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[For Seniors] Introducing Fun Crafts Made with Plastic Bottle Caps
We’ve gathered practical craft ideas that use plastic bottle caps.
Bottle caps that would normally end up as trash—why not use them to enjoy some crafting?
You can easily make useful items like brooches, small containers, magnets, and memo stands.
They’re perfect for small gifts, too.
Moving your hands helps stimulate both body and mind, making this a great recreational activity.
Please use these ideas as a reference for craft activities in senior care facilities.
[For Seniors] Introducing Fun Crafts Using Plastic Bottle Caps (1–10)
mini drawstring pouch
Bottle caps you find in every household.
It’s a waste to throw them away! Believe it or not, you can handcraft a tiny drawstring pouch using a plastic bottle cap.
The cap becomes the bottom of a super mini pouch.
If you enjoy detailed work or are good with your hands, give it a try! Sew your favorite fabric into a tube to match the cap’s size and attach it to the cap.
Wrap paper cord around it to give it a basket-like look—so stylish! Stuff it with cotton, then close the top with a ribbon or string, and you’re done.
It’s perfect as a decorative piece or a small gift.
name keychain
Here’s how to make a name keychain using plastic bottle caps.
Prepare caps in your favorite colors and cut them into small pieces.
Arrange the pieces on a sheet of baking paper, cover with another sheet, and press with a high-heat iron to melt the plastic.
Once it cools and hardens, cut it into your desired shape with scissors.
Punch a hole with an awl, add alphabet or other stickers, thread a chain through, and you’re done.
It makes a great little gift, so give it a try!
small accessory case
Why not turn those plastic bottle caps that tend to pile up before you notice into practical little containers? Of course, just using the caps as they are would be dull, so here are some craft ideas that users can enjoy as well.
If you prepare fabric with your favorite patterns and some felt, you can make a small container with a bright, decorative look using just glue and scissors.
The project is completed by wrapping the cap with fabric and attaching felt to the bottom of the lid, but you should take care when cutting the fabric with scissors.
If any users feel uneasy about that step, facility staff can pre-cut the fabric beforehand and have them try only the gluing part instead.
Flower basket
Here’s an introduction to a flower basket craft that makes use of plastic bottle caps.
After you finish drinking juice or tea from a plastic bottle, keep the cap.
Wrap and glue paper cord around the small cap to make a basket.
Cut slits into a long strip of felt so it forms petal shapes.
Sew the felt with a needle to create a single flower.
Attach a craft pearl to the center of the flower, decorate the basket, and it’s complete.
It takes a bit of sewing with a needle, but that extra step lets you make very cute flowers.
It’s a project that older adults can likely do while seated, chatting with those around them.
Straw hat brooch
Here’s an idea to make a brooch shaped like a straw hat—a design that somehow evokes nostalgic Japanese summers—using a plastic bottle cap.
It might sound a bit tricky, but all you need are a plastic bottle cap, fabric scraps, thick paper such as from a milk carton, a brooch pin and felt, and some jute twine to give it that straw-hat look.
Then just have scissors and glue or double-sided tape and you’re set! Use the bottle cap and thick paper to create the base, and cut fabric to form the brim of the hat.
Fix each part in place with double-sided tape or glue and shape it into a hat.
Wrapping the outside tightly with jute twine will instantly create that straw-hat feel.
Once you’ve wrapped up to the top nicely, decorate it with small accessories as you like.
Then sew a brooch pin onto a felt circle and attach it to the bottom of the hat with double-sided tape, and it transforms into a brooch! With a bit of creativity, you can also make keychains and more, so enjoy trying this together with your participants.
Candy magnet
Magnets are handy for pinning notes or helping out in little everyday moments.
If we’re making them anyway, why not DIY some cute, candy-shaped magnets that are fun to look at too? You can craft them with materials from a 100-yen shop: a plastic bottle cap, a magnet, glue, a fabric scrap with a pattern you like, and a needle and thread.
Here’s how: Glue the magnet to the cap.
Fold over the edge of the fabric scrap and glue down the folded part, then wrap the fabric around the bottle cap and secure it as well.
Use a needle and thread to twist each side of the fabric and tie off with a knot to create a candy-like shape.
If you’re not comfortable using a needle, simply tying the fabric with thread to secure it is fine.
Give it a try together with your users!
Animal Magnets
Let me introduce some cute animal magnets you can make using plastic bottle caps.
Wrap twine around the bottle cap and secure it with glue.
Next, place some stuffing in the center of a round piece of fabric and wrap it up.
Attach the wrapped fabric to the bottle cap so the stuffing doesn’t show, then add felt ears, a face, and hands.
Finally, place a magnet between the twine you wrapped earlier and the bottle cap, secure it, and you’re done.
You can make all kinds of animals, so it would be fun to create them with friends and show them to each other.
Give it a try!