It’s time for another inspirational Swell Noel project idea, and this one comes from Brittany of Pretty Handy Girl, one of my power-tool-wielding blogging heros!
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I’m so happy that Amy invited me back to participate in A Swell Noel! It is definitely never too early to start making your holiday gifts!
Today I wanted to share with you a gift idea that has a personal touch. Bottle cap flower magnets, complete with smiling faces of the ones you love. Using bottle caps, armature wire and a little paint turns an ugly pile of cast off bottle caps into cute fridge art. I’m planning on giving them to the grandparents for Christmas (so please don’t tell.)
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.
Finito! You are done and have an adorable flower magnet for Grandma or a loved one who lives too far away.
I hope you enjoyed this cost effective gift idea. Please stop by to see me at my blog, Pretty Handy Girl. The Tool Tutorial Friday series just started , so you aren’t too late to learn how to use power tools through illustrated photos and a video tutorial. Last Friday we learned how to use a miter saw. Come for the Tomboy Tools hammer giveaway or some power tool empowerment!
Also, if you haven’t heard, this week is Trick or Tip Week! I’m teaming up with some other great bloggers to give tips all week! Friday will be a link party where you can share your own tip or trick!
I hope you’ll join the fun. Thanks again for having me on Positively Splendid today!
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Isn’t this idea absolutely darling? I might have to try out using some of that resin for the very first time! Thanks so much, Brittany!
Having grown up in a home brimming with sewing notions and paintbrushes, Amy has a deep love for all things creative. On any given day, you’ll find her knee-deep in her latest creative endeavor, with projects ranging from sewing and crafts to home decor and kid-friendly ideas. Amy believes that everyone, regardless of skill level or experience, possesses the ability to create something beautiful, and Positively Splendid was born of her passion for helping others harness their innate creative potential.
Very cute!
Those are too cute! Thanks for the share, I definitely think this would be a cool craft for kids to do except the lighter part and with a little help with the wire. 🙂
Great site and adorable project!
Thank you for your kind comments! CJ, you can do the project without the resin all together and it would be very kid friendly ;-).
-Brittany aka Pretty Handy Girl
Love these! Simply wonderful!!! Thinking of adding paper petals behind the bottle cap to make a poinsettia for Christmas…so cute on the front of a card and could be removed for future use… LOVE them!
This gift idea is very great for giving smiling on someone face or fit the smiling face of some one in special place with Megnets bottle caps. Thanks for sharing this gift idea.
This is an awesome craft….this has been put at the top of my to-do list. Love this a bunch!!
Thanks for sharing!!
PS. I found you on Pinterest.
While reading this, I thought: “Hey, I have an extra idea: I can create a flower pot to put them in!”
You can do that by buying some of the green crafting foam they use for decorative flower arrangement thingies (not sure what it’s called in English, but in Dutch it’s “oasis”), a flower pot and some crafting materials to decorate the pot!
While reading this, I thought: “Hey, I have an extra idea: I can create a flower pot to put them in!”
You can do that by buying some of the green crafting foam they use for decorative flower arrangement thingies (not sure what it’s called in English, but in Dutch it’s “oasis”), a flower pot and some crafting materials to decorate the pot!
Thanks for sharing such a great craft! I know my families fridges are covered w my kids pics. What a great gift these will make, and a way to save space on fridge for more:)