Introduction: {antique Looking} Beer Bottle Cap Necklace
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About: I am a 13 year old girl that loves sewing. That is all you need to know about me.
I had a bunch of old beer caps from beer bottles that my friend collected, which were supposed to be used to make bottle/beer cap pins. (That ... ended in a fail.)
BUT, when I was surfing the net looking for nice necklaces, I came across pretty pendants that looked as if they were made from a beer cap. So I figured, why waste $5 on a necklace that could be made from home? Solution: Bottle (beer) cap necklaces.
In this instructable, I will show you how to make an antique looking beer cap necklace. It doesn't have to be antique looking, if you want.
Please bear with me, as this is my first instructable and I'm not really good at teaching things.
BUT, when I was surfing the net looking for nice necklaces, I came across pretty pendants that looked as if they were made from a beer cap. So I figured, why waste $5 on a necklace that could be made from home? Solution: Bottle (beer) cap necklaces.
In this instructable, I will show you how to make an antique looking beer cap necklace. It doesn't have to be antique looking, if you want.
Please bear with me, as this is my first instructable and I'm not really good at teaching things.
Step 1: Materials
You will need...
1. Gel Pens (Or any colored pens) {used to make the design}
2. Jump ring {to attach it to the necklace} & a beer bottle cap {the pendant}
3. Clear Tape {to "laminate" the sketch}
4. Pastels {to make it seem "antique"} & needle-nosed pliers {to bend the jump ring open}
5. Paper {to trace and sketch the design}
6. Pen {to outline the beer cap}
7. Scissors {to cut out the design}
8. (optional) Plastic Gloves {so your hands won't get dirty with the pastels ;\}
9. Tissue {to smudge the pastels}
10. (not pictured) 1/16th inch drill bit {to drill the hole into the beer cap}
11. (not pictured) A hot glue gun {for gluing the sketch to the beer cap}
1. Gel Pens (Or any colored pens) {used to make the design}
2. Jump ring {to attach it to the necklace} & a beer bottle cap {the pendant}
3. Clear Tape {to "laminate" the sketch}
4. Pastels {to make it seem "antique"} & needle-nosed pliers {to bend the jump ring open}
5. Paper {to trace and sketch the design}
6. Pen {to outline the beer cap}
7. Scissors {to cut out the design}
8. (optional) Plastic Gloves {so your hands won't get dirty with the pastels ;\}
9. Tissue {to smudge the pastels}
10. (not pictured) 1/16th inch drill bit {to drill the hole into the beer cap}
11. (not pictured) A hot glue gun {for gluing the sketch to the beer cap}
Step 2: Trace the Beer Cap
Take your beer cap and place it upside-down on your piece of paper. (1) Place your finger in the middle of the cap (to keep it in place) and take your pen and trace around the bottom (inner area) of you cap. (2) Once you're done, it should like like (3).
Step 3: Design Your Cap
Taking your gel pens, (it HAS to be a pen, or else it won't show up after you add the pastels) write/draw your design inside of the circle. (1) Once you're finished, (2) color it in and make it pretty. (3)
Step 4: Making It Look "antique"
IF YOU DON'T WANT IT TO LOOK ANTIQUE, YOU CAN SKIP THIS STEP
To make the sketch look professional and "antique," I used layers of pastels that have been smudged with a tissue. I highly recommend using a glove for this step, as your fingers will get pretty dirty.
To start off, I used a brown pastel and just colored the whole circle (in a straight side to side motion). (1) (2) It doesn't have to be thick or dark. If you can't see your sketch anymore, DON'T WORRY! We'll fix it right now. Taking the corner of your tissue, gently smudge the pastels, going in a circular motion. (3) Make sure that there's no more powder within the circle. It should now look like (4).
Now taking a dark green pastel, I did the same steps above, coloring (5) and smudging (6). I did the same for the dark brown pastel (7). You can use whatever colors you want, but I chose brown, green, and dark brown because it reminded me of antique pictures.
Your "sketch" should now look like (8).
To make the sketch look professional and "antique," I used layers of pastels that have been smudged with a tissue. I highly recommend using a glove for this step, as your fingers will get pretty dirty.
To start off, I used a brown pastel and just colored the whole circle (in a straight side to side motion). (1) (2) It doesn't have to be thick or dark. If you can't see your sketch anymore, DON'T WORRY! We'll fix it right now. Taking the corner of your tissue, gently smudge the pastels, going in a circular motion. (3) Make sure that there's no more powder within the circle. It should now look like (4).
Now taking a dark green pastel, I did the same steps above, coloring (5) and smudging (6). I did the same for the dark brown pastel (7). You can use whatever colors you want, but I chose brown, green, and dark brown because it reminded me of antique pictures.
Your "sketch" should now look like (8).
Step 5: Touch Ups
IF YOU DON'T WANT IT TO LOOK ANTIQUE, YOU CAN SKIP THIS STEP
You can't really see your design anymore, can you? So now we're going to outline/fix this.
Take the same colors that you used before and just outline the letters/drawing, but DO NOT COLOR IT BACK IN. (1) It ruins the "antique" look.
It should now look something similar to (2).
You can't really see your design anymore, can you? So now we're going to outline/fix this.
Take the same colors that you used before and just outline the letters/drawing, but DO NOT COLOR IT BACK IN. (1) It ruins the "antique" look.
It should now look something similar to (2).
Step 6: Laminate It & Cut It Out
So now you're done with the art things. You can put those gel pens & pastels away.
Take a piece of clear tape that's bigger than your circle. (1) Carefully lay it down, making sure all the sides are covered. (2) With your finger, gently smooth it down. (3) Since one piece of tape wasn't enough for my circle, I took another piece and positioned it right below the first tape and smoothed it down. (4)
Taking your scissors, carefully cut the circle out. (5) It's better to cut inside the line rather than outside the line, because if you cut too much, it'll stick out of the beer cap and look floppy. It should now look like (6).
Take a piece of clear tape that's bigger than your circle. (1) Carefully lay it down, making sure all the sides are covered. (2) With your finger, gently smooth it down. (3) Since one piece of tape wasn't enough for my circle, I took another piece and positioned it right below the first tape and smoothed it down. (4)
Taking your scissors, carefully cut the circle out. (5) It's better to cut inside the line rather than outside the line, because if you cut too much, it'll stick out of the beer cap and look floppy. It should now look like (6).
Step 7: Gluing the Circle Sketch
It's time to add your "antique" looking circle to your cap. Plug in your hot glue gun. (1) Wait for it to get hot (takes about 1-3 minutes) and once it's done, squirt a smudge in the center of the cap. (2) Quickly and carefully, position the circle on top of the cap. It's okay, I know it's lumpy, mine was too.
Now take your hot glue gun and just go around the edges of the circle and glue the circle down. (3) It should look like (4).
Now take your hot glue gun and just go around the edges of the circle and glue the circle down. (3) It should look like (4).
Step 8: Drilling & Attaching the Jump Ring
Now you have a half-finished pendant. All you need is a place to string on to your necklace!
Mark the top of your cap, where you want the hole to be. (1) Taking your 16th inch drill bit, drill the dot CAREFULLY. (no pictures, sorry!) It should look somewhat like (2). Take your jump ring and bend it so that it's not a full circle anymore. (3) Stick it in the hole (4) and bend it back to a regular circle (6). It should look like (7).
Mark the top of your cap, where you want the hole to be. (1) Taking your 16th inch drill bit, drill the dot CAREFULLY. (no pictures, sorry!) It should look somewhat like (2). Take your jump ring and bend it so that it's not a full circle anymore. (3) Stick it in the hole (4) and bend it back to a regular circle (6). It should look like (7).
Step 9: String It on and Wear It Proudly!
Hoorah! You're finished! All you need to do is string it on your chain. (1).
You're done! Hopefully I made this instructable clear enough for you to understand. If you have any questions, just leave me a comment and I'll reply back ASAP. It's an EAASYY necklace to make, trust me.
Have fun!
You're done! Hopefully I made this instructable clear enough for you to understand. If you have any questions, just leave me a comment and I'll reply back ASAP. It's an EAASYY necklace to make, trust me.
Have fun!