Craft ideas using plastic bottle caps [for boys]
Did you know you can make crafts using everyday plastic bottle caps? With just a little creativity, those simple caps can turn into fun, moving toys like spinning tops, roly-polies, and target-throwing games.
Boys in particular are sure to get hooked on making toys they can build and play with themselves! In this article, we’ll introduce bottle-cap crafts that even elementary school children can easily make—projects that move, fly, and spin—so the play continues after the crafting.
Why not give it a try?
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Practical Handmade Items (1–10)
keychain
@captaro2025 I tried making a keychain out of a plastic bottle cap. | Plastic bottle cap art | There’s also a Hiroyuki version.UpcycleHandmade#diy#PET bottle cap artwork#MonozukuriRecycle#HobbyHuntingHashtag Cap Artkeychain
♪ Original Music – Otoken | Adult Independent Study | Draft – Cap Taro | Plastic Bottle Cap Art | Adult Independent Study
The “keychains” made using plastic bottle caps are a genuine craft project that elementary school kids will love.
Chop the caps into small pieces, place them in a mold to shape them, then heat them with an iron to melt the plastic and create a sturdy base.
Add googly eyes or a ball chain to finish, and you’ll have an original keychain that looks just like something you’d buy in a store.
You can design anything you like—dinosaurs, video game characters, and more—so it really sparks the imagination.
For the melting step, work together with an adult to safely experience authentic making.
Practical Handmade Items (11–20)
helmet
It’s a highly polished miniature samurai helmet you’d never guess was made from a plastic bottle cap! Wrap the cap with black tissue paper, then create the base of the helmet by crossing thin strips of gold origami paper and attaching the parts.
After that, make each helmet component using red, gold, and black origami paper and gold beads, and glue them together to finish.
It requires fine, detailed work, but seeing the finished piece will surely delight your child! Use tweezers and an adhesive that dispenses in small amounts to help you along, and give it a try.
bookmark
Plastic bottle caps transform into flat bookmarks.
If you finely chop plastic bottle caps into small chips and apply heat with an iron, they melt into a thin sheet! Before it cools, shape it and punch a hole at the top; once it’s cooled and hardened, thread a string through.
When it comes to crafts using caps, we often think of projects that keep their original shape, but reusing them in a completely different form is fun, too.
When ironing, place baking/parchment paper in between so the chips don’t come into direct contact with the iron.
stamp
This is a remake stamp crafted by repurposing a natto container and a plastic bottle cap.
Draw an illustration on the surface of the natto container sized to fit the cap, then cut it out with scissors.
If you’re making a stamp for boys, vehicles or anime characters are great choices.
Attach the finished illustration to the cap with double-sided tape to complete the stamp.
Prepare your favorite ink color, apply it to the illustrated part on the cap, and stamp it onto white drawing paper or similar.
It’s an eco-friendly craft idea that reuses empty containers and caps.
Memo stand
Why not transform discarded plastic bottle caps into memo holders? First, take paper cord and wind it around and around using glue.
Fix that paper cord with glue to the top of a large plastic bottle cap, then continue wrapping it around.
Next, fold colored construction paper into a thin strip, make small cuts, and wrap it around a toothpick to form a base.
Insert a looped piece of colored wire there, and decorate it with flowers, leaves, and other shapes made from the colored paper.
These brightly colored memo stands are fun to look at and are sure to be a big hit in practical use too!
ethnic musical instrument
You can easily make something very similar to Andean folk instruments like chajchas or semillas with just plastic bottle caps and string! Prepare three long pieces of string, bundle them together, fold them in half, and make a loop to create a handle.
Tie a knot in one of the strings, thread a bottle cap with a hole in the center onto it, then tie another knot—repeat this process.
When you’re done, trim any remaining string.
Matching the cap colors or making them colorful will also make it visually fun.
basket
This is a small basket you can make from a plastic bottle cap, which also works as interior decor or a display piece.
Wrap the cap with plastic wrap, then coil paper twine around it to match the cap’s size.
Once you’ve wrapped the twine with no gaps and reached the same height as the cap, cut the twine.
Removing the cap reveals the moment the basket takes shape.
Finally, attach an arched handle of paper twine to the inside of the basket, and when the glue dries, your tiny basket is complete.
Original PET bottle cap
Especially recommended for households that always keep bottled drinks at home! How about making your own original bottle caps? Attach resin clay—available at 100-yen shops—to a cap, then decorate it however you like, turning it into a panda, a cat, and so on.
Since plastic bottle caps often follow the same standard even across different brands, you can swap your custom cap onto each new bottle and enjoy it for a long time.
The more you make, the livelier it gets!
Mini potted plant
This is a craft project that treats the indentation of a bottle cap like a flowerpot, making the whole piece look like a potted plant through overall decoration and plant motifs.
Arrange plant motifs by combining artificial flowers, and add decorations to the cap as a whole to match the types and colors you choose.
For decorating the cap, twine or pipe cleaners are recommended; pay attention to how you wrap them and aim for a soft look.
Rather than finishing with just one, displaying a variety of types side by side will make it look even more vibrant.
castanet
Let’s try making castanets using cardboard and bottle caps! “Making” them is as simple as cutting the cardboard to a suitable size, folding it in half, and attaching two bottle caps.
It’s easy enough for younger elementary school children to make.
Since that alone might be too simple, you could cut the cardboard into a circle, paint the bottle caps, or decorate the cardboard.
Cardboard and bottle caps don’t stick together easily, so use a glue gun or something similar.