Introduction: Meteorite Mini Glass Bottle Charms

I love making things, I also love all things Astronomy! I have been playing with tiny bottle crafts for the past year and I wanted to try something "space" related. These are very easy to make and all of the items needed to make these can be purchased online from the comfort of your home.

Step 1: Tools:

Meteorite (iron composition) dust or scrap cuttings. (Available on eBay. Of course you can't always guarantee authenticity.)

Small glass bottle. (Any shape or size.)

Adhesive. (I use multipurpose and E6000.)

Pliers. (bent nose and round nose.)

Wire cutters.

Head pins.

Jump rings.

Neodymium magnets. (Mine are 2 mm x 1 mm.)

Toothpicks.

Optional: Key ring, necklace chain, beads and tweezers.

Not pictured: Eye protection, gloves and respirator/ dust mask.

Step 2: Glue Your Magnet to the Bottom of the Jar.

I use toothpicks for this step by adding a small dab of adhesive to the flat end and tapping it to the bottom of the bottle. If the adhesive wants to follow your toothpick out and make a mess, just rotate the tooth pick just above where you dabbed the glue in the bottle until the glue fully detaches from the tooth pick. You can use the toothpick to guide the magnet in place or use your extra neodymium magnets by putting them outside of the jar where you want your inside magnet to be. If you get glue inside of your bottle where you don't want it, just use a q tip with rubbing alcohol on it to clean the bottle. Set aside and let the glue dry fully.

Step 3: Turning the Cork Into a Charm

Use your bent nose pliers to guide the head pin in to form an anchored jump ring. Once your head pin it all the way through your cork, cut to size and use your round nose pliers to form a loop. I am making key chains and charms with these bottles, so I went ahead and added jump rings to a few of these.

Step 4: Add Meteorite Dust/ Scraps.

Once your glue is dry, add your meteorite dust or scraps. If your hands are steady enough, you can tap your meteorite straight out of it's container. You could also use a clean funnel as well. I also recommend gloves and a dust mask since you are handling small particles. Add what you think looks good. Real iron meteorite should react to typical, cheap refrigerator magnets, so the neodymium magnets should be overkill. Once in contact with the magnets, the meteorite should "fluff" out. If it doesn't "fluff" to your liking, take your extra magnets and run them around the outside of the bottle until you get your desired look. When I added longer scraps of meteorite, I used tweezers so I did not handle the meteorite directly. Because everything was magnetized I used a toothpick to place my scraps where I wanted them.

Step 5: Glue on Cork.

Once you have added your meteorite to your liking, Glue your cork in place. I use a small amount of E6000 and use a toothpick to evenly distribute it around the side of the cork. Place cork and let dry fully.

Step 6: Done! That Easy!

Once your cork is glued and fully dried, you are finished! Now is the time to add any accessories such as beads or small charms and add it to a necklace chain or key ring.