What better way to preserve the memory of your beach vacation this summer than bringing a little piece of the beach home with you? The beach is a treasure trove of tiny shells, rocks, and bits of glass; gather up some of these itty bitty pretties and use them to make your very own beach-in-a-bottle necklace. (Not headed to the beach any time soon? You can also buy small shells from the dollar store to fill your necklace!)
Project estimate:
- Small bottles with corks, $1
- Small seashells, on hand or $1
- Eye screw, on hand or $1
- Resin or clear nail polish, on hand or $1 and up
- Super glue (gel type), on hand or $1
- Ribbon or string, on hand or $1
- Sand or salt, on hand
Total: $1 and up
Make sure your bottle is completely clean. Add the sand (or salt if you do not have clean sand on hand) and seashell(s). Slowly add the resin or clear nail polish with your bottle sitting on a level surface. Let your bottle sit in a warm, dust-free place to dry. (This may take up to several days.) If you are using salt it may absorb some of the liquid, so you may need to add a little bit more after the first round dries.
Screw the eye hook in the top of the cork. Remove it carefully, put a drop or two of super glue in the hole it created and screw the eye hook back in place.
Put the cork back in the bottle and note where the cork touches the bottle. Add a generous amount of super glue to that area of the cork and put it back in the bottle so that it fits snugly.
Put a ribbon through the eye hook and tie a knot at the hook, to cover it. Tie another knot at the end of the ribbons and slip it over your head to wear.
