empty wine bottle with corkyou can buy corks at the craft store if you need one
thumbtack
24" thin red ribbon
sheet of antiqued stationary paper
1cupgranulated sugar
red and green craft jewelsbeads, or confetti
18" wide red or silver ribbon
SnoTex paint
Instructions
Remove all labels from bottle, wash and dry. Print note or letter on to antiqued paper. If you are going to include a monetary gift, attach it to the letter with a small piece of tape. Roll up letter tight enough to fit inside the opening of the bottle. Tie the letter with the thin red ribbon, leaving one end of the ribbon long, trimming the other end. Attach the long end of the ribbon to the bottom of the cork with the thumbtack. Set aside.
Pour enough sugar into the bottle to about 2 inches deep, or deep enough so that when the letter is placed inside the neck of the bottle, the top portion of the letter will remain in the neck. This way the letter can easily be removed.
Drop confetti, beads or craft jewels into the sugar. Note: if using craft jewels, they may end up upside down. To avoid this, glue craft jewels together, back to back, so that no matter what side it lands on, the jewel will show.
Insert the rolled letter into the neck of the bottle, make sure the long end of the ribbon is in the neck as well, and insert cork. Tie red or silver ribbon around the neck of the bottle into a bow, trim ends. Use SnoTex paint to decorate the outside of the bottle. Let dry.