domestically challenged (Jessica) abs6183

bottlecap pins

1:57 pm - 02/27/2004
a while ago i saw this nifty pin at a thrift store made with bottlecaps, a little picture and resin, and the other night my boyfriend (so much more a craftgrrrl than i'll ever be...) and i decided to give it a try on our own.


so this was our inspiration, the one i picked up at a thrift store:


ours unfortunatly didnt come out as nice, i didnt bother to flair the sides and looking back now i think that would have helped alot. also we ran into some problems with the resin. first of all it made some of the pictures go completely see thru and others came out kinda spotty looking as you can see in this picture:
like in the bottom of the scarlett one and in the chocolat one. we made several others but these were the only salvagable ones. i'm hoping maybe some of you have some tips for how to get the picture to not get all funky with the resin. my boyfriend came up with the idea later of maybe laminating them somehow with clear tape. i also read on the web that some people glue posterboard to the back. anyone know if either idea will work out better?
we also had another minor problem with the resin in that it got kinda bumpy. i dont know if you can tell but the pin i bought was very smooth, glossy finish. ours came out more like this:

so it was a bit of a disappointment mainly because so many didnt come out at all, but i was happy with the few that did work and i think we have some good ideas to fix them next time. but i did want to share and hope maybe for some help with the resin problems/ comments on them in general.
thanks so much!
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jagnightwalker Hmm — 27th-Feb-2004 11:05 am (UTC)
Nothing but red x's...I'd love to see the pics though!
core9 27th-Feb-2004 11:11 am (UTC)
regarding the pics coming out see through. hmm. maybe spray them with hairspray to seal first?
foggy_eyes 27th-Feb-2004 04:03 pm (UTC)
bwahaha. the brain that would die! sweet icon. i love the part where the prostitutes have that crazy cat fight. haha.woo.
abs6183 27th-Feb-2004 08:54 pm (UTC)
ooh thanks for the idea, i never would have thought of that! i'm so glad i posted here i have lots of ideas for improvement next time! thanks again! :)
bubbledragon 27th-Feb-2004 11:13 am (UTC)
I think to get them shiny smooth like that you actually have to buff and sand and polish them. Way too much work for me. I think yours look great. :o)
abs6183 27th-Feb-2004 08:53 pm (UTC)
thank you! buffing... definetly seems like too much work for me too! :)
ciarajanae 27th-Feb-2004 11:14 am (UTC)
what type of resin did you use? i've done this once or twice before, and for this i used a mix called Enviromax (i think, i'm at work, reply to this if you need more info). it came out smooth on everything i used it on, though i did have a few problems with tiny bubbles in the resin.

also, if you glue your pictures to cardstock or some other thick paper before putting them in the resin, they won't soak through as much. :)
abs6183 27th-Feb-2004 08:52 pm (UTC)
we used castin'craft clear casting resin, it's what they had at the michaels near me... i'm thinking we may need to perfect our catalyst to resin amounts, that looks like it might be the problem, but i appreciate your help!
and i'm definetly going to try the cardstock idea, thanks!!
heartquest 27th-Feb-2004 11:14 am (UTC)
i love these! great job!
abs6183 27th-Feb-2004 08:49 pm (UTC)
thanks!! :)
lillykat 27th-Feb-2004 11:18 am (UTC)
Super cool. I think I might try this project sometime :)
abs6183 27th-Feb-2004 08:48 pm (UTC)
thanks! you definetly should, it's so fun to look for pictures and then see them turn into pins!
slipsbyandstops 27th-Feb-2004 11:19 am (UTC)
If you use a heavier paper, the images won't become as translucent. Cool project though. =)
abs6183 27th-Feb-2004 08:48 pm (UTC)
thanks! i did notice that the ones with thicker paper worked better, but i was really just using stuff out of magazines and catalogues... but i will definetly look for thicker pages next time :)
vintage_piranha 27th-Feb-2004 11:20 am (UTC)
i sm impatiently waiting for your pictures to load (its taking forever for some reason!!) but, i've wanted to do that for awhile now. i have like over 2000 bottlecaps and i thought the resin idea was fabulous. i just haven't gotten around to buying any resin or catalyst yet! when my tax money comes, for sure :)
vintage_piranha 27th-Feb-2004 11:22 am (UTC)
okay they loaded, hehe. i like them! now i just need to try it on my own :)
abs6183 27th-Feb-2004 08:46 pm (UTC)
:) i'm glad they finally loaded and you liked em! it's really pretty easy, you should definetly give it a try!
suziannabean 27th-Feb-2004 11:47 am (UTC)
abs, those are 73 different kinds of gorgeous!
abs6183 27th-Feb-2004 08:45 pm (UTC)
aww thanks! i was a little disappointed more didnt come out, but my favorite is definetly the angry looking red head...isnt she just... perfect?! lol, i'll make you one sometime, i'll keep my eye out for something... susanish!
suziannabean 28th-Feb-2004 02:49 pm (UTC)
aw - thank you!
You know - I saw your name on my friends list, and I didn't even realize I was replying to you in a community until right now ...

I'm a dork!
limeystars 27th-Feb-2004 12:30 pm (UTC)
Those are so cute! Two summers ago, I bought one of those type pins at a modernartsy coolthings store (i don't remember the name of it) in Hyannis, on the cape. I LOVED IT. And I didn't know how to make them till you posted! Yours came out wicked cute! :)

-Jill
abs6183 27th-Feb-2004 08:44 pm (UTC)
thank you! it was really pretty easy, we got a little circle cutter and some resin and catalyst and that was about it, you should definetly give it a try!
p_p_cakes 27th-Feb-2004 01:58 pm (UTC)
where do u buy all the ingrediants and stuff for it
abs6183 27th-Feb-2004 08:40 pm (UTC)
well thankfully my boyfriend works at Michaels, so he picked the stuff up there for a good discount! but i think most craft stores should have it, good luck!
stinkycretingrl 27th-Feb-2004 04:25 pm (UTC)
cute! and to cure the spotting of the paper from the resin you can coat the surface of the picture with plain ol' elmer's glue and wait for it to dry before pouring in the resin. works great! and you have to make sure that you mix mix mix mix mix the resin and hardener, in addition to getting the hardener/resin ratio right. that might be causing the surface dimpling. i have found that blowing gently through a straw across the surface works fantastically to kill the bubbles, which also may be causing the dimpling.
sarahdotcom 27th-Feb-2004 07:17 pm (UTC)
Ok, I'm the one with the faq entry about the ice cube tray resin bracelets. I also do some bottle cap stuff so hopefully I can answer all of your questions.

Firstly, if you want the edges flattened the best way to go is to use unused bottle caps. They come like that. You can get them in huge lots on Ebay or smaller (and still well-priced) quantities on mantofev.com.

As for the pictures being see-through, I like that effect in my "ice cube" jewellery but it's not really what you want in the bottle cap stuff. Glueing it to something will help but if there's anything printed on the back of the picture it will show through no matter what (unless the pic is super-thick). It's best to use photocopies or printouts.

As for the bumpy texture, it could be that your resin is setting too quickly. Try mixing a little less catalyst in and it should be easy to get a smooth surface. For a fix for the ones you've already done, just varnish them with a some acrylic varnish or even clear nail polish.

Good luck!
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