Recommended for lower elementary school students! A collection of plastic bottle craft ideas made with everyday materials.
Crafts with plastic bottles packed with amazing potential! Here you’ll find heart-thumping ideas that make you think, “I want to make this!”—like a Bubble Maker you can enjoy with lower-grade elementary school kids, and a Rolling Engine that older kids will get totally absorbed in.
The materials are all easy to find around the house, so it’s great for getting started right away.
Nurture imagination through making, and enjoy the fun of playing with the finished creations.
Let’s dive into a variety of plastic-bottle crafts!
Recommended for lower elementary school students! A collection of plastic bottle craft ideas made with familiar materials (1–10)
Plastic bottle wind chime
Here’s an idea for an easy wind chime you can make with a plastic bottle.
Cut the bottle in half across the middle and make a hole in the center of the bottom piece.
Thread a string through the hole, attaching a strip of paper (tanzaku) and a bell to it.
Decorate the bottle, and you’re done.
Pens, nail polish, and decorative parts work well for embellishment.
To keep the string from slipping out, tie a short piece of a toothpick along the string as a stopper.
By taking advantage of the bottle’s translucence, you’ll get a cool, refreshing look.
If you’re looking for a summery craft idea, give this a try.
PET bottle car
This is a craft project where you combine a plastic bottle as the body and caps as wheels, and enjoy a mechanism that runs using rubber.
Cut the plastic bottle in half, and insert wheels—made by combining two caps and a bamboo skewer—into each half.
Fix a rubber band to the axle attached to the end without the bottle mouth, stretch it, attach it to another cap, and mount it at the mouth end.
Then simply tape the front and back of the body together to complete the car.
The stretched rubber powers the rear wheels.
You can also customize it—focus on decorative flair for a more colorful look, or pursue smoother performance—come up with your own variations.
10 Musical Instruments Made from Plastic Bottles
Musical instruments can produce all kinds of sounds and are fascinating, but many people may feel hesitant to buy a lot when they’re not sure how much they’ll actually use them.
Here, we’ll introduce many instruments you can make using plastic bottles.
For example, castanets made by attaching plastic bottle caps to cardboard, a whistle made by punching a hole in a cap and inserting a straw, and even instruments with different pitches just by letting the air out of a plastic bottle.
There are also plastic bottle drums and a “petphone,” made by connecting plastic bottles cut to various lengths.
Use these as references and give it a try!
10 Musical Instruments You Can Make with Plastic Bottles
https://www.tiktok.com/@kajiijapn/video/6986956918719859970Plastic bottles are often used as materials for crafts.
So this time, how about making musical instruments with plastic bottles? Empty bottles can become drums, flutes, or maracas… With a bit of creativity, they can transform into instruments you can actually play! Bottle caps can also be turned into instruments by combining them with other materials, so don’t throw them away—save them.
It’s also a great idea to keep notes on how the sound changes depending on where you make holes and what you put inside.
PET-bottle air cannon
Let’s make a super cool-looking plastic bottle air cannon! Poke a hole in the bottom of a plastic bottle and attach a balloon over the hole to seal it.
Then add a handle and decorate it however you like, and you’re done.
When you pull and release the balloon, the air inside the bottle is pushed out through the mouth, launching a blast of air.
Try it on lightweight targets like paper or Styrofoam to see how powerful it is! This simple craft is not only fun, but also a great way to learn about air pressure and kinetic energy—perfect for a science project.
A piggy bank like a jewelry box
Decorate a plastic bottle with beads and pipe cleaners to make a sparkling, cute treasure chest-style piggy bank.
The main materials are a plastic bottle and cardboard.
First, cut off the top part of the plastic bottle.
Next, make a cut around the circumference 4.5 cm up from the bottom of the cut bottle.
However, don’t cut it off completely—leave about 1 cm attached so it opens and closes like a flap.
Then, glue a round piece of cardboard to the bottom to form the base of the piggy bank.
Finally, cut a coin slot into the top part of the bottle to complete the main body.
All that’s left is to decorate it nicely, and you’re done.
It’s a stylish and cute craft idea you can make with just a few materials and tools.
A truly usable cooler made from cardboard
Here’s a DIY cooler idea using cardboard, plastic bottles, a battery pack, and a motor.
First, cut three circular holes in the side of the cardboard box, each the same size as the bottom of a plastic bottle.
Insert and secure plastic bottles cut to one-third length into the holes, using the bottle neck ends.
On the inside of the cardboard, attach a propeller to the side opposite the bottles, and make small holes on both sides.
Mount the motor’s switch on the lid, place ice packs inside, and close the box to finish.
Decorate as you like with vinyl tape or similar materials.
plastic bottle cap
The spinning top made by connecting plastic bottle caps with string has a unique wind-catching shape and a colorful look that really stands out.
Make a hole in the center of each cap, connect them with string to form a ring, and adjust the angles as you shape it into a circle.
Once it’s neat and round, attach round pieces of thick paper to the top and bottom center, make holes in them, and add the axle to finish.
If it’s too small and hard to spin, try increasing the number of connected caps or making the axle larger for an easier grip.
Also pay attention to which direction it spins more easily, and aim for a more stable rotation.
PET bottle aquarium
A PET-bottle aquarium has a summery look, so it’s perfect as a theme for a summer science project.
It’s simple to make: just fill a plastic bottle with water and food coloring, then add sea creatures like fish, octopuses, and squids that you’ve drawn on a plastic bag and cut out.
With just a slight movement, the creatures will glide gracefully, completing a lovely little aquarium! Add some glitter to make it even more dazzling.
By making a PET-bottle aquarium, you can also feel closer to concepts like environmental protection and recycling, and learn about them in a hands-on way.
Accessories
https://www.tiktok.com/@rum.87_happy/video/7117239498588556546Why not try making chic accessories out of plastic bottles? Cut out the flat parts of the bottle and trim them to your preferred size.
Gently heat them to deform the pieces, then make a hole and attach accessory findings.
You can use colored bottles, or use clear ones and add color with nail polish; gluing on sequins or beads will also make them look glamorous.
Since this craft involves using heat, please be very careful to avoid injury while working!