to shop for! This is another fabulous Tutorial Exchange project with a glass vial provided by the sweetest Angie of Supply Pusher!

Original tutorial and many more at Shrimp Salad Circus.

STEP 1: Materials

  • glass vial with top (provided by Supply Pusher)
  • brass disc with hole
  • two jump rings
  • key ring
  • 2 slips of paper cut to the height of the vial
  • black permanent marker
  • nice pen
  • metal letter stamps (provided by Evie's Tool Emporium)
  • steel bench block
  • hammer
  • E-6000 adhesive
  • steel wool or fine-grit sandpaper

STEP 2: Stamp the Disc

Position your first letter stamp on your starting point on your brass disc atop your bench block. Firmly hit the top of the stamp two to three times with your hammer. I've been informed by a very reputable source that it is better for the lifespan of the stamps if you use a heavy rubber mallet. Continue adding your letters around the circumference of the disc. I ran out of room so resorted to 'b/c' instead of 'because,' but it's my first stamped project, so so be it!

STEP 3: 'Patina' the Letters

You could use a chemical oxidizing agent here, but it's much simpler and more accessible to just color in your letters with a black permanent maker. After you've thoroughly filled each letter in, use steel wool or a fine grit sanding sponge to sand off all the marker on the disc. Because they are recessed, the letters will remain darker, and now you also have a nice, industrial look to the disc!

STEP 4: Write the Message

Write the same little love note, poem, or whatever comes to mind on each strip of paper. I used a pretty handmade paper since it will be the focal point of the whole piece.

STEP 5: Put Message in Bottle

Roll one of your notes up as tightly as possible and then drop it into the glass vial.

STEP 6: Seal It Tight

Apply a thin layer of E-6000 around the inside of the vial's cap. Apply the cap and then firmly squeeze it into place for several minute. I blasted it with a hair dryer on high for a few minutes to speed the process along.

STEP 7: Jump Rings

Thread a jump ring through the disc and another through the hole in the vial's cap and then close the rings.

STEP 8: Key Ring

Thread both jump rings onto the key ring. The key ring itself is now complete, but we can't forget the packaging!

STEP 9: Revealing the Message

Put your creation in a little kraft paper box, and wrap the second note around it like a ribbon. Tape the note in place on the bottom of the box. You can then tie a piece of twine or yarn around the whole thing for an elegant but still masculine look.

STEP 10:

There you have it - a great gift for that special guy. It's sweet and sentimental enough for him to treasure it but not so mushy as to keep him from using it! Although you do have to make the initial investment in the stamps, you can use them for a plethora of creative projects, so it's well worth it!!!

63 Comments

LuisGaudencio 10 years ago

Did this as a gifs for a special ocasion... Took me a lot of work to make it right, specially the little chip there, that I couldn't find as thin, so I actually manufactured it, so it got a little bit bigger and heavier... She loved it though!! :)

peterjacob 14 years ago

wow, thats so sweet. i wish someone would send me one of those! :)
but that wil never happen..

im so lonely..

joshabgvghn 10 years ago

Oh, Send me your address and "You Shall Receive One" I say!

tori1012 13 years ago

aw dont say that about yourself. everyone is beautiful or handsom in some way.

Kaiven 14 years ago

Yeah. I know what you mean :(

deadpan46 12 years ago

brilliant! i love it =)

AssistantToTheRegionalManager 12 years ago

You could also sand off the face of a coin suchas a quarter or a nickel and add your message. Maybe leave one face with her birthyear on it. Risk defacing money for brownie points with you girl? Truly an age old moral question...

koby_elian 12 years ago

Where can you get a brass disc? Anyway, this is so amazing!

eyang 13 years ago

simple but romantic,i like it!

dgytik 14 years ago

What size are the metal letter stamps?

timothymh 13 years ago

(I just copied from a reply she wrote)

"They are 1.5mm, and I got them from Evie's Tool Emporium on Etsy.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/39515895/metal-stamping-set-15-mm-36-piece "

ShrimpSaladCircus 14 years ago

That's gorgeous!!! Thank you so much for sharing pictures!!!

gschoppe 14 years ago

so I bought 6 vials when I ordered, thinking that eventually they would have a home, and until yesterday, I had 5 remaining.

but a last minute necessity for a birthday gift required invention, so I now have only 4 left:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gschoppe/4813419007/

I know this isn't exactly what the instructable used them for, but I thought the similarity validated the comment.

Once again, thank you for introducing me to these little charms

polevaulter33 14 years ago

for a girl gift this would also make an excellent necklace!

wmcraver 14 years ago

 Is there a specific website where you can find varieties of discs?  Brass, silver...  I've been looking and cannot find a decent website.

crowsfolly 14 years ago

ETSY.com has lots of suppliers that provide copper, brass and aluminum discs for this purpose..most are very affordable. Look under "supplies" once you are on the front page.

Future filmaker 14 years ago

My thinking is to buy a brass disk and then spray paint it flat black, then your new color, like silver, after punching in your message, not certain if that would work, but its worth a try...

mdeblasi1 14 years ago

There is a product called Black Max that Reo Grande sells that will turn brass and copper a velvety black.  There is also Liver of sulfur ( which smells just like it sounds it would) that will put an iridescent black patina on silver, copper and brass.
Marya
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