Bottle cap earrings are fun to make, and the only limit to what you can do with them is your creativity. You need very few tools to create these earrings, and a few basic jewelry-making supplies.
Gather Your Supplies
Most of the supplies you need for making bottle cap earrings are easily found in any craft store, and you likely have most of the tools you need already.
- New or vintage bottle caps (you may or may not want them to match, depending on how you plan to use them)
- Head pins
- Ear wires
- Beads
- Hammer
- Awl
- Jewelry pliers
- Round-nosed pliers
Depending on what type of earrings you're making, you might also need one or more of the following items:
- Epoxy
- Mod Podge
- Photos or other papers
Bottle Cap Earrings You Can Make
Your imagination can run wild here. Whether you prefer dangle earrings, post earrings, something with a modern look, or something more sentimental, you can easily adapt one or more of these styles to suit your needs.
Dangling, Beaded Bottle Cap Earrings
Beaded, dangling bottle cap earrings can add a playful or even boho touch to your look, depending upon what colors and styles you choose. The process for making these is fairly straightforward.
Drill or poke a hole in either just the top end or both the top and bottom ends of your bottle cap - only add one to the bottom if you'd like to add additional beads for more dangle.
- Thread your beads onto a head pin as well as through the top hole of the bottle cap.
- Use your pliers to curve the end of the pin into a hook to loop into your earring hooks.
- Add additional beads to the bottom end of the bottle cap, if desired, but using either another head pin or a jump ring.
- Make sure all connections are secure, tightening them with pliers.
Dangling Bottle Cap Earrings With Chains
Instead of using beads and wire to make your bottle cap earrings dangle, you can use lengths of chain in whatever length you like.
- Poke or drill holes into the bottle cap, either along the top edge or both along the top and the bottom as desired.
- Cut chain of whatever color and to whatever length you like.
- Attach the chain to both the earring hook and to the bottle cap using jump rings.
- Tighten all connections with pliers.
Painted Bottle Cap Earrings
If you don't want to keep original bottle cap design, you can easily transform your bottle caps with paint and then turn them into earrings.
- Sand the surface of your bottlecap well to give the new paint a good surface to adhere to.
- Wipe any dust from the bottlecap with a cloth.
- Apply a coat of primer, either with a brush or by spray painting it on. Let this coat dry completely.
- Give the bottlecap another light sanding and wipe clean.
- Now, you're ready to paint it in whatever colors and designs you'd like.
- When you're done painting, apply a clear sealer to protect it.
- Use your bottlecap in whatever earring design you like.
Decoupaged Bottle Cap Earrings
If you'd rather not paint, then you can change the look of your bottle caps by decoupaging them. For this, you'll need thin papers in the colors and designs of your choice.
- If you want to be sure the original bottlecap design doesn't show through, you may want to give the bottlecap a coat of primer.
- Using Mod Podge or another decoupage medium, start layering the medium as well as your papers and other objects of choice until you get the look you desire.
- Give the bottle cap one final layer of decoupage medium to seal it.
- Carefully trim off any ragged or uneven edges.
- Consider spraying the entire bottle cap with a sealer to protect it.
- Use your new decoupaged bottle caps however you like.
Epoxy-Filled Bottle Cap Earrings
For most of these designs, the focus has been on the outside of the bottlecap. For this idea, you'll be using the underside of the cap. You'll want to purchase epoxy, as well as any dyes you'd like to use.
- Assemble your supplies. Any dyes, as well as any objects such as glitter or dried flowers, will work perfectly.
- Figure out in advance exactly how you want to arrange your objects, if you're using them.
- If you're going to have a design on the bottom that will be augmented by the epoxy, you'll want to secure that to the inside of the bottle cap first.
- Prepare your epoxy according to the package directions.
- Assemble your design and carefully pour your epoxy into the bottle caps.
- Allow it to dry completely.
- Sand smooth with a very fine grit sandpaper if desired.
- Use as you'd like in any earring design.
Bottle Cap Stud Earrings
You don't just have to make dangle earrings with bottle caps. You can also make stud or post earrings. You can find post earring bases easily in any craft store or online.
- Prepare the bottle cap as you'd like, by cleaning, painting, or decoupaging.
- If you want the outside of the bottlecap to be the focus of your earrings, you'll need to fill the interior. Epoxy works well here, though if you'd like something lighter, consider spray foam, such as the kind people use to seal small drafts in their houses.
- Allow any filler to dry completely, then coat it with sealer. If using spray insulation, you might want to paint it first to make the back side look prettier.
- Use hot glue or super glue to attach the earring posts to the back of your bottle caps.
- Allow to dry completely.
Flattened Bottle Cap Earrings
You can also flatten the bottle caps for your earrings, which will give them an almost frilly-looking edge and provide you a perfectly flat surface to use in your jewelry.
- Choose your bottle caps, and place them on a board (one you won't mind getting dinged up.)
- Using a rubber mallet, pound the bottle cap flat. You may need to use pliers to pull the edges out a bit first so they don't fold under when you start flattening it.
- Or, allow the edges to fold under for a more button-like appearance.
- Keep hammering until you get the look you want, then use your flattened bottle caps as either dangle earrings or post earrings.
Bottle Cap Photo Earrings
For a more sentimental look or for a keepsake item, consider using photos in your bottle cap earrings. There are a few ways to do this. The first step for any of the following ideas is to have photos of your choice, sized and cut to fit your bottle caps.
- Consider decoupaging the photo onto the outside of bottle caps, and then turn them into earrings.
- Or, glue the photo into the inside of the bottle cap and seal it before turning it into earrings.
- You can also consider using epoxy or glass bezels (measure to make sure they'll fit inside your bottle cap) over the top of the photo inside your bottle cap, which will almost magnify the photo and give it a more dimensional look.
Fun and Variety
As you can see, there are many ways you can create bottle cap earrings. Experiment with different styles, colors, and designs, and have fun creating earrings to fit any mood or look.
