Project: Bottle Cap Basics

This little instructional is the one that I get asked how to do all the time. Even if you know how to do this already give it a read for some of the fun tips and tricks! ENJOY!

Products you need:

Circle Punch- 1 inch for standard bottlecaps

Located in scrapbook sections. We love Fiskas and Whale Punches!

Glue Stick

Any kind, I prefer Elmer’s purple stick that dries clear

Standard Bottlecaps

Any are fine, uncrimped plain ones are available in many colors online. For colors we recommend professional factory enameled caps. Caps that are spray painted can frequently have flaws, bubble, crack or peel.

Your choice of sealer

We prefer Enviro-Tech Lite or Colores 2 part resin for the superior sealing and glassy look

Flat tipped paint brush

1 inch digital image sheets

Please visit Etsy for loads and gobs of pretty images. Search bottle cap image and you should find anything you are looking for!

Long reach lighter if making a few, butane torch if making a bunch

Starting out

When making caps try to work in an area that is free of dust or other particles. If these get in the sealer it’s hard to get them out, especially if they are in the drying stage.

There are millions of products that can be used for a lot of these steps. We have featured the ones we like to use the most.

1. Prepare your paper punch embellishments.

We choose the path of least resistance and have our images printed out at our local CVS or Walgreen’s. The paper in the Kodak instant printer is printed to be waterproof so images are far less likely to run when covered with sealer. They run about $.30 for a 4 by 6 page. Not a bad deal when it means you aren’t chewing up your ink cartridge in you personal printer at home. You can use images printed at home, sealed with a clear spray sealer, or with a Xyron machine. To us it’s one more thing to fuss with. Pass.

Take your paper punch and punch out images for caps to your hearts content. 

2. Embellishing your caps.

Use your glue stick to cover the top flat portion of the cap. A few swirls around will do. Place your punched out circle onto the top of the cap. Press firmly. We use the palm of our hand for a nice even pressure.

3.   Applying sealer.

Mix your resin according to the manufacturer instructions. This is super easy if you use disposable medicine cups and a popsicle stick. Get out your paint brush and brush on evenly on the top. When painting on it seems to produce less bubbles or paint strokes when using it at about a 45 degree, where it’s a little less than nearly flat against, it rather than at a 90 degree angle. Less is more. These resins will run down the sides if you apply to much and once its dry there is no saving it. After you have the top covered if you want you can go around the edge of the imgae for a finished polished look. Use your lighter or butane torch about 5 inches from the caps to de-gas. This will make any fine bubbles in the sealer pop so they don't dimish the look of your finished product.

3. Drying

Set aside to dry for the listed time on your resin product. Let dry in a child and fingerprint free area for 24 hours. We place ours in the oven. It’s completely closed and dust free and no kids mess with things in there. We really feel like it should get some use too. It’s not like we use it for cooking outside of major holidays and the odd meal here and there.

4. Add Embellishments

Add any embellishments. We like to use found buttons and flatback glued on with E6000.

5. Use and create!

For use on clippies or hairbows our favorite method is to buy floor protectors at Wal-Mart in the hardware section. They are felt like disks cut to a 1 inch circle and the depth of a bottlecap. We add some E6000 under the cap, place the stick side of the disk then add more E6000 and glue to our bow or clip.

If you want to use the caps for jewelry punch a hole with a 1/8 inch circle hole punch (scrapbook section or specialty jewelry metal punch) add a jump ring and attach to earrings or necklaces.

Experiments that we loved the look of:

Adding family photos for custom gifts.

Gluing bottlecaps on frames with ribbon accents for boutique looks on the cheap.

Adding to bobby pins and woven headbands.

“Monogrammed” caps for custom bow orders.

Glitter caps! Spray with gloss spray paint, add glitter, spray again to seal, and add buttons.

Did you get to all the way down here?!?!

Well then... all you FABULOUS people deserve a present! Leave your email addy in the comments and we will be happy to email you a free sheet that looks just like the pic below but in high resolution just ready for printing! Free sheet offer expires midnight central time on Feb 24, 2011. SEND YOUR FRIENDS! (we will be emailing these out at the end of the day for the next week so if it doesn't arrive instantly there's no reason for bunched panties. It's free!) 

**FREEBIE OFFER HAS EXPIRED**