Treasure Map in a Bottle

I’m the lucky Technical Editor who had the pleasure of working on the very cool book, kraft•tex Style.

My friend, Del, heard me mention some of the projects in the book, and about how kraft•tex was so easy and versatile to work with. Now, one project in the book is the Treasure Map.

Del took the Treasure Map idea and ran to the beach with it. Her daughter was getting married in Malibu. Del and her daughter designed wedding favors that included a thank you note, written on kraft•tex, with a map of where the couple wed on the back, and then placed each map in a small bottle. Then, when the couple held a second reception for Northern California family and friends, they made more favors, this time with a map of the locations of the wedding and the reception.

Here are Del’s tips on how to make small treasure maps to fit inside bottles that are about 6˝ tall.

• Rough cut pieces of kraft•tex to size, about 3 1/2˝ x 5˝
• Draw map (If you are making several, it’s easier if you make a stencil and then trace around it.)
• Ink the edges using black ink pad
• Burn the edges using a candle flame, and to darken a few areas in the middle. (It doesn’t take much exposure to the flame to get it to darken.)
• Place singed pieces in a bowl of water to halt the burning and prepare them for the next step. It’s OK to leave the pieces in the water while you finish burning the remaining ones.
• Crumple the maps while wet, then lightly smooth them out
• To add more age spots, first brew strong tea. Use the tea bag to dab the tea onto the map.
• Let map dry
• Roll the map up tightly and tie with string. Slip it inside the bottle, leaving enough string to hang outside the bottle before inserting the cork.

Enjoy!