Bottle Cap State Art

 

Hey guys!  Beckie, over at Infarrantly Creative, is hosting a “Show Your State Pride” linky tour, and I am so excited to be participating in it!

 

state pride 300

Some of you may be jumping over here from my buddy, Brittany’s {aka Pretty Handy Girl} blog.  Welcome!

When Beckie asked me if I wanted to participate in this tour, I jumped at the chance to show my state pride.  I am a Kentucky girl through and through!

Kentucky Girl

 

In my humble opinion, Kentucky is one of the prettiest of all the states!

kentucky horses

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I pass scenes like the one above every day on my way home.  It’s absolutely breathtaking.

It’s the home of the Kentucky Derby…

kentucky derby

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And of course the Big Blue Nation!

ky basketball

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We cannot get enough of Kentucky basketball around here.  Smile

ky basketball

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I feel so blessed to have lived in Kentucky my whole life, and I love celebrating it!

I’ve been wanting to make something for my boys’ rooms, so I thought this “Show your State Pride” tour would be the perfect opportunity.

 

bottle cap state art

This project is so easy!

First, you need to decided how big you want to make your art.  You can make it bigger or smaller than I made mine.

I used 1×3’s for my art.  To hold the 1×3’s together, I used some 99 cent wood sticks from Lowe’s.

 

bottle cap state art

I bought two of the 99 cent wood sticks, but only used one.

bottle cap state art

I was able to cut it in half and glue each stick to the back of my 1×3 boards.

bottle cap state art

TIP:  If you do not have a manual or electric saw to cut your wood pieces, just take your measurements to Lowe’s when you buy your wood, and they will cut them for  you!

Next, I used Rust-oleum’s wood stain in “weathered gray.”  I applied it with a foam brush and removed the excess with a paper towel.

rustoleum weathered gray

You can put as many coats as you want on your wood depending on how dark you want it. I put two coats on mine.

 

bottle cap state art

While the stain was drying, I went and found an outline of Kentucky on my computer.  I have a 3M projector that I used to project the image onto to wall.  I sat my wood art up against the wall so I could see the outline of Kentucky.

 

bottle cap state art

I used a pencil to trace around the outline of Kentucky.

 

bottle cap state art

TIP:  If you do not have a projector you can use, you could print the outline of your state on your printer and use it as a template.  Or maybe  you could find a map of your state at a store that you could use as a template?  Some of you very talented people could probably even free-hand the outline of your state.  Smile

Next, it was time to hot glue my bottle caps within the outline of Kentucky.

bottle cap state art

You can collect your own bottle caps or purchase them somewhere like Ebay or Amazon. I bought mine off Amazon.

It was super easy to hot glue them on.  You could also use Gorilla Glue.

bottle cap state art

The last thing to do was attach tooth hangers to the  back of my bottle cap art.

bottle cap state art

I hung this piece of art above Jonathan’s dresser.  He absolutely LOVES it!

bottle cap state art

I also hung the blue ribbon he won at the Kentucky State Fair talent competition.

bottle cap state art

This project is such a simple way to add color to your walls and show pride in your state at the same time!

bottle cap state art

Thanks for letting me share my project with you!

 

bottle cap state art

Next up on the tour, we are going to continue heading down south to Gina from The Shabby Creek Cottage!  I can’t wait to see what she has come up with!

 

Have a blessed day, y’all!

22 Comments

  1. TRACI!!!! I need this! I totally agree…KY is the prettiest state. I love your bottle cap KY silhouette…did I mention my birthday in in October? Next time we have lunch I expect this to be in a bag tucked under some tissue paper ;) Love it, girly!!!

  2. I love this!! So cute for a boys room! The only thing that would make it better would be if it included an Ale8 bottle cap:) I loved your kentucky pictures. I love living in lexington. I have a new appreciation for horse country and UK sports! Since I’m not originally from Lexington, I wasn’t used to living somewhere with the beauty of this city/state. Those pictures look like a vacation place, but it’s where we live! Crazy! Living inside the city limits it always amazes me that I get to drive past beautiful farms and horses on my way to work each day. It really is magical!

  3. I love Kentucky too! When I go on vacation, I am always glad to hit the KY state line coming back.

    The four seasons make it extra special, and the people can not be beat. Lovely place to grow up and raise kids.

    Cute craft idea!

    Thanks

  4. Awww… My grandma always loved watching the Kentucky Derby. I haven’t been, I’ve always wanted to go to Louisville. I grew up in Missouri, but now live in Washington.
    :) It took moving away to appreciate the landscape of Northwest Missouri. I do love the mountains though- nothing is more exciting than seeing Mt. Rainier on a gorgeous day peaking out behind the clouds. I have been wanting to make one of these type of signs, the ones that have the states you and hubby were from and the state you live in kinda thing with the heart in it.

  5. I really love this idea. I’ve never been to KY but my hubby has and he said it is beautiful. Need to make one of these of my home state of Alabama. Sure do miss the South. It is pretty here in Washington but it isn’t home.

  6. Question, with the hot glue it filled in space behind the lip? I want to make this with some of my bottle caps I have collected.

  7. What a fun idea ! I may have to give this a try….Kentucky is a pretty state but I’m an Ohio girl :) I enjoy your blog, thanks for sharing !

  8. GO BIG BLUE!! I’m a KY gal too who now lives in NC, but I think I will have to make this project this summer with my step daughter. Great idea :)

  9. I love this. Did you put a big glob of hot glue under the cap, (not around the edges)? I don’t notice any hot glue squishing out.

  10. What are the dimensions of your board (total)? I’m doing this in my kid’s rooms. It was a joy running across your blog since you are from KY. I’m a blog-a-holic and this is extra-special seeing one from my home state.

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