Bottle Cap Magnet Flowers
I hope you all enjoyed the 10 Days of 15 Minute Gift Ideas. I really wanted to include this gift idea because they are adorable and were well received last year, but they take more than 15 minutes. But, they cost next to nothing to make. So, if you find yourself with a little extra time (LOL, who am I kidding.) I hope you enjoy making these bottle cap flower magnets, complete with smiling faces of the ones you love. Here’s the tutorial:
Using bottle caps, armature wire and a little paint turns an ugly pile of cast off bottle caps into cute fridge art.
Materials:
- Bottle caps
- Pliers
- Hammer
- Scrap wood
- KILZ spray primer
- Rustoleum or Krylon spray paint
- 1″ circle faces printed out on photo paper
- Armature wire (looking in the sculpting aisle at your local art supply store)
- E-6000 glue
- Elmer’s Glue
- Paint brush
- EnviroTex Lite pour on resin
- Small strong magnets
- Wire cutters
- Scissors or 1″ hole punch
Clean your bottle caps using soap and warm water. Dry them thoroughly.
Use the pliers to pull the rim of the bottle cap outward. Work your way around the entire cap to flare the edges.
Using a hammer and scrap piece of wood, hammer any bumps out of the bottom of the cap. (Don’t completely flatten them, or they won’t hold the resin later.)
Spray the bottle caps with spray primer. Let them dry.
Spray paint the caps. (Chose an assortment of colors, or keep them monochromatic.)
While the caps are drying, print out your circle faces. Cut them out using a 1″ hole punch or a 1″ circle template and scissors. (I prefer the Friskars hole cutter because you can see where you are punching.)
Put a dollop of E-6000 glue at the bottom of the cap. Then press the photo into the glue.
Coat each paper circle with Elmer’s glue to protect the paper from darkening during the resin pour.
Let the glue dry (about 30 minutes). Take time to read the directions for using the EnviroTex Lite. There is the potential to screw up, so know what you are doing before you start.
If you want more detailed directions for working with Envirotex Lite, you can read my detailed tutorial for making a butterfly window.
Some bubbles will go away on their own, but be sure to pop air bubbles as they rise to the surface with a lighter.
Allow the EnviroTex to dry overnight. Use the time to make your flower stems with the armature wire.
Cut each wire to 7″. Follow the diagram below to bend and shape the leaves.
You may need to practice a few times to get the hang of shaping your flower stem (at least I had to.)
In the morning, check to make sure the resin has hardened, then flip over the bottle caps. Line up the flowers and set the magnets and stems on the back of the bottle cap flowers.
Use a big dollop of E-6000 to attach the magnet and wire stem to each bottle cap.
As the glue starts to harden, gently lift up the flowers and make sure the faces are straight. You can gently adjust the wire before the glue hardens completely.
Once the E-6000 has dried you can still make minor adjustments to the stems by bending the wires.
I’m working on a little gift of my own to all of you, so check back early next week ;-).
Oh Brittany, I love them, I’m pinning these to my bottle cap board. I tried using the dimensional resin (Annie Howes) but my pictures all bled. These would be perfect for spring 🙂
Mel, oh no. I think you have to seal any photos that are ink jet printed.
Such a simple & cute idea! This could be a small birthday gift too.
Carmen, oooh, that’s a great idea. It would be fun to have one bottle cap flower for each year of the child’s life! Thanks for your comment.
Can you be more specific on the steps between 3 & 4 on twisting the wire stems? I am totally lost.
Cool they are cute.
Thanks Jamie!
I hope you have a wonderful Christmas with your family, and thanks so much for blogging through 2012!
Thank you Linda! And I hope you have a wonderful Christmas as well.
How do you “pop” the bubbles with a lighter? I would think the resin would be flammable??? JUst curious, I’ve done this project before but was frustrated because of the bubbles… Thanks!
Amanda,
The heat from waving the lighter close to the surface will release the bubbles. You can see more about the process here: https://prettyhandygirl.com/2011/06/dream-big-butterfly-window-resin-craft.html
Hi, Brittany
These are awesome! I have some bottle caps, I will give these a try. Have a Merry Christmas and enjoy your time with your family!
Hugs,
Vanessa
Thanks Vanessa. Merry Christmas to you!
These are so cool Brittany. And you get to use glue and resin, so the kids will love helping out, LOL.
Thanks Jeff. I don’t let the kids touch the E-6000 or resin because that stuff is so strong. But, they can help with cutting and using the elmer’s glue part ;-).