Crafty gals,
Three Christmases ago, while shopping the quaint stores of downtown Troy, Ohio with my sister-in-law Greta, I came across these wish bottles.
I fell in love. Yet couldn’t help but think that I could make my own version for less than $12.00. So snapped a picture for inspiration then ran to Hobby Lobby when I got home to buy wish bottle supplies. And then I put my bag of goodies away and didn’t think about wish bottles again until the following Christmas, and then the following Christmas and finally the following Christmas, which is this year. Hunted up that bag of wish bottle ingredients and decided this was the year I would get them made. And I did!
New Year’s Wish Bottles
The original bottles were something like Mercury glass, if I a remembering correctly. Knew those would be tough to find. But at the time, I was actually most concerned about finding similar bottle brush trees. That turned out to be easy!
The Supplies
I started with these cute Hobby Lobby bottles. Wanted different sizes and shapes, and I liked the variety of types of lids. Thinking I found the bottle brush trees at Target. Picked up some fine crystal glitter and spool of pearl-adorned lace. To complete my project, I wound up buying a few additional items. All told, here is my supply list.
- Small glass (or plastic?) bottles
- Small bottle brush trees, 1 per bottle
- Lace or ribbon to wrap at the neck of the bottles
- Glitter, any color, enough to fill each bottle slightly more than half way (combined a larger grain glitter with fine glitter)
- Charms, 1 per bottle (used keys for my bottles, found a package of 5 keys at Hobby Lobby)
- Twine or thin ribbon for attaching the charm
- Bead or pearl, 1 per bottle for the tip of the trees
- Tags (found a package of 2 sheets of tags on the clearance rack at Hobby Lobby), could be cut from scrapbook paper
- Hot glue gun
- Fine-tip marker or calligraphy pen
Directions
- Fill the bottles about half-way with glitter. I liked the contrast of the two sizes of glitter; used an iridescent which just seems more magical to me.
- Wrap the lace or ribbon around the neck of the bottles to determine how much you will need for each one. Cut lace and attach with your favorite adhesive. Mine is hot glue, for the win!
- Measure ribbon or twine for charm also around the neck of each bottle, allowing extra length to tie in a bow. I cut one too short and had to knot it.
- Attach charm (in my case, a key) to the twine or ribbon then tie it around the bottle.
- Write “wish bottle” on tags with marker or calligraphy pen and attach to the same twine as the charm. Positioned my charms so they would hang in front of the tags.
- Hot glue trees to the bottle lids.
- Add bead to the top of the tree with hot glue.
I experimented with adding little self-adhesive rhinestones on the bottle but my 59-year-old fingers struggled with getting them where I wanted them. So I gave up on that idea. Also thought it might be cute to spray glitter on the trees or add little decorations in the form of beads or sequins. Could also use scrapbooking embellishments like self-adhesive pearls and gemstones to bling up the bottles even more.
Voilà
That’s it. Simple, huh? I made 5 bottles but would like to make a few more and have plenty of supplies to do so. Have given 2 of them away telling the recipient in both cases that I hoped all of their wishes would come true in the new year. Wouldn’t these would make cute New Year’s Eve party favors or table decorations? You could make them in varying heights and sizes to use as a centerpiece. I just think they are so pretty, even if I do say so myself!! And wouldn’t they be fun attached to next year’s Christmas gifts? Might just do that! Maybe with a lighter weight plastic bottle?
I found several similar ideas on Etsy. Two of these feature dandelion fluff in place of the glitter. Perfect filling for a wish bottle. Saved those ideas on my Pinterest “DIYs, DIMs and Honey-Dos” board.
Now I am thinking these would even work for inexpensive birthday gifts. Might need to make some more to have on hand through the year!! Wonder where I can get dandelion fluff? We’ve been paying TruGreen good money to rid our yard of the pesky weeds. Dad gum it. Been killing off wishes left and right over here.
Your Turn
Years ago, I used to send out annual family updates with my Christmas cards. These days I don’t even send Christmas cards. Do you? I did receive several thoughtful cards from friends and family, and felt instantly guilty for not having sent cards out. Last year, I sent guardian angel note cards at the first of the new year. You can check them out here. Thinking I will try to do something similar this year after the dust settles from these busy holidays.
My friend Sue at Sizzling Toward Sixty selects a word of the year and creates posts and entire series around her word. Her word for last year was simplify…a word I need to adopt. Sue’s word for 2018 is thrive. She will be featuring guest authors to write about their thoughts on “Over 50 & Thriving”. I was honored when Sue asked me to write a post for this meaningful series. Stay-tuned for more info.
In the meantime, I have selected a word of the year, too. My word is peace. Over the past month, I have begun experiencing a lot of pain in my right jaw, very likely emporomandibular joint disorder. Probably stress-related (can you say POOL) and made worse by my frequent teeth grinding and clenching (to keep from screaming and banging my head against the wall). I have become aware of how tense I am – even as I try to go to sleep. So in 2018, I am going to work toward becoming more peaceful, more content, less stressed (I hope!). Play along, won’t you? What is your word of the year?
Thank you, ole chums, for spending a few moments here with me today. Wishing you a bright and safe new year celebration. And looking forward to being here with you in 2018. May all your wishes come true this year.
Hugs and kisses,
Cindi
Leslie, your Wish Bottles are lovely. You’re a very talented lady, for sure!
My word for the year is ‘understanding’.
We need to spend more time understanding one another. Too many times we misunderstand someone and the results of that misunderstanding can be devastating.
Take the moment to fully understand and comprehend what another is saying, doing or just being.
Happy New Year to my new BFF! So fortunate to have found someone as kind and as wonderful as you!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Oh, Cindi, what a very sweet message. Thank you for warming my heart. ‘Understanding’ is an important trait, emotion, action. I tend to interrupt people mid-sentence and try to finish their sentences for them. I hate, hate, hate that I do that!! So I need to quit interjecting and interrupting and do more listening!!
Happy new year, sweet Cindi! So glad we stumbled across each other in the blogosphere.
Em
Thank you for sharing these delightful treasures! I love the detail you added with the keys and the lace.
Filling them with glitter makes them even more magical.
As a kneejerk reaction to your question I’m shooting for “discipline” this year. I need to stay on task and stop letting distractions keep me from doing what I need to do, so THEN I can “play” and do the things I want to do.
Happy New Year to you, Leslie. Thank you for your welcoming spirit!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank YOU for reading about my little wish bottles. I am always so concerned that my projects won’t turn out well, so I hesitate to even start them…which is probably why it took 3 years for me to make these simple things!
I could stand to incorporate a little more discipline in my life. When I am subbing/working, I feel so rushed but I seem to get more done. When I am not working, I feel like I have all the time in the world and I get less done! Distractions, exactly!! Maybe we can encourage each other toward getting what has o be done first, before we do the things we want to do!!
Happy new year, dear friend. So glad to have met you in 2017.
Jamie Moore
Oh, Leslie! Those are so cute!!!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thanks, Jamie! I was so nervous…like I always am…about making them…and they were so easy! Ha! I need to get over it. Maybe this year? Happy new year, sweet friend. XO
Debs
Those bottles are just so cute!
I’ve heard of people choosing a word for the year over at Ali Edwards https://aliedwards.com/projects/one-little-word
People always choose great words that they incorporate into their year and maybe this year I’ll join in too. I think 2018 will be a period of adjustment once I finally give up work, that should put me in the right direction to find a suitable word for me. Peace is a great one, looking forward to how you fit it into your days!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you for sharing the link to Ali Edwards. Will check out the one-little-word project. I kind of picked the word JOY for 2017 but didn’t really do anything beyond picking the word! And I got pretty joyless over our pool building troubles that plagued us most of the year. Something that should have been such a joyful experience!
I am already trying to be cognizant of feeling keyed up and anxious, and then trying to remind myself to relax, feel more peaceful. I need to identify whatever it is that has me tense and then learn to let it go! Just like Anna and Elsa in Frozen. Let it go, let it go!
When will you be retiring? It was a huge adjustment for me, not one I handled particularly well but I am begging to get adjusted. Hope you will allow yourself time to adjust, to mourn or grieve or miss that chapter of your life as it closes, but make plans for things you want to do, and get started doing them!
Thank you, Deb, for the friendship and support you have shared with me this year. Looking forward to sharing more of 2018 with you as our friendship grows. Happy new year.
curlycraftymom
These are so cute, Leslie! I have seen on Pinterest Mercury glass DIY’s, too if you ever want to give that look to the glass jars. I am so sorry to hear about your jaw pain! I had some jaw pain for a good month after getting 2 cavities filled… I think it was just having my mouth open for so long at the dentist. What really helped me was to chew on the other side. But, I don’t grind my teeth or anything like that. I am sure that is very painful and annoying, I remember how horrible it was for me and it was just for a month! Prayers for healing!! Peace is such a great word. I am more of a tense, anxious type person, so I could def. use some peace in my life as well!
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I had no idea you can DIY Mercury glass!!! Thanks for the tip. I am going to look into that.
My jaw pain is better, which is kinda crazy because we had 20 month old Lucia here for ten days and I was on the go (loving it) and always worrying about her (is she cold at night? did she eat enough? are we making too much noise and going to wake her up?). I am really trying to be more conscious about gritting and grinding my teeth. We’ll see how it goes.
Wishing peace for you and for me this year. Happy new year, sweet one.
Donna
Hi, Leslie – These wish bottles are such a good idea. Great fun to give and to receive!
‘Peace’ is a brilliant word for 2018. I wish that for our world, for you and your family.
I look forward to continuing to follow your posts and adventures!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, Donna, for coming back by again. I am thinking of making a few more wish bottles to give away. Like you said, they were fun to make!
Peace is what we could all use a little more of in our crazy, hectic lives. Wishing you a happy new year and looking forward to getting to know you better as I follow your blog!
Laura
These are so cute! I found some trees like that at Walmart for under a dollar and never ended up using them for decorations. This is a great option and I am sure my daughter would love to make one for herself too! Thanks for sharing!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I am glad to know Walmart had the bottle brush trees. I will try to run by there this week before all of the Christmas stuff is out of sight. Would like to make a few more wish bottles to give away. Thanks for the tip!
Nikki Gwin
Leslie, I LOVE these! So sparkly and with a hint of antiquity. I so need to get back into crafting.
🙂 gwingal
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thanks, sweets! I love crafting but it is expensive and time consuming. I am a scrapbooker and have waaaaay too much stuff for that. My sister and I scrapbook and Skype once a month or so, which is great fun. And about the only time I get any pages done.
Lauren
Hi, Leslie! Your wish bottles are very sweet and cute! I hope you have a wonderful New Year in which a lot of your wishes come true!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Awww, thank you, sweet Lauren. Glad to hear from you. Happy new year!!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, love!!