DIY Bottle Cap Belt

Turn these into a cool accessory.

Bottle cap belts are cool accessories that are fun and easy to make. You don't need any kind of special crafting skills to put them together and collecting all of your bottle caps can be the most fun step, depending upon how much you like soda or beer. Not including the time it takes you to drink all that beer, this project can be completed in a single afternoon and you can wear your new bottle cap belt out the same evening.

Things You'll Need

• Synthetic leather belt, at least 1 3/4-inches thick
• Bottle caps (at least 12)
• Hammer
• Acrylic paint
• Paintbrush
• Instant glue

Instructions

1. Remove the bottle caps from their bottles. Remove them slowly, being careful to bend them as little as possible. If you're having a tough time getting them off without creasing them, try gently prying them open around the circumference with a bottle opener.

2. Place the bottle caps face down on a flat surface. Use the hammer to gently hammer out any kinks or bends.

3. Flip the caps over so that they're face up. Paint decorations on the heads with your paint and paintbrush. Acrylic paints will be the hardiest because they are plastic based. Depending upon your skill, you could paint roses or stars or even a Dia de Los Muertos theme. If you like the bottle caps the way they look without paint, you can make your belt that way, too.

4. Lay your belt out on a flat surface face up. Place your decorated bottle caps on your belt where you want them to lie. Make sure to space them out evenly. If you don't feel confident eyeballing it, use a ruler. Your bottle caps can be placed edge to edge or, if you don't have enough to do that, you can place each cap a few inches apart from one another.

5. Glue your bottle caps into place on your belt. Lift each cap, add a generous drop of glue to the underside and place the cap back in place. Make sure that you add a drop big enough to reach from the belt to the cap. A synthetic belt will work best with instant glue because it is less porous than a leather one and will hold your caps firmly in place.

6. Allow the glue to dry for an hour before you wear your belt.

References

• Making Friends: Bottle Cap Bracelet