My bottle cap level is OVER 9000!!!

August 6, 2009 3:24 PM

What should I do with a crapload of bottle caps?

For some reason, we started collecting used bottle caps in college. After a few years, I find myself with a 12-pack box full of bottle caps.

What should I do with them?

I've heard of making a table top with them. Any other suggestions?

posted by Tu13es to Media & Arts (21 answers total)

You have to play Scully!!!!!

Make sure you melt crayons into them first.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 3:27 PM on August 6, 2009

A candelabra?
A "beaded" curtain?
Mr. T?
posted by rokusan at 3:28 PM on August 6, 2009 [1 favorite]

Beaded curtains!
posted by bluefrog at 3:30 PM on August 6, 2009

I too have a large collection of beer bottlecaps. I'm planning on redoing the bar in my basement. I thought for the top I could lay them all out and pour some of that clear epoxy resin over them to encase them inside.

I guess that's what I'm going to do anyway, I don't have any better ideas.
posted by sanka at 3:33 PM on August 6, 2009

Start your own microbrewery. All you need now is the bottles. Oh... and the beer.
posted by netbros at 3:42 PM on August 6, 2009

Magnets.
posted by McBearclaw at 3:46 PM on August 6, 2009

Save them for the aftermath of nuclear armageddon, at which point they will become currency.
posted by contessa at 3:52 PM on August 6, 2009 [10 favorites]

Make a shaker
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 3:55 PM on August 6, 2009

Well...(smokes corncob pipe pensively) back in the day we used to nail them to a tree so the hogs could scratch themselves - and the rest we nailed to the bottom of our boots so that we could walk on the ice. (both true)

But perhaps you are not farming in the Great White North, so you might consider making cool jewelry with them.
posted by The Light Fantastic at 4:13 PM on August 6, 2009 [1 favorite]

Is it just me, or is a 12-pack box full of bottle caps actually not that many? Certainly not 9000, right?
posted by fourmajor at 4:21 PM on August 6, 2009

My brothers emptied out these things and replaced the tiers with different color crimped bottlecaps. Would only work if you enjoyed a variety of beers, but not a different beer each night ...
posted by shownomercy at 4:33 PM on August 6, 2009

Get yourself a broomstick and a small board of wood, a hammer and a bunch of nails, and make yourself a Lagerphone.
posted by pompomtom at 4:59 PM on August 6, 2009 [2 favorites]

In college we took all of our beer bottle caps and pressed them into the ceiling to make a cool design. After a few years, it was really impressive. Our landlord didn't really love it, though.
posted by bdowngold at 6:15 PM on August 6, 2009 [1 favorite]

Tramp Art!
posted by peagood at 7:09 PM on August 6, 2009

You can make a heavy duty doormat for scraping the mud off the soles of your boots by nailing a bunch of bottle caps, crimped side up, to a board or pallet.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 8:12 PM on August 6, 2009

Recycle them.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 12:22 AM on August 7, 2009

Get yourself a broomstick and a small board of wood, a hammer and a bunch of nails, and make yourself a Lagerphone.

That's what I mean, when I say shaker! But I couldn't find it on the webs because I did'nt know the proper name for it.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 1:06 AM on August 7, 2009

Maybe instead of making something with the caps, you could consider them as ammunition and look for a gun that could launch them at high velocities at some bottles in your backyard.
posted by Sully at 1:41 AM on August 7, 2009

How nerdy are you? Make a suit of armor!
posted by reddot at 6:06 AM on August 7, 2009 [1 favorite]

You can nail them to something for decoration. Here's a picture of our raised garden beds this spring, when we had just started nailing the bottle caps on. It's fancy!
posted by fiercecupcake at 6:48 AM on August 7, 2009

If you happen to be anywhere near College Station, TX you can help save historic Bottlecap Alley.
posted by erikgrande at 7:34 AM on August 7, 2009