Spring could be just around the corner in Rock Hill, but you never know. We’d all love to get out and about in the next couple of weeks, but winter could still yet raise its cold head and blast York County with more frosty weather. So how can we keep our spirits up as we wait out the end of winter? How about some Coke bottle plastic cap bugs?

These cute little critters will brighten anyone’s day. Since you’ve been saving all your empty Coca-Cola product bottles for the many other projects we’ve brought to you over the past few months (here and here), you’re sure to have quite a collection of plastic caps. Whether it’s a Coke, Sprite, Dr Pepper, or Minute Maid product, any plastic cap will do. Once you have a few ready to go, you’re all set to make a cute plastic cap bug collection. They’re perfect to populate your refrigerator, especially to hang kids’ art or grocery lists (like “buy more Coke”!).

What You Need for Plastic Cap Bugs

• several plastic caps
• black paint pen
• glue
• small googly eyes
• small round magnets

How to Make Plastic Cap Bugs

Clean the Caps

First be sure that your caps are clean inside and out. Wash them in some slightly soapy water. Rinse thoroughly, then allow to dry completely.

Paint the Pattern

Use a black paint pen to draw and color in a semi-circle on one side of the plastic cap. The edge of the semi-circle should come roughly ⅓ of the way across the cap. Next, draw a straight line through the semi-circle across the center of the cap. On either side of the center line, draw small dots. Three to four per side will be plenty. You should end up with what looks like a ladybug or a fancy beetle, depending on the color of your caps.

Add the Eyes

Working with the small googly eyes can be the trickiest part of this project. You’ll want to use just enough glue without smearing it everywhere. Just a small dot of glue on the back of the eye will be perfect. Place two googly eyes in each black semi-circle, arranging them slightly close to center.

Attach the Magnets

If you want your plastic cap bugs to crawl on your fridge, you’ll need to attach magnets to the inside of the cap. Since you’ll want the magnet to extend just slightly beyond the edge of the cap, you’ll need to fill the space with cardboard, or you can simply stack the magnets. Three adhesive-backed magnets works perfectly.