I Spy Bottles

        I wanted to share something I made a few weeks ago for my neice's birthday. I made her an I-Spy Bottle. It's something I saw on Pinterest and on a daytime TV show called The View. My niece was turning 16 and she had asked for money this year. I hate giving gift cards or money, it just seems so impersonal.

As I was putting her money in her card it occurred to me that maybe this was something different I could include. She has always been my biggest fan on everything I create,giving me her opinion on what she likes, and what other kids might like. Lindsey is an awesome kid......kind of an old soul in away....grown up and very responsible. But what I love about her the most is she gets me....she really gets me!!

        So the hard part for me was narrowing it down to what items to include.I have seen several different versions on this so pretty much anything goes!

This is another version from a blog called Counting Coconuts

 Lindsey has always been an enormous movie fan and has lots of movie memorabilia in her room. Her main favorites so far have been, James Cameron's Avatar, Harry Potter, Twilight, Pirates, and most recently Hunger Games. We share the same favorites as a matter of fact! Yes I know I have proven over and over again on this blog that I am still a kid!

Can you see the tiny Harry Potter figure to the left of the purple stone?

So since I had trouble narrowing it all down I went a tad over board on her bottle. I probably could have made several with all the stuff I included. So consequently I had to up the size of the bottle. I ended up using a wide mouthed Gatorade bottle. My daughter-in-law Amy was my super shopper and boy did she find some great items.

We used some tiny erasers, some sparkly buttons, some little charms, even some doodads and some doohickeys......with glitter of course!
 On top of that we also included some flamingo stickers that we were able to stick back to back. We sprinkled in some bright colored sparkly confetti and of course a touch of glitter to make even more fun. It's amazing though what all you can gather up just from one household junk drawer. So look around your house you may have plenty of items stashed and saved that would be perfect for this.

Afterward I realized that these are just a modern day, handmade version of a kaleidoscope. Like the one in the photo below from Kaleidoscop Galaxy on Etsy.

I know I have always loved these? I use to think they were so magical and always wanted one. It could be how my addiction to sparkles started. If I have animal totem it has to be a crow since they are also attracted to sparkly things!

One very important tip to remember is be sure and glue the lid on your bottle. If you don't and it's opened..... well it could certainly make a huge, sparkly mess.

 
I had a thought after I finished my neices. What about and all black and white theme and add a few bright red items that your kids would have to find and keep track of. Maybe to win a special prize or treat at each rest stop along your car trip.

You could use any color variation or any items you want..... that's what makes this so much fun. We all know how hard it can be to keep kids happy and busy while your driving somewhere on vacation. So give it a try it is cheap, easy, and fun.....don't ya just love those three words!?!