Make Earrings from Plastic Bottle Caps

Before: Bottle caps

Earlier in the week we made a necklace using plastic bottle caps collected from Vintage Seltzer bottles. Today, we made coordinating plastic bottle cap earrings.

We decided to vary the design a bit by making the earrings opposite images rather than identical.

After: Bottle Cap Earring by GeltDesigns.com

Materials
Bottle caps
18-gauge brass wire

Tools
Drill and bits
Round nose pliers 
Wire cutter
Needle files
Chain nose pliers
Steel bench block
Plastic mallet
Tumbler (optional)

Step 1
Select the bottle caps and arrange the design.

Drill hole in bottle cap

Step 2
Drill holes in the bottle caps. Drill two holes in the top bottle cap and one hole in the bottom bottle cap.

Step 3

Feed wire through bottle cap

Create the middle bottle cap that holds the finding and has a second dangling bottle cap below.

Feed the wire through the bottle cap with two holes. Make a loop on one side of the bottle cap. Make a second loop on the other side of the bottle cap. Cut the wire from the spool. File the wire ends until smooth.

Step 4
Create the dangling bottle cap. Feed the wire through the drilled hole. Make a small loop inside the bottle cap. Make a second larger loop on the outside of the bottle cap. The second loop should be the same size as the loops made in step 3. Again, cut the wire from the spool. File the wire ends until smooth.

Step 5
Make the ear wires. Place the ear wires on the steel bench block and hit the ear wires with a plastic or rawhide mallet to harden and burnish the ear wires. You can also use a tumbler to hasten the hardening and burnishing of the ear wires.

Assemble the bottle cap earrings

Step 6
Assemble the earrings.


Related Tutorials
Make a Necklace from Plastic Bottle Caps
Make Chanukah Menorah Earrings from Plastic Bottle Caps
How to Make "Fish Hook" Ear Wires
How to Select a Cup Burr

Further Reading
"Fantastic Recycled Plastic: 30 Clever Creations to Spark Your Imagination"; David Edgar, Robin A. Edgar; 2009.

Day 105. Month 5. Jewelry from Found Objects.  $ spent: 0
Found materials: bottle caps
New Jewelry a Day.