How to Use Bottle Caps for Decorations-Bottle Cap Painting and Bottle Cap Turtles.
People may wonder, what so special about bottle caps so that we can use them as house decorations, since most of them are considered trash.
I once had the same question but when my daughter showed me some of her creations, I have to admit that she has found the answer how we can elevate the "status" of bottle caps and lids from thrash to become valuable materials for home decorations which she shares through this hub.
A Bottle Cap Painting.
We can make a painting using bottle caps and let's call it a cap painting. To create a cap painting you need to prepare :
35 small metal and plastic caps.
Wrapping paper with attractive patterns.
PVC glue.
Styrofoam with 1 cm in thickness.
Brown paper
Natural or artificial tree branch.
Cap painting procedure :
Prepare the caps :
Some of the caps need to be bent a little bit to make them oval shape like leaves.
Wrap every single cap with artistic wrapping paper, use diluted PVC glue to be smeared on the cap being wrapped. We need around 30 caps to be wrapped this way.
Stuff the back of every cap with styrofoam, this will enable you to stick it on the canvas.
Also give a petiole on every leave to let you stick it to the branch.
The "Canvas" :
The "canvas" of the painting can be made from thick carton or styrofoam board. If you make the canvas from carton choose carton which is around 0.3 inch in thickness and the size around 30 cm x 50 cm.
The same conditions in thickness and size are applied if we make the canvas from styrofoam board. Cover the surface with blue color paper and also give it a frame all along its 4 edges.
Bottle Cap Turtle.
A bottle cap has a round shape that is similar to a turtle's body. So, from a bottle cap we can make a mini turtle which will be standing there in home.
Follow the steps below to make a bottle cap into a turtle. .
Tools and Materials.
- A plastic bottle cap of any size
- A cutter
- White glue
- White paper
- Styrofoam
- 4 used small electricity cables of 3cm long each (for the turtle legs).
Step 1:
Prepare the cap. Clean the cap and (children should get assistance from adults in doing this part) using the cutter make some cuttings on one side for head and another small one at opposite side for the turtle's tail.
Also make 4 clefts on 4 locations on the bottle edges where we will put the turtle's legs:
2 clefts flank the head, and another 2 near the tail.
Step 2 :
Give the outside part a layer of thin white paper to hide the brands which are normally read on bottle caps and to create more contrast when we color it.
Step 3:
Stuff the cap with styrofoam then place the four legs in each cleft. Wrap one tip of each cable with some double tape to make it sticky so that it can stay firmer in its position in the styrofoam.
Step 4:
For aesthetic reason too, give the bottom a cover made of carton which is cut in circle form following the turtle's bottom shape. Glue it with double tape so that it can be put on covering the bottom.
Bend the turtle's legs down in order to function them as body supports.
Step 5:
Now you can color and give ornaments on its carapace. It's all yours to give the turtle's carapace colors and ornaments.