Milk Bottle Earrings
Easy step by step instructions showing how to make your own upcycled earrings by recycling milk bottles, presented by Crafty Corner
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This is a beautiful way to upcycle your old Milk bottles into something functional and very pretty for your jewellery wardrobe!
Most people use milk, and it is a pity that so many plastic milk bottles end up on landfill sites. Before throwing your plastic bottles away, first stop to see if there is a way to upcycle or recycle it. With this project we turned an old plastic milk bottle into upcycled earrings, completely transforming the plastic bottle into a new, functional item that you can use.
Follow our easy step by step instructions and see how easy it is to make your own upcycled milk bottle jewellery to create a handmade gift for someone special!
What you will need:
- A 2l milk bottle
- Pliers
- Side cutters
- Head pin
- Earring loop
- Craft knife
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Working surface
Step 1
Take your milk bottle, remove the label and wash the bottle so that it is clean inside and out.
Step 2
We are going to cut off the top of the bottle. Use your craft knife to make an incision, and then insert your scissors and cut around the circumference of the bottle. You want to cut just below the moulding line.
Step 3
Now do the same at the base of the plastic milk bottle. Make a small incision just above the moulding line using the craft knife, then insert the scissors and cut all around the circumference of the bottle.
You should now have three parts of your bottle, the top, the base, and the flat plastic middle section which we will use for this craft.
Step 4
Cut right across the width of this middle flat section to create a length of plastic.
Step 5
Using your ruler and pencil, mark out every 1cm along the width of your plastic. Cut with your ruler and craft knife for straight cut lines with an even width, creating 1cm strips of plastic.
Step 6
Take one strip of plastic and roll it between your fingers to soften the plastic and roll it into a spiral shape for your project.
Step 7
With the head pin in one hand and the plastic roll in the other, you want to pierce the roll with the headpin from the inner side, i.e. Push the headpin through the plastic, from the inside of the roll, through the inner end. Now continue to pierce the plastic at each loop, ensuring that the loops are larger at each interval, creating a spiral effect.
TIP: You can always trim the plastic strip with a scissors to neaten the finished item.
Step 8
End the roll, with the outer end pinned just at the base of the head pin for a neat finish.
Step 9
You will now need to trim the headpin, down to an approximate 1/1.5cm extension using your side cutters. Then, using your pliers, create a hook in the end of the head pin.
Step 10
Before closing the hook on the headpin, slide the earring loop onto it. Now, using your pliers, gently turn the hook in on itself to close the gap, securing the earring hoop on it. You will now have successfully joined the two items to each other.
Step 11
And there you have it! Repeat the entire process to create a second upcycled earring... third, fourth... or as many items of jewellery as you wish to create!
Step 12
Your upcycled plastic milk bottle earrings are now complete and ready to be given away as a special gift, or wear the upcycled jewellery yourself!