A bottle cap is hardly a priceless gem, and bottle cap jewelry is definitely not as valuable as the real thing. But they still can fetch quite a price as interest in this unique and eccentric fashion statement grows. And the best part is, they’re not so hard to make.
To make a bottle cap necklace, the first thing to do is to punch a hole into a bottle cap for the lace to slip into. One way of doing so is by placing the bottle cop face (top) down, its bottom or insides facing up, and punch a hole in its top edge using a small nail and a hammer. One may also make the hole using a drill or a tiny metal hole puncher.
The lace would either be slipped into the hole itself or through a clasp fitted into the hole. The clasp could be either a jump ring to make it look more like jewelry or an improvised clasp made from a paperclip. If one goes with the jump ring, use flat nose pliers to open and close it as it is being attached. As for the lace, it could be as simple as a piece of string, cloth, a leather cord or a ribbon, or it could be as fancy as wiring or a silver chain.
To decorate the pendant, one can make small cut-outs from photos or magazine pictures and paste them in the inside of the bottle cap. One can also make small copies of bigger images. The pictures should be cut into a circle, with a diameter of about 1 inch. Use specialized glue products such as Mod Podge or Diamond Glaze to give your bottle clap necklace an appropriately glossy look.
In making a bottle cap bracelet, the process isn’t too different from that of making a bottle cap necklace. A small hole is made on the bottle cap by hammering a small nail through it, or by using a drill or a hole puncher. Paste small pictures into the bottle cap’s insides for decoration. Attach a clasp or jump ring for the string or chain to slip through.
For making bottle cap earrings, take 2 bottle caps and again apply any of the same hole-punching methods for the previous types of bottle cap jewelry, then attach the jump ring. In addition, to put in the beads one wishes to adorn the earrings with, take a cut of craft wire measuring 1 inch longer than the beads to be used. At one end of the craft wire, make a small round loop with the use of round nose pliers, attach that loop to the jump ring, and add the beads to the wire. Then, make another small loop onto which the earring hook will be attached.
Making bottle cap jewelry is an easy and enjoyable hobby, and the materials needed are relatively inexpensive and easy to find. One doesn’t have to drink plenty of soda in order to make a whole set of jewelry. Bottle caps can easily be ordered online or bought from a craft store, likewise with jewelry-making accessories such as jump rings, earring hooks, beads and laces.
