Reusable Mason Jar To Go Cup Tutorial

I saw these on etsy a couple of weeks ago and couldn't stop thinking about them.  So I knew that I had to make some for myself.  I have such a weakness for mason jars.

Do you want to make your own?

Here's what you will need:

Mason Jar (I used a wide mouth pint jar)
Sharpie or pen
Hole Punch (The one I have is for scrapbooking, but it cuts through metal and leather.  I think it is called a crop-a-dile.  I use it all the time for various things.)
1/4" Rubber Grommets (I bought mine here) I am sure you can find them at the hardware store too.

Take one of the grommets and place it where you want it to go on the top.  I started off in the middle, but for the rest of the ones that I did I made the hole closer to one side.

Then mark the center with your pen.

This is where you want to punch your hole.  You could also use a drill to make your hole, but I am a little afraid of power tools.

Now punch a hole in the top where you marked.

My hole was not large enough so I kept punching around the original hole to enlarge the hole to the right size.

It doesn't have to be exact.  It just needs to be large enough so that the grommet can be squeezed through that hole.  You also don't want the hole too big or the grommet will move around too much.

Now take the grommet and work it into the hole.  Be careful with the hole in the middle.  The edges are sharp.

Keep working it until you get it all the way through.

Stick a straw through the hole and put the top on the jar. You are ready to enjoy a nice cold beverage.

You can see from this photo that I placed the hole more towards the edge on the one in the bottom right hand corner.  I actually preferred drinking from this one.  I also made some smaller ones for the kids, but they liked drinking from the larger ones.  The small ones are so cute though.  I have stainless steel straws that we use for smoothies that worked perfectly.  The striped straws are biodegradable paper ones found here. 

 

Recycled Bottle Cap Necklace Tutorial

This little project about did me in. I spent way too much time and effort on it, but that is all behind me now. Harper wanted to give the girls in her Daisy Scout Troop a Christmas gift. I wanted it to be something that we could do together.

I had one of those lightbulb moments and thought bottlecap necklaces would be perfect. After all we have a gazillion bottle caps that we have collected over the years. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, I discovered very quickly that the nice looking ones that you see for sale everywhere are actually using unused bottle caps. The edges bow out making it easier to flatten them.

It took me awhile, but I finally figured out how to make the used bottle caps work.

First I picked through our box of bottle caps to find plain or non-alcohol related caps, since these are going to 6-7 year old girls.

Ok, now let's remove that yucky liner.

I set my toaster oven to 250 degrees. A regular oven would work too. I just thought the toaster oven was easier since I was working in small batches. Once the oven is preheated place about 6-8 bottle caps in the oven for about 5 minutes. You have to work pretty quickly because if they stay in too long the liner is hard to remove. Some of my liners actually started curling up, which made it really easy to remove them. Some were harder.

Remove from the oven. I used tweezers to grab them since they were hot. You should be able to just peel the liner off. If it doesn't come up easily, you can place it back in the oven for a few more minutes.

I washed mine after this step. Sorry no photo.

Then I took the clean bottle cap and started turning out the sides with needle nose pliers. I just worked my way around once pulling the edges out. Then worked my way around again really turning the edges under. I tried my hardest to make it look like an unused bottle cap.

In the photo below you can see the cap on the right is an opened cap. The one on the left is the one I have worked on.

Now it is time to take out some frustrations. Lay the cap as shown in the photo below and hit it with the hammer all around the edges turning the bottle cap as you go. I only hit my finger once.

Keep pounding.

Ok, that looks good. Now you are ready for the fun part.

Choose what images you want for your necklaces. Harper picked out some on Etsy, but you could create your own or just use scrap paper. Your options are endless. I used a 1" circle punch to cut out the images to make them look more uniform. I also purchased some clear round stickers to place on the images to give them a finished look. I bought mine here.

Once you have your images selected and cut out, use mod podge to glue the paper to the bottle cap.

This is where Harper finally got to help.

Once the glue has dried, you can place a clear epoxy sticker over the image in the bottle cap.

I spray painted the bottle cap below, which I thought looked cool. Harper liked the look of the unpainted caps better so we went that direction instead. You can see that the epoxy sticker makes it nice and shiny and gives it a finished look.

Now it's time to glue your magnets to the back of the bottle cap. I used E600 glue, which is really strong but it stinks. You need ventilation for this step. If there is a next time, I will probably explore different glue options. Magnets can also be found here.

It is time to assemble the necklace. I used a 12 mm washer and some stretch nylon.

You could also use ribbon or t-shirt scraps for the necklace though. The 1/2 " magnet that I used

fit into the middle of the washer perfectly.

Take your necklace like so.

Then take the opposite end and feed it through the loop.

Pull it tight. Ta-da.

Now place your magnet bottlecap on the necklace and enjoy.

I know there are tons of tutorials out there, but I could not find a good one that used opened bottle caps. So I thought I would share my process.

If you make any necklaces, please add it to my flickr group.

Shop Update

I finally found a few minutes to list some items in my shop. I still have several more things to list along with some destash items. I just need to take photos and it is rainy and dreary out. I will let you know as I get items posted.

Thanks!!

T-shirt Headband Tutorial

I have a slight obsession with fabric headbands. My hair is fine, thick, and wavy, which most of the time equals unruly. I have found that throwing on a headband is the easiest way to control my crazy hair.

I made this headband last November and it quickly became my favorite headband. It's comfy, goes with lots of outfits, and the flowers add a little interest.




So I thought it was time to make a few new ones. I used the same t-shirt as before. It is a super soft Gap shirt that I found at the thrift store. I bought it to actually wear, but it was too small. I have been holding on to the remnants for the perfect project. I made 3 different versions for my various needs.

The first is a thinner headband to be used when my hair is not quite as unruly.

I started with a strip of t-shirt that is about 2.5 inches x 14 inches.

Then I cut down the middle of the piece with my rotary cutter. Do not cut all the way to the end. Leave 3 inches or so uncut on each end.

Make another cut just like the first one.

Then another cut below.

When you stretch the headband, the strips will curl up. You may have to turn your piece over depending on which side was up when you started cutting.

Next take one end and fold the sides in like so.

Then fold over again.

Sandwich the elastic in between the folds.

Zig zag the elastic in place. Then repeat with the other side.

My piece of elastic is 5 inches long. I would recommend sewing one end then trying it on to see how tight you want it. The elastic does stretch over time so I would go tighter rather than looser.

I tried to photograph myself with the headband on and was not successful so I had to call in a model. Here you can see the headband scrunched together or pulled apart.

I also have a favorite headband that I wear when I work out. Since it gets all sweaty and has to be washed frequently, I needed to have a back up. The one I have is store bought, but I knew that I could easily duplicate it.

I started with a larger piece of t-shirt. This one is extra wide to tame very unruly hair.

I used the hem of the t-shirt as the front of my headband. This piece is 4" x 14.5".

All you do is fold the end accordion style like so.

The hem will be on the top. It won't seem right, but trust me.

Sandwich the elastic between the folds.

Then zig zag and repeat on the other side.

The third one that I made was a hybrid of the two previous headbands. I cut it into strips, but I used a wider piece of fabric.

The options are endless.