Introduction: Bottle Cap Crafts

By Visit my site
About: Self-employed YouTuber, creator and maker working from studio at home. Running craft workshops and making instructional videos for YouTube. Also manufacturer of craft tools and templates.

Bottle cap pendants are fun and reasonably inexpensive to make. Bottle cap crafts will give you endless hours of creativity.

Before you rush out to buy a case of beer - I will just tell you, it
isn't advisable to make bottle cap pendants from the caps you get off drink bottles. There are three main reasons why you shouldn't use beer bottle caps to make bottle cap pendants:

  • They are bent from being prized off the bottle
  • They have a plastic lining which is hard to get off
  • Jewellery made while drinking beer is usually not your best work - be honest, it's not is it?

But that's OK because you can get some nice shiny bottle caps with no nasty plastic lining by clicking on the resource links at the end of this article. So - what will you need to make the kind of fun bottle cap pendants I have been creating?

You will need:

You will need:

  • Some heavy rock music to help you forget about the dust you should be moving around.
  • A supply of bottle caps - the color you buy is your choice.
  • A 1 inch punch.
  • Some double-sided sticky tape.
  • A supply of 1 inch resin domes.
  • A supply of 9mm split rings.
  • A selection of small metal charms.
  • A supply of silver/gold/black curb chains or leather thongs or 1mm black elastic.
  • A small craft hammer.
  • A rigid, clean cutting mat.
  • A 1.8mm pair of hole punch pliers.
  • A pair of split ring tweezers.

    I will provide links below for most of the above items. The craft hammer and cutting mat I use are from the Dove crafting tool set listed in the resources below.

Step 1: Step 1 - the Bottle Cap

You will need a good quality craft bottle cap with no plastic liner. Caps off actual bottles are not suitable because of the plastic liner. You can burn this out but it is fiddly and why bother when you can get a big bag of shiny new ones?

Step 2: Step 2 - Making Holes in the Bottle Cap

Take your bottle cap and use the 1.8mm punch pliers to make holes directly opposite each other. To make the first hole, turn the cap over so the fluted edge is pointing downwards and punch a tiny hole in one of the 'dips' in the fluted edge.

Then turn the bottle cap over so the fluted edge is pointing upwards and and count the 'bumps' in the fluted edge (see pic above) until you get to the tenth bump. Position your punching pliers in between bumps 10 and 11 and make another tiny hole. The two holes should be directly opposite each other. This is so you can insert two split rings top and bottom and hang a charm from the bottom one.

Step 3: Step 3 - Flatten the Bottle Cap

This is where you flatten down the fluted edge of the cap. You will need to use a rigid, clean cutting mat for this part. You need a firm surface on which to hammer the edge down but it must not scratch the back of the bottle cap. Using your fingers to hold down one side of the bottle cap, firmly tap away at the other edge while gradually turning it. The idea is turn the edge down to make it flatter. Watch your fingers!

Step 4: Step 4 - Add Double-sided Sticky Tape to Flattened Bottle Cap

This is what your flattened bottle cap should look like. So next, you cut a piece of double sided sticky-tape and stick it down in the centre.

Step 5: Step 5 - Choose an Image

Choose an image from a sheet of 1 inch round images and use the 1inch punch to carefully cut it out. I always turn my punch upside down so I can line the circle up perfectly before cutting. I have also removed the little plastic cover from the bottom of my punch so I can see more easily.

Step 6: Step 6 - Position the Epoxy Resin Dome

Hold your circle with the image facing upwards and peel a resin dome off the plastic sheet. Very carefully line up the dome with the edges of the image and press down firmly. It should be a perfect fit with no overlap. It does take practice but becomes easier with experience.

Step 7: Steps 7, 8, and 9 - Fitting It All Together

Step 7
Peel the backing paper off the sticky tape in the bottle cap. Making sure that the top of your image aligns with the top hole in the bottle cap, press the resin dome and image firmly into the bottle cap and smooth with your thumbs.

Step 8

Using your split ring pliers, open the split rings and fit them into the top and bottom holes in the bottle cap edge. You can use your thumb nail to open the rings but if you make lots of these, you will find the pliers are better.

Step 9

Attach a metal charm to the bottom split ring.

Step 8: Step 10 - Add the Necklace

Steps 8 and 9 were covered in one go with the Step 7 pic. So this really is Step 10! Add a leather thong with lobster clasp or, a length of 1mm black elastic tied in a knot and there you have you first piece of bottle cap jewellery to wear, sell at craft fairs or give away as presents.

Step 9: Resources

Everything required to make bottle cap crafts can be found in the links at the end of this post on my website blog.

You can buy my downloadable images or order personalized ones with special dates or images by visiting my Etsy shop here.

Step 10: Well No - We Are Finished!

I guess I goofed up by doing three steps in one at Step 7 - sorreeeee!

Step 11: Yep - We Really Are Done!

Byeeeee! Thanks for stopping bye for this tutorial.