Bottle Cap Photo Earrings

I have a bad habit of collecting random items (i.e. other people's trash) with the thought, "I can make something out of this." The problem, however, lies in the fact that I rarely know what that "something" is when I choose to add the "this" to my craft room's Bin of Random Crap.

After a recent move made me realize just how much random crap I posses (and how unwilling I am to part with it), I vowed to begin turning my my junk into treasure, starting small and with my collection of soju bottle caps. Did these bottle caps hold any sentimental value? No. Were they seveners from my trip to South Korea? Also no. So why did I hang onto them? Because I liked the pretty colors and because I thought they would make cute earrings -- if I could figure out how to decorate the backs of them.

Well, after a lot of thought, I randomly got the idea that -- despite their lack of sentimental value or connection with my 2023 vacation to South Korea -- I could give them a deeper meaning by decorating the backs with photographs I took during my trip.

Craft Materials (per pair of earrings)

1. (2) Bottle caps
2. (2) Earring hooks
3. (2 ) Screw eye pins
4. (2) Eye pins
5. Beads
6. Glossy photo paper
7. (2) Glass cabochons (same size as inner circumference as bottle caps)
8. Polymer clay
9. UV resin

Tools

1. Mini drill
2. UV light
3. Circle paper punch
4. Xacto knife
5. Pliers

I used Canva to prepare my images because it was easy to quickly drag and drop multiple pictures from my South Korea trip. I wasn't sure what images I would look best shrunk down and inside the bottle caps, so I wanted a lot of options.

First, I created an 8.5" x 11" canvas, and because my bottle caps had a diameter of approximately one inch, I inserted a 1.25" x 1.25" square shape onto my canvas. Next, I copied and pasted the square until my page was full before dragging my images and inserting them into each of the square shapes.

I then downloaded the file as a PDF and printed on a glossy photo paper, making sure to change my printing settings to match my paper quality. Given the tiny size of these images, it's also important to set the print quality to high.

Once the images have been printed, set them aside.

Wash your bottle caps to remove any lingering residue. Depending on your bottle caps, you might also want to use an Xacto knife to remove the plastic inside inside the bottle cap.

I wasn't able to remove the plastic in mine without damaging the outside of the bottle cap, so I left mine in tact. Luckily, the plastic didn't seem to have any adverse affects when I baked it, along with the polymer clay, in a future step.

With the logo facing you, find the top of the bottle cap and mark the spot on the side that's at the apex of the logo. Drill or punch a hole through the spot you marked.

Pack the inside of the bottle caps with polymer clay, but do not fill all the way to the top because you want to leave a little bit of depth for for the cabochons in a future step.

With the polymer clay still inside the bottle caps, punch a screw eye pin through the holes you created in the side of the bottle caps. Bake the bottle caps according to the instructions on the polymer clay packaging, and then let them cool.

While you bottle caps are baking, cut out your images. I used a one-inch circle punch, but you can also place your bottle caps on to of your chosen picture, trace around the circumference, and cut them to size with scissors.

Pick your final images, and once your bottle caps have cooled down from their time in the oven, place the images inside the bottle caps on top of the polymer clay. Add a thin layer of UV resin on time of the images, and place the cabochons on top of the resin. Cure the UV resin by placing the bottle caps underneath a UV light for 5-10 minutes.

Once your resin is cured, add your beads and jewelry findings to make your earrings your desired length.

And now you're done! You have an upcycled pair of earrings that also capture a fond memory.