Bottle Cap Jewelry

What You Need:

• Bottle caps from glass bottles
• Hot glue gun
• Craft glue
• Nice string, metal/silver chain, or felt backing
• Scissors
• Small paper clips or silver bails
• Magazine pictures
• Optional: gems, glitter, beads, buttons, small charm embellishments; decoupage finish or clear varnish

What You Do:

1. Have your child look through magazines for pictures she’d like to fit inside bottle caps. Tell her to keep in mind that she will be cutting them out to fit inside bottle caps, so the images she chooses should be relatively small.
2. After she has cut out the images, help her put craft glue on the back of each one and and place them each inside of a bottle cap.
3. If she's making a bracelet, help her use a hot glue gun to put glue on the back of several bottle caps and attach them to a bracelet-sized felt strip.
4. If you want, you can also use a string or metal chain instead of a felt loop. Help her use the glue gun to attach a paper clip behind each bottle cap, with the end of the clip peeking over the top of the cap. Then, put string through the ends of paper clips.
5. The same method can be used with a bottle cap for a necklace. A silver bail glued behind the bottle cap would also work for a necklace or bracelet.
6. Another method to use for a necklaceis to have the string ready before gluing the picture in the cap. Place the bottom of the “u” side of the string inside the bottle cap. Add craft glue and put the picture on top of the string, pushed inside the bottle cap. The picture will hold down the string inside the bottle cap.
7. Your child may wish to use craft glue to attach gems, glitter, beads, or a charm on top of her picture in the bottle cap, or she may want to use decoupage or varnish on top of pictures for a more finished look.
8. Show off your new jewelry at the park, school, or day camp!