A friend posted a picture of a bottle cap snowman ornament her daughter made for her. I wanted to try it for myself, but she was going into surgery and I didn't want to bother her by asking for instructions. I checked the internet, but all the instructions required using a hot glue gun and ribbon. I wasn't sure how that would hold up over time, so I decided to use jump rings instead.

Step 1:

Gather your materials:

Bottle caps (make sure they are clean)
Jewelry jump rings
Nail polish (white, black, orange)
Needlenose pliers
dowel rod (3/4 to 1 inch)
Hammer
Cutting Board
Ice Pick

Step 2:

Go through your bottle caps to find the ones least damaged in opening. If they are a little bent, use a hammer and dowel rod to straghten them out.

The dowel rod I had was just a piece left over from one of my son's projects. Check with home improvement stores. They may have a piece laying around cheap.

Be careful as you hammer the end of the dowel rod. You don't want to miss and damage anything important.

Step 3:

Position the ice pick on the inside edge of bottle cap and use the hammer to tap two holes on one side. Make them close enough that you can thread a jump ring through them. For this project you will put two holes each on opposite sides of two caps and one set of holes on a third cap.

Once the holes are made, you may want to push the ice pick through a bit just to enlarge them a little.

Step 4:

Use the needlenose pliers to open the jump rings you have chosen. Carefully maneuver jump rings into place and close the rings. This will require some dexterity (and maybe a few bad words) Next time I may try using 24 gauge floral wire. I was concerned about someone getting scratched from the twisted ends, but if I coat the finished wire pieces with clear nail polish, it should be alright.

Step 5:

Once all the jump rings are in place, paint the inside of the bottle caps with white nail polish. (go to the Dollar Store for this, don't want to use the good stuff)

Step 6:

Once the white nail polish dries, use the black to paint the eyes, mouth and buttons. Use orange nail polish for the carrot nose.

After everything is dry, you may want to use a sealer to keep it nice, but with the nail polish, it shouldn't be an issue.

I grabbed a bit of leftover embroidery thread to thread through the top jump ring and make a hanger for the tree. No hook needed.