DIY Vintage Bottlecap Tray

One of my favorite items to collect is vintage bottle caps! I love the different graphics on them! They are a lot of fun to craft with as well. I upcycled an Ikea tabletop a while ago and used vintage bottle caps on the top. I had so much fun with that project, and it has really been a conversation piece. I thought it would be fun to try a little tray for my dad for Father’s Day. This project is fun to make and is great to serve breakfast in bed, or display Dad’s favorite items on a coffee table.

Here’s What You Need:

*Wooden Tray

*Craft Paint

*Liquid Nails

*Bottle Caps

*Painter’s Tape

*Ready Made Grout

*Sponge and a small float if you have one

Instructions:

The first thing you need to do is paint your tray.

Now you can glue down your bottle caps. Squeeze generous size drops of liquid nails onto the bottom of your tray about an inch and a hair apart. Press your bottle caps onto the adhesive.

Then do another row, and another until you have filled the whole tray. You can move the caps around a little if you need to straighten rows or space them out more.

Let your bottle caps dry and cure for a day. Then you are ready to grout. First cover the areas you want to protect your paint with painter’s tape. When taping the inside edges, start the tape right about where the bottle caps height reaches.

You can scoop up grout and spread it with a grout float, which is the preferred method, or you can use a sponge. I had to use a small sponge since my tray was too small for my grout float. Spread the grout over the entire bottom of the tray making sure to get it nice and packed down in the crevices between the bottle caps.

Clean your sponge and wring it out. Wipe the surface of the grout with your sponge in soft strokes wiping off the grout from the top of the bottle caps. Once the bottle caps are clear and clean of grout.  It will take several times of cleaning the sponge and carefully wiping off the top layer of grout from the bottle caps before they are clear. You want smooth even strokes that will take off the grout from the bottle caps, but not dig into the grout on the sides of the caps. Remove the painters tape. Set aside your tray to dry.

Once your grout is dry, you can touch up any areas of paint that got grout on them.

I LOVE how this tray turned out! I think my dad is going to love it! I love it so much I might just have to make another one for me! You can use any kinds of bottle caps. I used vintage soda bottle caps since I love the colors and retro style. You could also use solid colored caps or beer bottle caps. This tray would be a perfect addition to a man cave! I hope some of you guys will give this one a try sometime! It’s a great way to upcycle bottle caps! I’ll be back next week with another fun DIY. Until then…

Happy Crafting!