Did you know you can make great invisible ink from lemon juice? Armed with this new bit of knowledge I put my thinking cap on and came up with the idea that invisible ink + message in bottle = cool valentines day gift!
The invisible ink bit is easy…simply squeeze a lemon and use the juice to write a message on a piece of white paper. I don’t have a dip pen so just ended up using a q-tip (cotton bud).
Then you need to find a bottle to put the message in. I used an old vanilla extract bottle. I also stuffed in lots of multi-coloured hearts as you can see!
To reveal the message all you have to do is hold it up to a heat source (you can see the results in the image below). You can use a lightbulb, iron (no steam) or candle for example. PLEASE PLEASE be careful and don’t let the kids do this bit. I nearly flambéed a few pieces of paper on the stove top.
I love these coloured hearts almost as much as I love my hubby and took a zillion pictures!!
Check out the LMNOP blog for lots more goodies….
Update: A lot of people have asked me where the hearts come from….I have a little heart punch and bought a lovely rainbow pad from paperchase.
ooh! what a fun idea .. the coloured hearts look really cute, thanks for sharing this
Thank you! I really did get carried away with the hearts……I’ve had them stashed away for months waiting for an excuse to get them out.
Hi Ariana,
Thank you…lovely to see you posting a bit more frequently. I keep thinking of those snowmen cheeks!
I love the colorful hearts. In have a crush on your site.
Wonderful idea and the pictures are just great, very artistic.
GENIUS!
Oh man, this is too much fun!!!!!!
thank you…..it’s pretty funny cos my kids can’t even write yet….purely for my pleasure. It’s very cool though….would have loved the whole invisible ink thing when I was a kiddo.
Kate, what a lovely idea. I can’t wait to try this one out with my boys!
I love the beautiful photos… we did similar experiment but instead of a heat source we used iodine solution… http://polwig.com/kids/top-secret-message/
Amazing! I also love the hearts, it’s great to see some colour. Most things these days are black and dull!
What a great idea to use this for valentines day. My hubby would never dream of putting something lovey dovey up on his wall at work but I can see him pinning something like this up. A secret message only he knows.
Thanks for the inspiration. 🙂
Wow! What an amazing idea. I love it and will have to try it!! Thanks so much.
Thanks for all the wonderful comments. My husband isn’t a romantic type at all but I’m hoping this will make him smile….esp if the boys give it to him….thank goodness he doesn’t read my blog 🙂
Lucie…I can’t get enough colour…agree with the fact that too many things are dull nowadays!
Polwig….thanks for the tip regarding the iodine solution…I presume I can pick some up in the chemists?
Lovely… Great idea the colorful hearts. Let´s try it!
Love this idea! So will my kids!!!!
Brilliant! I might have to usurp my other idea for valentines this year and use this one. And those colorful hearts are the best–i can completely get how you were so smitten with them.
Thanks guys…thanks too Holly. Nice to see you here! I remember reading your list of new years resolutions and you said you wanted to make more things in rainbow. I’ve joined the rainbow club – I’m addicted!! haha!
Such a fun idea! This blog is amazing, btw!
I remember using lemon juice invisible ink to write secret messages to my bestfriend when I was a kid! We used feathers which were sharpened a little at the end to “write” with – which we thought was very old fashioned and classy! Thanks so much for making me remember this fabulous idea!
Aaah how cute! And love the lemon idea – will be great for when my son is old enough for “secret treasure maps”….
Maggy x
Thisz a sincerely pleasant blog. Thanks for the good post! You’ve made some skillful points here. And with most intimates will agree with you. Helpful writing.
you are so creative! do you mind if i feature this idea on the blog next week? of course linking over to you!
Just to let you know milk works the same way we did that as kids.
So cute! I love invisible ink and all the colorful hearts are adorable! 😀
You can also pick up paint chips at Wal-mart or the hardware store to make your colorful hearts.
As far as letting kids hold it up to a heat source, I remember when we were little we did this all the time and we would just hold the paper over the toaster. 🙂
Good tip Sarah!
Hi Audra. You have to let it dry out anyway before exposing it to heat….so yes, it still shows up. Good luck!
Hi Jacin. Of course you can. Sorry for the slow reply on this one!
love this idea! a hair dryer will work too!:)
Kate , it is just amaaaaaaaaaaazing :)) I will try o do this for my hubby this valentine for sure ! :)) H e will love it , I cam imagine shock on his face when 1st he will see empty paper but then :)) Just question , how you prepared the colored hearts ? ?)) I am newbie in this field :))
Hi Gunay,
The hearts are just made using a heart punch
http://www.josyrose.com/p-simple_heart_paper_punch_pink-11818.aspx?gclid=COLHh-KGjK4CFRR8fAodZ0chwg
Hope it goes well and your hubby likes it!
Very special
Where could i get the hearts from?
Where can I find little bottles like those?! Using old bottles is not an option for me.
You could try ebay……??
Hi Vtorres13, I just punched them out of paper using a craft punch 🙂
oh no!! I felt really sad after reading that. I do hate crafty disasters! Maybe a test-run would be a good thing to do next time. Kate ^_^
I’ve done this several times before, and a quick pass with a hot iron does the trick as well.
what kind of bottle did you use ?
So cute! I was looking for an inexpensive gift my two little friends across the street–ages 5 and 7–could make for their mother for Valentine’s Day. What I really love about this is that I already have everything on hand to do this project. Talk about budget-friendly! I hope all of your readers have as much fun making this as I know we will. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Thanks Kay ^_^
Hi Jasmine…it was an old Vanilla Essence bottle ^_^ Food colouring bottles work well too…
Super cute idea!
what side of the page i put in the fire? the side of the letters?
what side of the page i put in fire? the side of the letters?
Thanks for the inspiration! Here’s how I did mine:
http://instagram.com/p/Vwa2A_pNZg/
Looks great Leslie…hope you had a lovely valentines day ^_^
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Can you put liquid paint on ut to revel the message too?
That’s awesome and so romantic!
I’m from Peru!
XOXO 🙂
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I hate to be one of those naysayers but isn’t iodine poisonous? I guess it depends on the solution but I’d read up on it before using it especially with kids. Love your colorful hearts in the bottle and the reminder about lemon juice being a great invisible ink. Thanks for sharing.
Very cute – good luck your new baby.
Kate ^_^
How does it works…………. can you explain it….?
Kate,
This is a great idea, My 4 year Old Son always like to display magic art. Am sure he would have a great fun and be thrilled. Thanks a lot. Please post such easy experiments . Thanks Again
I adapted this to go Afghanistan for Father’s Day…we punched hearts and stars to go in our message in a Pringles can (empty)! Shipped better than glass!
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My guy loves mushy crafts. This is right up his alley.
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