Follow the step by step instructions in this Bottle Cap Christmas Tree DIY Tutorial to make a lighted bottle cap Christmas tree. Use your pop caps or beer caps to make this unique, and beautiful, holiday craft!
Bottle Cap Christmas Tree DIY Tutorial
Notes:
This is, hands down, my favorite craft made for this holiday season. My niece (and I) have made some goodies, but this one… just blows me away in person. And, I am not ashamed to say it, I had nothing to do with it except I bought the paper mache triangles for a craft a few years ago, and left them in a craft box when I did not move forward with my idea. My niece had wanted to make a tree with all the beer bottle caps she has (courtesy of my uncle who drinks beer near and far – some of those caps are from Asia, Europe, and South America as well as from the good old USA and Canada!), but she could not figure out how to make it happen with a round-cone. As soon as she saw my triangle cones while rummaging though that old craft box, she knew her idea was doable!
● This is not an easy craft to make. The bending was daunting to me. Her hands are nowhere near as large as mine, but she was able to give each bottle cap that needed bending a push against the soft side of her palm and bend those caps every time. She did suggest that people may want to wear a gardening glove on the hand holding the bottle cap to aid in traction and to prevent cuts. As she put it “this is a commitment.” And, she is giving them away as gifts!
● Domestic beer caps are MUCH easier to work with than craft beer caps. (They bend easier.)
● Use a low-temp glue gun so as not to burn yourself.
● Theme your bottle caps, or choose randomly. Either will look lovely.
● Set aside colorful caps that will stand-out for the ornaments.
● While the instructions are short, this is a time-consuming craft. Shingling is easier than fitting the caps around a bend, but it does take more than a few hours to make one of these trees.
Bottle Cap Christmas Tree DIY Tutorial Materials
● Paper Mache Triangle Cone (the size used in this craft is 5x5x14)
● Slip Joint Pliers
● Bottle Caps (and lots of them)
● Battery Operated Lights (a 20 count was used here)
● Low-Temp Glue Gun
● Hot Glue Sticks
Bottle Cap Christmas Tree DIY Tutorial Directions
● Start at the top of your triangle, and work down.
● Do not worry about any “holes”. They will be covered with “ornaments.”
● If you have all white or all green bottle caps, you may want to paint the triangle first. In other words, if you are going for a monochrome look, paint the base.
● Flatten the beer cap ends. You are hot gluing the flat part of the triangle.
● To go around the edges of the triangle: bend with your hand. You may want to hold up the bottle cap to the triangle and see where exactly you have to bend the cap to make it fit around the side.
● The top part of this craft is the most imperfect. If you have gold or brown bottle caps, use those at the top. It will help mitigate the imperfections.
● You need to fit every piece to start. As you get to the bottom and the triangle broadens, this gets easier.
● Shingle at the broad parts of the tree by (again) flattening the cap, and then hot gluing with slight overlapping.
● Hot glue the ornaments over the holes. Some of our “ornaments” were flattened, some were not. It added a bit of depth to not flatten them, but they were more difficult to hot glue in place.
● Turn on your battery operated lights and make sure they work.
● Glue the end of the light string, and place it at the top of the tree.
● Hot glue the lights in place down the tree. Make sure they are staggered – you may have to bend the wire cord to achieve the look you want.
● Tuck the bottom of the switch underneath the tree.
● This is what the trees look like lit.
● This is what the trees look like unlit.
● This truly is a unique and lovely (which may seem odd since it was done with beer caps) tree craft. If you have the time, and the bottle cap collection, give it a try. The finished product will amaze you.
● Disclosure: the links in this post may be affiliate links.
● For more Holiday posts on Ann’s Entitled Life, click here.
● For more Craft posts on Ann’s Entitled Life, click here.
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