Beaded Boxes and Bottle Caps

Have you ever stared in wonder at the assortment of colours, textures and shapes of beads? Did you stumble upon a stash of beading or jewellery supplies at yard sales, thrift stores or creative reuse centres like Recraft? Do you have a stash of imitation jewellery you couldn’t bear to throw or give away? Are you open to creative possibilities which are beyond the obvious? 

If you answered yes to any of the above, here’s a tutorial to fire your imagination. All you need in addition to the bead stash is everyday craft supplies like clear and multi purpose white glue and mixed reusable materials such as old packaging boxes and bottle caps. The following steps illustrate how beads (and faux baubles) can be creatively combined and displayed in shadow boxes or hung as ornaments.

Here’s an interesting resource about the plethora of beads available for jewellery making and embroidery. Enjoy the eye candy: https://www.beadsjar.co.uk/Bead-Types

1. Beads (from your personal stash or from craft stores, thrift stores or creative reuse centres like Recraft)
2. Bottle Caps of varying sizes. Look for a minimum of two of a kind (mason/ jam jar lids, beer caps, etc)
3. Square or Rectangle Cardboard Boxes , not more that 12 inches in length or breadth (from food, jewellery or electronic goods packaging)
4. Plain white or cream colored Card Stock (Recyclable mailers, print outs or invitation cards with blank back sides can also be used)
5. Craft scissors, Clear Glue, Multi Purpose White Glue (such as Glue-All)
6. Small strand of ribbon or twine (Approximately 6-8 inches)

1. Prepare the square or rectangular boxes to house the beads by lining the insides of the boxes with plain white or cream card stock. Cut the card stock to a size slightly smaller (approx. 0.3in less) in length and breadth than the outside dimensions of the box. Glue it on the inner face of the box with white all purpose glue, taking care to centre it ans smooth out any creases. 
2. Separate beads by cutting the packaging string or the string used for creating necklaces. Separate beads by type. You now have your bead buffet ready!

1. Pick your favourite combinations of bead colours, shapes and sizes. In a spare box or on a tray, try out different arrangements of the beads. Symmetric arrangements like mandalas work well in a square shaped box. (Examples in first photo). Feel free to explore other free form and intuitive spatial arrangements. (Examples in second photo)
2. Once you have finalised a certain arrangement, pick a lined box suitable to house this. Spread a thin layer of multi purpose white glue (such as Glue All) on the card stock lining the inside of the box. 
3. While the glue is still tacky, place the the larger beads on the glue. Hold each bead in place for a few seconds to ensure adherence. If using seed beads, sprinkle them on to the glued surface. Allow a drying time of at least 6 hours. 
4. After the arrangement dries completely, coat the top and sides of the larger beads with clear glue. This will ensure that the entire arrangement is sealed in place. 
5. In case seed beads of any size are used, pour some clear glue over the entire arrangement. Use enough clear glue to submerge the pre-pasted seed beads. This creates a transparent layer over the more vulnerable areas of the arrangement. This assembly takes 24-48 hours to dry completely. The clear glue tends to contract a bit, but this doesn’t affect the overall appearance of the design. 

Extra: A special case is when the entire background of the design is made up of seed beads. (First example in first photo). In this case, clear glue can be poured into the box and beads can be sprinkled on it to submerge them. Up to 3 days are required for this arrangement to dry completely.

Your shadow box is now ready to be displayed upright on a bookshelf or as a tray on a table! To hang it as wall art, a hook would need to be attached on the outer face.

A pair of identical bottle caps can be adhered to each other back to back to create two faces of a hanging ornament or decoration. A loop of ribbon or twine can be sandwiched between them before gluing them to each other. This creates an easy to hang beaded ornament or hanging decoration.

Note: Ensure that the bottle caps or jar lids can be seamlessly glued to each other back to back. (Certain cap designs do not allow a smooth adhesion due to elevated and depressed areas on the lid face.)

1. Choose a combination of beads to decorate the the pair of bottle caps. Create approximately identical arrangements inside each cap or lid. To create these, pour clear glue into each cap or lid such that it is filled up to two thirds of its capacity. Drop in the beads to create your design. Allow both caps to dry for at least 36 hours.
2. Create a small loop with a ribbon or twine and paste it on the back of one of the caps/ lids.
3. After ensuring that all the beads are set in place, adhere the backs of the decorated bottle caps to each other with white multi surface glue (such a Glue-All). 
4. If possible, place this assembly in a vertical position for drying. Drying takes at least 12 hours.

Your ornament/ decoration is now ready to hang!