How to Make Bottle Cap Crafts

Turn bottle caps into trendy necklaces.

Recycling items provides an inexpensive way to create a variety of crafts for kids. Instead of throwing out bottle caps, recycle them to make unique pieces of jewelry and other creative crafts. If the bottle caps have writing on them, use craft paint to cover up the writing or change the color to best suit whichever craft you decide to make.

Things You'll Need

• Bottle caps
• Craft paint
• Craft glue or hot glue gun
• Large sheet of cardboard
• Small sheet of foam or card stock
• Construction paper
• Wiggly eyes
• Black permanent marker
• Nylon cord or string
• Hammer
• Nail
• Green pipe cleaner

Instructions

Bottle Cap Animals

1. Paint a two bottle caps the color of the animal’s body and head.

2. Draw eyes on one bottle cap using a black permanent marker, or glue on small wiggly eyes.

3. Glue the bottle caps to a sheet of foam or card stock.

4. Cut out shapes to represent the animal’s legs, tail and ears from construction paper.

5. Glue the shapes to the foam or card stock.

6. Add finishing touches to the animal with a black permanent marker.

Bottle Cap Necklace

1. Poke two holes in a plastic bottle cap by using a small nail and hammer. Hammer slowly to keep the cap from cracking. Repeat the process for multiple bottle caps.

2. Thread a ribbon, string or nylon necklace cord through the holes of the bottle cap to add it to the necklace. Add as many bottle caps as desired.

3. Tie a knot where the bottle caps end on each side of the necklace to keep them in place. Knot the ends of the ribbon, string or nylon necklace and it is ready to wear.

Bottle Cap Flower

1. Paint five bottle caps one color and a sixth bottle cap a different color.

2. Glue the different-colored bottle cap to the middle of a piece of card stock or cardboard.

3. Arrange the five other bottle caps around the middle bottle cap, so they make the shape of a flower, and glue them into position.

4. Glue a pipe cleaner to the card stock or cardboard to make the flower stem.

5. Cut out leaves from construction paper, foam or felt, and glue them to the cardboard or card stock.

Bottle Cap Checkers

1. Paint 12 bottle caps red and 12 bottle caps black to use as the checkers.

2. Cover a piece of cardboard with red construction paper.

3. Draw an 8 square by 8 square grid on the construction paper with a black permanent marker.

4. Starting one square in from the corner, paint every other square black.

5. Arrange 12 red bottle caps on the first 12 black squares on one side of the board. Do the same with the 12 black bottle caps on the other side of the board.

References

• All Kids Network: Bottle Cap Caterpillar Craft
• "Bottle Cap Activities: Recreational Recycling"; Kathy Cisneros; 1998