I like using trays for various tasks around the house and was on the look out for one to keep my coffee station area nice and tidy. Enter Hobby Lobby. HL is known for it's deep discounts and that is where I found the most hideous pink glittered tray I have ever seen. (Vase is from Goodwill, it got painted too....) It was under three dollars and I could only hope that primer would cover up that glitter-gone-wrong!
Thankfully it did! I primed and painted it glossy white
Don't ask me how I thought of using bottlecaps in the bottom of it...I really don't know, I just wanted something fun and funky. I spray painted a whole bunch of them in my three favorite summertime colors, Blue Ocean Breeze, Ivy Leaf and Pumpkin Orange, and some white, all from Krylon. It actually took some time to collect this many caps, I wanted to do this earlier in the summer, it just took a while!
Just a word of caution if decide to try this project, make sure the handles are high enough, giving you plenty of room to contain the fluid and whatever you are submerging. At least half inch clearance.
I started laying the caps in and played around with the pattern until I was happy. The staggered pattern really worked with not too much wasted space (it wasn't a perfect fit).
Next, I used what is called acrylic water to pour over the caps. Now this 2 part epoxy is sold at HL and Michael's, but I found it the cheapest at Walmart, in their Floral Dept. I followed the directions, mixing the compounds and poured it on. It's self-leveling, which is great! The tough part was waiting the 48 hours, because it cannot be disturbed at all, and my house is full of disturbances!!! :) Luckily, the acrylic hardened without any incidents, and was ready for use!
It turned out really cute and retro funky, just what I wanted!! It will keep my coffee messes contained!
I bet a lot of different things could be "captured" under the acrylic! Pictures or buttons, anything!
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I love this project- the colors, are fantastic!!! To see more awesome ideas like this, please visit Sweet Something Designs
Wow! this is a transformation. I would never have thought of using bottle caps in this way. I love the colours you chose.
ReplyDeleteWow! I love it! Fantastic! I can't wait to use some of that acrylic.
ReplyDeletewww.joybeadworks.blogspot.com
that is amazing...I love the pop of color!
ReplyDeleteThis is great. I will have to keep my eye out for a tray so I can try it myself!
ReplyDeleteMan I love this!
ReplyDeleteI love this idea. I never would have thought of painting the bottle caps. I have a cup of them and this may be what I will do with them.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea! It turned out beautiful!
ReplyDeleteomg!...this is so freaking cool!...and i'm loving the color combo!...
ReplyDeleteOkay, that is totally awesome! Great idea- never heard of the acrylic stuff- good to know about. My first thought was, "How do you clean the mess between the caps?" Stinkin' clever! Thanks for posting. :)
ReplyDeleteLove this project!! The colors you chose are perfect!! I totally want to do this now. We could use a tray on our coffee table for our million remotes!
ReplyDeleteThis is very cute! :)
ReplyDeleteNow that is creativity at its best! What a beautiful tray it is now! Just love it!
ReplyDeleteSharon
SO COOL! i absolutely love it! you are very smart!
ReplyDeletemeagan
I might riff on this idea some time!! I love it!!
ReplyDeleteThat is really cool. I fully intend to steal this idea soon!
ReplyDeleteSuch a cute project! I love the colors you used on your bottle caps! I am going to link to this from my blog for "someday projects"
ReplyDeleteLove how this all turned out. I love the colors and I love that you are able to recycle at the same time. Perfect
ReplyDelete~Makalani
www.MakazHome.com
Very cute idea!
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to stop by and let you know that I will be linked to this post tomorrow from the new Home & Garden channel at Craft Gossip. :) My hope is to share many of the fabulous projects I see everyday with the vast CG audience. I hope you will not only stop by and subscribe to CG, but will tell your friends about the new category! Hope you see some traffic from it!
ReplyDeleteYour feature will appear in the main Craft Gossip RSS feed, on the main home page. While it's not live yet (scheduled for tomorrow) and can be found directly here
http://homeandgarden.craftgossip.com/bottle-cap-tray/
If you would like a "featured by" button, you can grab one here!
http://homeandgarden.craftgossip.com/grab-a-craft-gossip-button/
How fun and funky and inventive!
ReplyDeleteWhat a really unique and creative idea. I'm impressed! The colors of the bottle caps are perfect!
ReplyDeleteHow fun! I think I might be doing something like that in the future...super cute!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea! I just found a bunch of buttons at a thrift store, but wasn't sure what to do with them. Now I know :) So glad I found your blog!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to try this idea!! I have never heard of acrylic water before. I wonder if paper/pictures would hold up well??
ReplyDeleteAnother cute idea. love it.
ReplyDeleteThis is really cute! I may try something similar.
ReplyDelete