This method is a little more time consuming than the 2D Bottle Cap Art project but produces a very professional looking end product.
Materials:
- white craft glue
- small pictures to fit inside the bottle caps
- bottle caps, thoroughly cleaned
- scissors or craft knife
- 1 EnviroTex Lite or Ultra Glo varnish kit (includes varnish and hardener)
- paper mask
- small paper cup
- wooden chopsticks or plastic spoon and toothpick (for getting rid of bubbles)
Place bottle caps on top of the pictures you’ve chosen. Trace around cap and cut out pictures.
Apply a drop of craft glue to the back of one of the pictures and set it inside the bottle cap. Use your finger to smooth the picture and seal the edges. Add a small drop of glue on top of the picture and carefully smooth it over the entire picture. Let dry.
Move your project to a well-ventilated area. Read the kit directions for safety precautions before using the resin. Put on mask. Let me stop you here to caution you that the mask is a really good idea if you don’t want to be woozy and light-headed for the rest of the day. Measure the varnish and hardener in the paper cup according to the directions. Stir the mixture vigorously for at least one minute with the chopsticks. If there are air bubbles, remove the mask and gently blow on the mixture until they disappear. Put the mask back on and carefully pour a shallow layer into the bottle cap. I like to use the droppers from infant meds to suck up the resin and deposit it into the bottle caps. This way there are fewer “oops” moments. Let the resin set for about ten seconds to make sure there are no bubbles, then finish pouring until the resin reaches the top edge of the cap. If there are bubbles, use the chopstick to push them to the sides or blow on them gently.
Check your caps after about ten minutes and if your paper circles have begun to surface use a chopstick to gently push them back down. Check back every ten minutes for the next hour. After that they should be fine.
They will be hard to the touch within 24 hours, but wait 72 hours before you do anything strenuous with them. At that point, they will be permanently set.
Some uses for your beautiful bottle caps:
- decorate furniture
- decorate picture frames
- as jewelry – attach brooch backing or barrette hardware
- decorate a hair headband
- Bottle Cap Projects
Amazon has some great books on how to create and use Bottle Cap Art: