Mock Bottlecap Embellishments

Pretty paper medallions inspired by bottlecap charms.

Quick-make grad medal! (It's that time of year...)

Medals for other occasions.

Mock bottlecaps in metallic (left) or plain (right).

Here's the close-up: twist and tuck to make the "corded" surround.

Here's my take on the bottlecap trend: pretty papercrafted embellishments ideal for cards or scrapbook pages. There's a pretty cord-twist surround with an occasion-appropriate filler. Fun and versatile. Bottlecaps have the same irresistible appeal as buttons.

I've supplied digi-cut downloads for the bottlecaps. And a short tutorial to follow. Here are the downloads:
BottlecapEmbellishments.svg 
BottlecapEmbellishments.studio 

Now for the tut:

1. Digi-cut a bottlecap base and a print-and-cut insert disc. For the base, I recommend Centura pearl double-sided paper. The bottlecap base looks like a stylized sun. And each projection has a kind of a duck-bill - that's the bit that hooks over the edge.

2. Stick the liner disc onto the bottlecap base, centred, with a snippet of double-sided tape. Next, make the cord-twist look surround. Start anywhere. Simply fold-and-tuck the duckbill projections, going in an anti-clockwise projection. Make an angled fold to the left. Tuck the projection behind its neighbour. The notch sits on the edge of the disc.

3. Continue the fold-and-tuck procedure: the corded edge takes shape! So simple to do - and it looks like twisted cord!

4. Last one: fold the last tab under the first.

 5. Voilà! The finished bottlecap embellishment.

Notes on the cards: to make the medals, just run a strip of paper (about 2cm/3/4in-wide) through a paper crimper. Trim the strip ends: dead ringer for a strip of grosgrain ribbon. Fold the strip in half and pop the bottlecap medallion on a little way below the top loop. Use sticky pads or glue dots to attach the bottlecap to the "ribbon".

For a more authentic bottlecap look, double-sided metallic paper is the best choice. But the bottlecaps look fine in plain paper. Prints are not recommended as the corded effect would be lost.

The bottlecaps make great mini-frames for photos or quilled miniatures. And of course, you can change the colourway or message to suit.

Papers: Centura pearlescent d/s for the bottlecap bases, cards: printed papers from Craft Creations and Wild Rose Studio (Annabelle's Meadow).

Thanks to Leah for taking the pics.