How to Make Bottle Cap Jewelry

Making jewelry of your own is both a wonderful way to take control of your own fashion statement that you make to the world and a way to earn money doing what you love. With group websites that now promote the selling of jewelry and crafts online, there is a chance that you can make a business out of creating distinct jewelry. Here is how you can make bottle cap jewelry for yourself or others.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Bottle caps
• Chain (gold or silver)
• Non-toxic spray paint
• Acid-free permanent markers
• Glue
• Old magazines
• Scrap paper
• Safety pin

1. Think about what you want to say with your jewelry. You could create a message with peace signs and little, simple quotes. You could draw hearts, stars or other symbolic shapes on the jewelry. You you could make custom-designed bottle caps with people's names along with favorite colors. The possibilities border on endless. Deciding what sort of jewelry you want to primarily create will make the process much easier.

2. Design--on paper first--the designs that you want on your bottle caps. Draw it with pencil, and make sure you are drawing it as small as the bottle cap face allows. It can be easy to design a scene on a larger scale, but this must be contained to the bottle cap. Keeping that in mind while you draw will help you to expand your options and weed out what you cannot put on a bottle cap. Simplicity is best for this kind of jewelry.

3. Practice on a couple of old bottle caps. These should be the ones that are in the worst shape that you do not aim to sell. You need to experiment to see what works for you. Try the designs you think you will most be using. This will make it apparent which designs work well, and it will make sure that you cross out the impossible before you try to custom design for someone.

4. Look through old magazines. Columbia House used to advertise artists by placing small images of a CD cover by the dozens on pull out ads. You can find some of these, and cut the images out. They are the perfect size for bottle caps. You can make a rock and roll bottle cap by gluing these images to bottle caps, one at a time. Keep in mind that you cannot sell this sort of bottle cap for jewelry as it may infringe on copyright laws, but you may enjoy this personally or as a gift. It's fun to give a piece of jewelry of someone's favorite band. It is a personal gift, and it is made by you personally with much thought in mind. Few gifts will probably mean more to someone than that! Be sure to spray paint it first in the favorite color of the receiver before gluing the image to the bottle cap. Place a hard backing on the cap, and place it on a matching chain.

5. Make birthday themed bottle caps. Make a series based on astrological signs, on birthstone and on birth flowers. These will be very popular as they have an instant market. Someone is always looking for a special birthday present. Place a hard backing on the cap, and place it on a matching chain. For an added twist, you could make matching earrings, or a matching chain bracelet.

6. Design a really elegant bottle cap. This can be the color of an emerald or a ruby. It can say something beautifully simplistic. Attach this cap to a jewelry pin or safety pin. Now you have a pendant that you wear proudly or sell.

7. Set up an online shop to sell your designs, or you can try taking your designs to your local flea market or farmer's market. The latter is probably the best choice for a beginner because it allows instant feedback, immediate placement of your product before the public and the chance to network locally. Your creations just may find themselves in a local boutique before long.

Tips & Warnings

• Use your imagination to add even more types of jewelry using your decorative bottle caps.
• Make sure you have a quick turn around time when making custom jewelry. Word-of-mouth is a powerful advertising tool, and you want to exceed the expectations of each customer.
• Make sure any paints used on your bottle caps are completely non-toxic and are safe for long-term exposure to the skin. The last thing you want to make is dangerous jewelry. Doing so could result in serious injury to you or others who wear the jewelry.
• Never make promises that you can't keep. Don't promise to make a custom designed piece of jewelry for someone if you're not sure that you are capable of it. Simply take her information, and promise to get back to a perspective customer. Find out, and call back as soon as possible.