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?
- Fun for elementary school kids! A collection of craft ideas using plastic bottle caps!
- Recommended for lower elementary school students! A collection of plastic bottle craft ideas made with everyday materials.
- Stylish plastic bottle crafts. Packed with surprising ideas!
- Plastic bottles transformed! A collection of simple yet amazing craft ideas
- For upper-grade boys! Simple yet awesome craft project [Don’t call it lazy]
- For summer vacation homework! Simple and amazing crafts for elementary school students that you’ll want to make after seeing them
- Fun crafts using straws
- Simple yet amazing crafts: craft ideas that elementary school students will want to make
- Paper cup crafts that elementary school kids will love! A collection of fun project ideas
- DIY science projects that elementary school boys will love: ideas you can make with everyday materials
- Toys you can make from cardboard crafts! Authentic ideas you can build and play with
- [For Kids] DIY Snowman Craft Ideas!
- Elementary School Students: Simple One-Day Science Project and Craft Ideas
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.
fishing float
A lot of elementary school boys probably like fishing, and many have just started, right? If the boy likes fishing, how about making his own fishing float using a plastic bottle cap? All you need are a plastic bottle cap, glue, PP tape, a nut, and a barrel swivel with a snap.
You can get fishing gear and small parts at 100-yen shops.
It’s very easy to make, though the work is a bit fiddly.
If you have many friends who like fishing, it might be nice to make a bunch and give them as gifts.
Diorama
Watching videos of people making dioramas is really fun, isn’t it? Even if you can’t create something huge, you might be able to make a diorama the size of a bottle cap.
How about trying a bottle-cap diorama? It’s a delicate, patience-testing project, but you’d be surprised how many things around the house can be used.
With some paint, items like dish sponges, cardboard, toothpicks, and straws become unrecognizable from their original forms—and they’re versatile materials, too.
It could also be fun to repurpose the printed film from plastic bottles or the lettering on empty boxes.
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!
